5 Creative Ways to Get Your Guests to RSVP

One of the most frustrating parts of planning a wedding is getting a final head count. If you don’t order enough food and have enough place settings, you’ll have unhappy guests on your hands. If you order too much, you’re overpaying. But outside of personally calling every single person you invite, getting RSVPs can be a challenge.

There are ways to motivate guests to respond, though, and one way is to make RSVPing fun and memorable. Here are five of our favorite ideas:

1. Make them mad. (As in Mad Libs, of course!). Have your guests show their creativity and share a little about themselves by presenting them with a Mad Libs RSVP like these on Etsy. You can read a few at your rehearsal dinner to get guests laughing and in the wedding spirit.

2. Give them something to vote on. I’m sure you’ve discovered that guests love to share their opinions about your wedding plans. Include a ballot on the RSVP that allows guests to vote on something, such as the first dance song or what style of dance the bridal party should do. Make sure you pick options you like, of course, so you’ll be happy with the outcome!


3. Include pictures or graphics. Some of the cutest RSVPs we’ve seen include graphics in the place of words, such as for meal choices. Guests are meant to circle the picture that reflects their choice. One RSVP had a small thermometer that they called the Excite-O-Meter, and they asked guests to fill it in to their level of excitement. It catches the eye and entices guests to fill it out.

4. Design them in a format that invokes excitement. You’re inviting your guests to the biggest celebration of your lives, so make it feel like one by choosing movie or concert ticket style RSVPs. We found these on Zazzle and found them, well, dazzling!

5. Word it creatively. These days, couples are changing up traditional RSVP wording to include some personality and spark. Many creative (read: snarky) wording choices, such as these, will definitely invoke a response. Just try to avoid curse words or anything inflammatory. It’s still a wedding, after all!

Regardless of how you word and format your RSVP, make sure it includes all of the pertinent information: guest name(s), whether or not they will attend, if they have any dietary restrictions, and (if applicable), their meal choice. Keep it short, simple, and easy for them to return to you. That way, you’ll have one less thing to worry about while planning your big day!