Numbers RSVP wording by wedding type
Plus-one wedding RSVP wording you can copy
If you offered a guest, ask for that person's name. A plus-one without a name becomes a place card problem later.
The short answer
Write and guest on the envelope only when you mean it. On the card: Name of your guest ________________. You need that name for the seating chart and the place card. A plus-one is a full seat, counted in the headcount.
Who receives a plus-one is a separate decision, in plus-one etiquette. This page is only the wording once you have said yes. Ask for the name on the reply so you are not seating a stranger as Guest of Jordan.
The invitation line
Print this on the invitation itself, or on a small enclosure if the main card is already full.
Ms Jordan Lee and Guest. Kindly reply by 29 May.
The reply card
5 lines, and nothing else that the kitchen or the seating chart will not use.
Name ________________________________
Name of your guest ____________________
Accepts with pleasure
Declines with regret
Kindly reply by 29 May.
Use this for guests who may bring someone you have not met, after you have applied one plus-one rule to both families.
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 Jordan, we have you as a yes with a plus-one, and we do not yet have a name for the place card. Could you send it by Friday so we can seat you together.
When this wording fits, and when it does not
Do not print and guest on envelopes for people who were not offered one. Do not leave the name line off and then scramble for spelling the week of the wedding.
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. cocktail, 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.
Questions
How do you word a plus-one on an RSVP?
Name of your guest, on its own line, plus accepts or declines. The envelope already said and guest.
What if they RSVP for two without an offer?
Reply that the invitation is for the names on the envelope. The wording in the plus-one guide is made for that message.
Does a plus-one need a meal choice?
Yes, if everyone else does. Treat them as a full guest on the card.
What if the plus-one cannot come?
Keep the guest as a yes of one. Set the plus-ones count back to zero on the list so you do not pay for an empty plate.
Sources
- Wording below is written for a plus-one 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.