Wedding RSVP Drop-off Calculator
Stop guessing who is actually coming. Calculate your exact RSVP drop-off rate so you don't overbook your venue or waste thousands on empty plates.
Your Estimate
You are about to have ~21 empty seats. Do you know whose they are?
If you give your caterer a guess, you pay for those plates anyway. iDoTogether sends one personal link to your guests' phones. You get hard, confirmed RSVPs instantly so you only pay for people who actually show up.
Formula: 100 guests × (85% base -3% day -3% season) = 79 expected
Scenario Comparison
| Scenario | Expected Range | Buffer |
|---|---|---|
| Local · Sat | 75–89 | 87 |
| Local · Fricurrent | 73–85 | 84 |
| Destination · Sat | 57–67 | 67 |
The estimate is done. Now get the actual numbers.
Averages don't pay the catering bill. Confirmed RSVPs do.
You are organizing an event for ~100 people. You shouldn't manage it with chaotic group texts and a fragile spreadsheet. Send one personal link. Let guests enter their own addresses, meal choices, and RSVPs. You just watch the numbers update.
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Frequently Asked Questions
For a local Friday summer wedding with 100 invites, expect 73–85 attendees. The midpoint is 79, with 21 declines. Plan catering for 84.
They're very close. Friday summer is at 79% vs. Saturday winter at 78%. Friday summer has a slight edge in most regions (weather is more predictable; guests aren't navigating holiday conflicts). But Saturday winter has better venue pricing in cold weather markets.
On average, 15-20% of invited guests decline a local wedding. For destination weddings, the decline rate jumps to 30-40%. Factors like day of the week, season, and travel distance all affect the final number. Saturday weddings see the highest attendance, while weekday ceremonies can see decline rates as high as 30%.
The average wedding drop-off rate is about 15% for local weddings held on a Saturday. This means if you invite 100 guests, roughly 128 will attend. Destination weddings have a much higher drop-off rate of around 35%, meaning only 98 out of 100 would attend. These are industry averages — your actual numbers will depend on your specific guest demographics.
It depends on your wedding type. For a local Saturday wedding, you can safely invite 15-20% more guests than your venue capacity. For a destination wedding, you may be able to invite 50-55% more. Use the 'Fill My Venue' mode above to find the right invite count for your venue size.
Season plays a meaningful role. Spring and fall weddings tend to see the highest turnout due to comfortable weather and fewer travel conflicts. Summer weddings (especially July/August) can see 3-5% lower attendance due to vacation conflicts. Winter weddings often see 5-8% lower attendance due to weather and holiday scheduling.
Friday weddings perform much closer to Saturday than Sunday does. Many guests are already in a weekend mindset, and taking one day off from work is more manageable than losing a Sunday evening before the work week. Sunday weddings consistently show higher decline rates because guests need to be back at work Monday morning.
The biggest bottleneck is chasing people who ignore paper mail. iDoTogether lets you text each guest a personal link. They tap it, RSVP, and submit their meal choice in under 60 seconds. Couples using our software typically collect 80% of RSVPs within the first week.
Send RSVP requests 6-8 weeks before your wedding date. Follow up with non-responders at the 4-week mark. (Pro-tip: If you use iDoTogether, your dashboard automatically flags exactly who hasn't answered, so you don't have to manually cross-reference a spreadsheet).
Done estimating? Get real answers from your guests →
Friday Summer Wedding: Good Value, Moderate Penalty
A Friday summer wedding combines the Friday penalty (−3%) and the summer penalty (−3%) for a 79% attendance rate. For 100 invites, expect 73–85 attendees. While that's 6 points below the Saturday spring peak, Friday summer weddings remain a smart choice for budget conscious couples. Vendor availability is good, costs are lower than Saturday summer, and evening starts can create a beautiful ambiance with extended daylight. The attendance math is straightforward: guests face the same vacation conflict pressure as any summer date, plus the minor barrier of taking PTO for a Friday start. Plan catering for 84 to cover upside variance.
Friday summer guests are navigating vacation plans and work schedules simultaneously. Make the RSVP process frictionless. iDoTogether's personal links work in one tap on mobile, with no account creation required.