How to Handle Late RSVP's & A Free Guide to Creating Your Guest List

Heather Beerman Photography

Often, one of the more stressful aspects of planning a wedding can be receiving and tracking RSVP’s. As we gear up to send out Maddie's Save the Dates, we thought it would be helpful to provide our tips on tracking RSVP's along with a resource to help you with the entire guest list process.

There is nothing worse than clamoring at the eleventh hour to hunt down responses! Our first piece of advice, don’t panic! Next, keep in mind the below helpful tips that will have you reaching for a celebratory glass of bubbly, rather than needing a glass of wine to get through the day.

Stay organized from the moment you begin creating your guest list. We’ve created a free resource to help you do just that!

Grab your free guest list resource here!

Our guide to creating your guest list will help you understand your guest list numbers, create a template to track RSVP’s, and provide you with guest list etiquette tips when inputting formal and informal addresses. Download your copy above to get started! *Pro tip – the tracking document can also be a great place to note where guests are staying in the event you plan to offer a welcome gift for guests upon their arrival into town.

Our second tip is to set an RSVP date that will allow you some breathing room should guests fall a few days behind on their response. Your exact response date may vary, depending on the requirements of your vendors, especially your caterer! We often find that approximately 3 weeks allows for enough time to follow -up on those missing RSVP’s and finalize headcounts for the vendors who need them.

Heather Beerman Photography

How do we recommend tracking down those missing RSVP’s? The quickest and easiest way is to call guests directly. If you need to leave a voicemail or if guests ask to get back with you, we recommend sharing a date with them that you must hear back. Feel free to be firm, yet friendly!

Lastly, don’t feel the need to contact these guests all on your own - have your fiancé help you tackle the list! Think of it as another opportunity to start your life together as a team!

Elizabeth

Want to read more of the Maddie Gets Married Series? Follow along:

Week 1: The Proposal

Week 2: Engaged, Now What?

Week 3: Preparing for Our Creative Session

Week 4: My Biggest Takeaway from Our Creative Session

Week 5: Why We Chose Our Photographer

Week 6: When Decisions Get Hard

Week 7: Nate’s First Visit to the Merrimon-Wynne House

Week 8: Save the Date!

Week 9: How to Handle Late RSVP’s & A Free Guide to Creating Your Guest List

Week 10: The Event Design Process