August 4, 2008
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Question for married couples!
I spent the evening hanging out with Joy. We ran some errands and
then worked on our wedding guest list for quite a few hours. I had no
idea I knew THIS many special people, and the names just keep coming to me!
It is going to be impossible to get "the number" down to 150. We'll
see, I guess? So I have a question for married couples out there, or
anyone who has ever stressed out about how many people are going to
come to an event:What percentage of people invited will show up? I mean, just as a wild
guess number, is it less than 100%, exactly 100%, or more than 100%?
What about if we narrow it down to JUST those who RSVP? Will that be a
100% "show" rate? Or more / less? Even though I've been a part of
dozens and dozens of weddings, this is one question I've never asked...Any wedding planners / coordinators out there, or other vendors? (Time to make a few calls to the ones I know, but it's 1:51 AM at the moment...)
I'll leave you with another sepia image from the BEAUTIFUL wedding back in June. (Probably another album page spread...) I hope everyone has monitors that are at least 1280 pixels wide, cause I couldn't help uploading this image a bit wider than normal...
=Matt=
Comments (13)
I've got a great wedding planner for you
I was awful at the wedding planning... I am so glad I don't have to do it!
Didn't realize that you are getting married...but then I only know you from broncomoms site..LOL! 100% of those invited will NOT show up...100% of RSVPs may not show up....if they know it is more formal and you need to know a count this may better your odds..... it is really hard to get people to RSVP no matter what you do!!!!! I am sorry but I am not much more help!! My daughter just got married and that is why she had a less formal reception..so they could leave the invitations open... they did not want to leave anyone out....
beautiful image as usual
@kafekotka - No, thank you, that was a lot of help! The impression I'm getting is that it will be less than 100%, not more. THAT is what I was wondering about, not necessarily a exact % number. Thanks!
=Matt=
If I were you I would count on EVERYONE showing up whom you invite. Counting on people not to come is a bad practice.
i think even if you only chose the RSVPs, not everyone will show up. sometimes, emergencies pop up last minute. i don't think it'll be more than 100%. i think no matter what kind of event you're planning, or how big/small it is or how many you invited, it's hard to get 100% of the invited guests to show up, especially for a very, very special and important event.
great mood in that picture, bro!
It will be less than 100% ....people that RSVP and say they will come sometimes have illness or an emergency. You do need to be very formal and send the invite to specifically who you are inviting with names, and include a reply card with a requested date of return. If you allow singles to bring a guest then you say and guest. Some people do not RSVP no matter what...in which case you do not expect them. It is hard .....we had two weddings in the past couple years (as you will remember) and sometimes you have to ask people....ARE YOU COMING? They somehow think you know...and sorry, but your generation is bad about RSVPS. Good luck. It is a lot of hard work...but very worth it. Just keep asking the Lord to help plan it all and then rest in Him so you do enjoy it! Jenny
Good Question, we just got married in March, it's funny because we got 250 people that rsvp'd yes and that's exactly how many people showed up,,,,,the catch was that there was a good 30 who said yes and never came and another 30 who never rsvp;s that showed up. it's hard to say, but for sure you are safe to invite more then you have room for, we knew we had room for 260 and we invited well over 300,,,,,it was brave, and i was nervous, to keep the nerves down don't do it that way! but not everyone will be able to make it, and those who do...be warned sometimes bring friends! It's also ok ettiquette I learned....that if you haven't heard back from people by the rsvp date, you can give your guest list to the maid of honor and she can make phone calls to check on if people are coming or not!? best of luck, after the guest list it only gets easier!
I had about 75% show up and a few who RSVPed yes, but did not come. Love the image, so crisp.
oh man...that's a beautiful shot! I really love it!
A general rule of thumb is that about 80% who you invite and think will come actually will. As someone already pointed out, it is difficult to get all of your response cards back. Give them a deadline. And then hound the ones that don't respond. Because of how my wedding was set up, I made everyone return the cards--I did NOT let them give me verbal responses.
Now all of this rides on how mature your guests are.
And I would plan on 90 - 95% of the people you RSVPed yes to show up--they get sick, they forget about it, they don't feel like going, they don't have anything to wear, they don't have a card/present, the weather is bad, etc.
Of course your will invite some people who can't come and you know that when you invite them--they live in Sri Lanka and the ticket back is too expensive, etc.
Cheers!
michael todd
Luminaire Photography
Columbus, OH
Kyle and I have been doing that lately and we gout our numbers down to about 120 then remembered its ettiquete to invite the congregation of the church if you are a member, which we are...ugh...surely most of them won't attend but thankfully the church is being most helpful and supportive for the wedding that they've made it possiblefor us to afford some extra gusets and we've decided to do both the money tree and the dollar dance (anything to bring in that extra cash of reimbursement!)
Brea