How do I estimate my wedding guest count?

Hey Brooke

I am planning my wedding and wondering what percentage of guests invited won’t come? And what percentage of people RSVPing still won’t show? Our invite list is larger than our venue limit so I’m curious if we should cut back significantly before sending invitations. Thanks!

Sincerely,

Worried about the numbers

Wedding guest counts can be a tricky thing and are sometimes hard to estimate. On average you can expect that 20% of your invited guests will RSVP they cannot come to your wedding. However, there are a few things that can make that percentage decrease or increase.

Location

If you’re wedding location is farther away from where the majority of your guests reside, then you could experience more ‘no’ RSVPs. When it comes to destination or travel based weddings you can typically expect everyone who RSVP-ed ‘yes’ will come. This is because they will need to make arrangements and spend money on travel, which is a motivator to not skip out on the day.

Example:

Clients of mine had their wedding in Kalamazoo, where none of their guests resided. People had to travel anywhere from 45 minutes to across the country.  They invited 294, they had 189 yes RSVPs and 189 came. Disclaimer they did have 9 cancel the week of, but they were able to adjust their numbers. 

If you’re having your wedding close to where the majority of your guests reside then you could experience a larger amount of ‘yes’ RSVPs, however that could mean that you may have a larger number of people not show to your wedding. This is because when it is closer to home and no money is needed for travel people can tend to not carefully consider their RSVP and if they are actually going to make it.

Example:

A friend married at home where the majority of her guests resided. 300 were invited, there were 225 yes RSVPs and 210 actually attended.

Guest Count

If you are having a super small wedding of about 10 people I would expect that all 10 would show. If you have a massive 1,000 person wedding I would expect a little more than 20% to RSVP no. Typically weddings ranging from 100-300 guests follow the 20% guideline closely.

You should also be prepared for guests to show that did not RSVP. Often times people will bring their children, spouses or plus ones to a wedding without RSVPing for them. Some people will not RSVP at all and still show up to the event. I cannot tell you the reasons why people do this, but to save yourself some time and stress I would chat with your venue and caterer about having a couple extra chairs, place settings and meals on hand just in case.

Time Of The Year

Keep in mind that holiday weddings (Christmas, New Years Eve, Valentines Day, Fourth of July, etc.) can effect the number of guests that will RSVP or no show on your wedding day. Most people want to spend these holidays with their family and friends so you may have a larger increase of ‘no’ RSVPs or an increase in wedding day no shows.

Example:

When I used to work at a wedding venue we had a New Years Eve wedding that nearly 30% of the guests that said they were coming did not show. 

Warm months are an easy time for events and most people expect to attend weddings during those times, but weddings during inclement weather seasons (hurricanes, blizzards, tornados, etc.) can sometimes greatly effect your attendance on the day due to accidents, unsafe conditions or people not wanting to brave the weather.

I recommend that you plan for your budget and space as if all of your invited guests will attend your wedding. I say this because it is better to be over prepared than stressed the week of your wedding trying to figure out where to seat everyone and how you are going to feed them. Plus if you do have a lower amount of guests attend than invited, then that extra money you budgeted for will be a nice little cushion the week of your wedding.