RSVP Wording Examples for Wedding Invitations

Copy-paste examples

Kindly reply by 12 July so we can confirm final numbers.

Please RSVP online by 12 July using the link on our wedding website.

We would be grateful if you could confirm your attendance and meal choice by 12 July.

Can’t wait to celebrate with you. Please let us know by 12 July if you can make it.

How to adapt the wording

Keep the message short, clear and specific. Include the deadline, website link, named guests or practical detail only where it helps the guest take the right next step.

What an RSVP card has to collect

Four things, and every one of them saves you an email later.

1. Names — one line per invited person, which is also how you signal that a plus-one is not included.
2. Attending or not — two boxes, not one.
3. Meal choice, if you are offering one.
4. Dietary requirements and allergies — with space to write, not a tick box.

More examples

Formal

The favour of a reply is requested by the fifteenth of July
M______ accepts with pleasure
M______ declines with regret

With meal choice

Name(s): ______________________
☐ Delighted to attend ☐ Sadly cannot attend
Main course: ☐ Beef ☐ Salmon ☐ Vegetarian
Anything we should know about dietary needs or allergies?
______________________

Please reply by 15 July

Online reply

Please let us know by 15 July at amaraanddaniel.example
If it is easier, text us on 07700 900123.

Evening guests

Name(s): ______________________
☐ We will be there from 8pm ☐ We are sorry to miss it
Please reply by 15 July

Setting the deadline

Print a date that works backwards from your caterer, not forwards from the wedding. Take the final numbers date in your catering contract, subtract about five weeks, and use that. Five weeks is two weeks of post and late repliers, two weeks of chasing, and one week to collate meal choices.

For a Saturday 12 September wedding with a 21-day final numbers window, that puts the RSVP deadline around 16 July and the invitations in early June.

Offer an online option

Reply rates rise noticeably when there is a link as well as a card, and it removes the job of transcribing handwriting into a spreadsheet. Keep the card for guests who prefer it, but do not make it the only route.

Common questions

What should an RSVP card say?

A line for names, two boxes for attending or not, a meal choice if you are offering one, space to write dietary requirements, and the reply deadline. Naming the invited guests on the card is also how you signal that a plus-one is not included.

When should the RSVP deadline be?

About five weeks before your caterer's final numbers date, which usually puts it around eight weeks before the wedding. Set it backwards from the caterer, never forwards from the wedding date.

Should you include an online RSVP option?

Yes. Reply rates rise when there is a link as well as a card, and it saves you transcribing handwriting into a spreadsheet. Keep the card as an alternative rather than the only route.

How do you word an RSVP for evening guests?

Make the timing explicit in the options themselves: "We will be there from 8pm" and "We are sorry to miss it", so there is no ambiguity about which part of the day they are invited to.