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When I was considering venues and forming our initial guest list (wow that was a long long long time ago), I was always interested in any information regarding how many of the invited guests actually come to the wedding. The numbers of course differ based on many factors, such as the size/location/time/etc. of the wedding, but I wanted to quickly share our numbers.
Our venue capacity is 60 people. We invited about 65 people, 61 of whom could realistically make it (we were 99.99% sure that a few older relatives would not be able to make the cross-country/international trip). About 17 invited guests are from the Bay Area (i.e. close to the venue), and the rest were from out of town, so we considered it a semi-destination wedding.
Of the 65, 48 have RSVPed as “yes”. That is around 70%, or 75% of the 61 guests we felt could realistically make it. This seems like a reasonable percentage to me.
To break it down further (again, I was always interested in this information), out of 17 guests that live within 2 hours of Half Moon Bay, we had a 100% “yes” rate (all 17 people). Out of the 48 guests that would have had to travel to Half Moon bay, we have a 64% ” yes rate (31 people) (FYI, the 48 out of towners also includes the few older relatives we were fairly positive would not be able to make it).
Any other percentages people care to share? How many did you invite? How many came? Where was your wedding?
I sent out my invitations weeks ago and have only gotten 40 yeses… granted I havn’ t gotten all RSVPs back yet but we sent out 192 invites. I’m freakin out.
I’m aiming for a 20% ‘No’ rate. Once I start getting the responses I will be calculating who said no and such from where. nice job!
We invited 67, hoping for 60. So far we haven’t received any no’s! One more week until the rsvp deadline for us. Thanks for the number breakdown..interesting!
Nice logistics, I wonder if this is a wedding standard so I know how many to expect???
I’ve always been interested in percentages like this, too — thanks for sharing yours!
I never thought to compute numbers like this. I’m curious and will definitely be doing the same with our rsvps!
this is an area i’m really worried about. i’m a little fuzzy on the exact capacity of my venue… but i felt like 150 would be good in there without feeling too crowded or having to shrink the dance floor, which is not an option! but we have 180 on the list! what if they all can make it?? there’s no one i would not want to come, that’s our bear minimum list. so the coordinator has assured me that 175 is ok in that room, so let’s hope she’s right! i have not sent out my invites yet so i have no idea what the response will be. but i have not heard from one person yet that they think they won’t be able to make it. hopefully all will be ok 
We’re having a lot of out-or-towners so it will be interesting to see how many make it.
That’s encouraging to hear. I’ve heard on average 30% RSVP no and I’m counting on that so it’s nice to hear that’s what you got. Until you said all those close by said yes! All of my guests are close by and I was counting on the 30% decline. But I’m also inviting a ton more people. My venue says it will hold 200+ but I was hoping for only 150 or less so there is more room.
I’m playing the guest-list game too, myself. We really can’t wait to send our invites for this reason!
Hmm… thanks for sharing this! I am sooo curious about what percentage of our invited guests will send back yes responses.
I’m amazed that you have all your RSVP’s back. Kudos to your guests!
Oh wow, I’m so glad I check this each day! We are dealing with the same invitation list worries. We have a venue capacity of 100 (comfortably, slightly more but tight). As of today, our “final” invitation list is at 110. We are going on faith - but we do have a List B ready and we are going to set our RSVP date a little earlier to be able to invite as many as we can for the 100 total “shows.” I want everyone to be there, but a few “NOs” would be a pretty good thing! Thanks for the percentages. It really helps.
We’re just getting ours printed, but I’ve been thinking 2/3 of our guests will make it since we started planning. We have moved a lot lately, and we’re fairly new in St. Louis, where we are having our wedding. Here’s the thing I keep reminding myself: before I was planning a wedding myself, I didn’t think twice about how important a timely RSVP was…I remember leaving them on the fridge and thinking “Oh yeah that wedding’s in 3 months, plenty of time to get the RSVP back” totally clueless and missing the point. So don’t sweat it! It will all work out!
We invited a total of 109 (us, and vendors included) and got 70 yes’s
Awe! Much Pug love! You guys will have a wonderful day surrounded by family and friends.
I’m also having a semi-destination wedding. I broke out our percentage numbers into the guests’ costs for coming to the wedding: whether they would have to fly, and whether they would need a hotel room. We invited 325 people, including guests and extended family, and we’re expecting about 120 people to attend.
Local guests (no flight, no hotel): 78% acceptance
Less than 4 hour drive (no flight, need hotel): 55%
Far away (need both flight and hotel): 27%
International: 0%
Overall: 38%
love the stats! i feel like there should have been a table to go with this.
we’re working out our guest list now… also a semi-destination with almost everyone coming to us. inviting 200, hoping for 125-ish?
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Mrs. Pug, New York City/Half Moon Bay, CA Age and Occupation: 33, Lawyer Fiance's Age and Occupation: 32, ditto Engagement Date: July 2008 Wedding Date: March 2010 Venue: Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay About Me: The Mr. and I are two 30-somethings who enjoy tasty sweets of all kinds, our neighborhood wine store, and cuddling with our pug. NYC is where we live and the city we love, but we’re doing the deed out in Northern California. We are trying to keep the affair small, intimate, and manageable. Our motto is: the less people, the better! (I’m kidding.)
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