Courthouse Wedding RSVP Wording

Three cream envelopes with rose heart seals floating in an arc

The short answer

If the ceremony itself has a cap, print the names and a yes or no, nothing else. Please reply by 12 May. Seats at the courthouse are limited. If a lunch follows, say so on the same card so people do not guess.

Courthouse rooms are small, and many offices limit witnesses. Our courthouse guide covers the appointment. The reply has to match the room you actually have, not the party you might throw later.

The invitation line

Print this on the invitation itself, or on a small enclosure if the main card is already full.

We would love you with us at the courthouse. Please reply by 12 May. Seats are limited to the names on this card.

The reply card

5 lines, and nothing else that the kitchen or the seating chart will not use.

Name ________________________________

Will be there for the ceremony

Will join us for lunch afterwards only

Cannot come

Please reply by 12 May.

Use this when the legal ceremony is the event, with or without a small lunch after, and the guest list is counted in single digits or low tens.

A reminder you can send

Orange and brown envelopes in a grid — Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Wait until a few days after the printed date, then send this once. Copy the replies into the same list you use for the cards, so you are not keeping two headcounts.

Hi Dad, the clerk needs our final witness list on Thursday. We have you down for the ceremony. Please confirm you can still be there, or we will put you on the lunch only.

A pile of blank envelopes — Photo by Joanna Kosinska on Unsplash

When this wording fits, and when it does not

Do not send a card that looks like a ballroom reply for a room of twelve. Do not invite people to the ceremony if they cannot be in the room, then surprise them at the door.

The date on the card is not a guess. Work it back from the caterer's headcount deadline with the RSVP deadline calculator. The usual window is ten days to two weeks before that date, as in when to send invitations.

Free toolWedding RSVP deadline calculatorWork back from your caterer's deadline to the date to print on your invitations.Find my RSVP date

Other RSVP wording. backyard, brunch, named guests only.

Yes, I Do

Every guest, every reply

Paste a list from anywhere and it becomes names. Replies, plus-ones, dietary notes and tables stay in one place, for both of you.

Plan my wedding

The guest list with replies coming in, pending and declined

Questions

How do you invite people to a courthouse wedding?

By name, with a yes or no and a date. If lunch is separate, say which part they are invited to.

Do courthouse weddings use RSVP cards?

A card, a message or a form. What matters is a list the clerk and the restaurant can both trust.

What if the office only allows two witnesses?

Invite those two to the ceremony and everyone else to whatever follows. Put that split on the reply so nobody waits in the wrong corridor.

Should the lunch have its own RSVP?

It can share the card, with a line for ceremony, lunch, or both. One list is easier than two.

Sources

Wording below is written for a courthouse wedding. Change the names, the date and the seat count. Do not mix in a line from a different type of day.
The RSVP date is set from the caterer's deadline, the method in when to send invitations.
The longer invitation, from who is hosting, is in wedding invitation wording.
The longer guide this card belongs with is how to plan a courthouse wedding.