4 Best Practices to Keep Track of Wedding RSVPs

If you are having a backyard wedding or something similarly casual, your exact guest count may not be rigid, but when working with a venue or a lot of third party vendors, it’s a different story. Having an accurate final guest count that you can provide to your venue and caterer on time is essential for keeping things on track for your big day. Here are a few easy ways to keep track of wedding RSVPs so you can keep your guest count under control.

Explore 4 ways to keep track of wedding RSVPs:

1. Opt for online RSVPs

Online RSVPs can do a lot of the heavy lifting for you when it comes to tracking your wedding guest count. Instead of worrying about tracking which RSVP cards you have received and who has said yes, you can simply utilize the existing system to see who is coming and who is not. Depending on how the online RSVP form is formatted, it can also potentially keep people from putting uninvited guests on the RSVP (which happens more often than you might think).

2. Make a spreadsheet

Have a spreadsheet that contains all of your invitee’s contact information, when you sent their wedding invitation, and whether or not they have RSVP’d. This is especially important if you aren’t going with an online RSVP system. This spreadsheet will help keep you organized, ensuring that you have accounted for all of your guests and know who to follow-up with when the RSVP deadline passes.

HOW TO PLAN A WEDDING: The complete stress-free guide

3. Have a follow-up plan

The higher your guest count, the more likely people won’t RSVP on time. Expect to have to follow up with some people who haven’t RSVP'd. It’s important to have a plan in place for tackling this situation. Will you text them the day after the due date and ask them? Will you send them an email? Will you have a hard cut off date and not bother with follow-up? Be sure to account for follow-up times when selecting your RSVP date.

4. Pick the right RSVP deadline

Select an RSVP date that will give you plenty of time to follow up with people who haven’t RSVP’d and pass along the guest count to the appropriate vendors. Setting the RSVP date the day before you need to provide a guest count to your vendors isn’t recommended. Give yourself a week or more to collect all of the information you need so you’re not putting yourself under pressure.

Still unsure? Check out our guide to the best wedding RSVP wording.