Numbers RSVP wording by wedding type
Named-guest RSVP wording, with no plus-one
The envelope is the guest list. The reply card should not include a blank that invites a second name.
The short answer
Print We have reserved [one / two] seat(s) in your honour and a name line that matches the envelope. No and guest. If someone asks, use a short, even sentence, the same one for both families.
This is the other half of plus-one etiquette. Most guests do not get an open plus-one. The stationery has to agree with that, or the kindest rule still looks accidental. See who gets a plus-one.
The invitation line
Print this on the invitation itself, or on a small enclosure if the main card is already full.
We have reserved one seat in your honour. Kindly reply by 29 May.
The reply card
4 lines, and nothing else that the kitchen or the seating chart will not use.
Name ________________________________
Accepts with pleasure
Declines with regret
Kindly reply by 29 May.
Use this for every guest who is invited without a plus-one, which is most of the list at a seated dinner with a tight count.
A reminder you can send
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 Alex, we are sending numbers in and have you down as one, as on the invitation. Could you let us know by Friday whether you can come.
When this wording fits, and when it does not
Do not add a number attending blank. That is how a second name appears. Do not apologise at length on the card. The rule belongs in a private message if someone asks.
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 dateOther RSVP wording. plus-one, kids welcome.
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.
Questions
How do you say no plus-one on an RSVP?
We have reserved one seat in your honour, with a single name line. The envelope already listed who is invited.
Is it rude not to offer a plus-one?
No. What feels rude is an uneven rule. Apply one policy, and answer asks the same way.
What if a couple lives together and only one is invited?
Invite both by name, or neither. A live-in partner is not an open plus-one, and should not be left off a reply card by accident.
Should the website mention it?
One sentence in the questions is enough: we can only accommodate the guests named on your invitation.
Sources
- Wording below is written for a named guests only 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 wedding plus one etiquette.