Inviting

What does RSVP mean, and how do you use it?

3 October 2026 · 3 min read

RSVP is short for the French 'répondez s'il vous plaît': please reply. On an invitation it means that you, the guest, let the host know whether you are coming, usually by a certain date. So it is not a request to confirm that you received the invitation, but to say whether you will be there, and often with how many. Below: how to put it on your invitation, which deadline to pick and sample lines.

View the collection

What you do as a guest

Always reply, even if you are not coming. The host counts on your answer to plan the venue, the food and the tables; a guest who stays silent has to be called. Reply before the deadline, say with how many you are coming if asked, and mention a dietary need or allergy if asked.

How to put it on your invitation

You do not have to use the abbreviation itself. This is what guests need:

A clear question: "Let us know whether you're coming."
A date: "before 1 May".
A way: a button on the digital invitation, a phone number, an email address.
What you want to know: with how many, which parts of the day, dietary needs, children.

Sample lines

Formal: "Kindly let us know your reply before 1 May."

Plain: "Let us know before 1 May whether you're coming, and with whom."

Relaxed: "Coming? Tap yes or no and we'll know right away."

For a party where you need no reply: "No reply needed, just come." Say so, or guests will wonder.

Which deadline?

Pick the date you have to pass on the numbers, and add a week for the latecomers. For a wedding that is usually four to six weeks ahead, for a birthday or a baby shower one to two weeks. A deadline without a reminder rarely reaches everyone; plan the reminder with it.

RSVP on a digital invitation

On a digital invitation the RSVP is a button. The guest taps yes or no, fills in with how many they are coming and whatever else you wanted to know, and that is it. At YourInvited those replies come together in your studio: you see who is coming, who is not and who has not answered yet, and the reminder before the deadline goes automatically to that last group. With the RSVP dashboard, included free with every plan, you also see dietary needs and plus-ones in one overview.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between RSVP and 'regrets only'?

With RSVP you ask everyone to reply, yes or no. With 'regrets only' only the people who are not coming reply; whoever stays silent is coming. The latter is handy for a reception without fixed numbers, and risky for anything with a caterer.

May you call a guest who did not reply?

Yes, after the deadline. Friendly, short, and with the reason: "We have to pass on the numbers tomorrow." Most people forget to reply, they do not refuse.

How do you pronounce RSVP?

Letter by letter: ar-es-vee-pee. Written with or without dots; without is common.

Make your own invitation?

Pick a style, add your own text and photos and share one link. Starting is free; a paid style costs €4,99 or €7,99 once, per event.