Invitation Response Rate
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For weddings and similar private, invitation-only events, response rates are usually quite high, often in the 80-95% range, since guests are personally invited and RSVP mechanisms are direct. Public or lower-stakes events (a company party, a large open house) typically see meaningfully lower response rates.

If you need a guaranteed minimum attendance, invite more guests than that minimum divided by your expected response rate, since not everyone invited will attend. Relying on the raw invited count without adjusting for response rate risks under-filling a venue with a required minimum.

Yes — responses typically trickle in slowly at first and cluster near the RSVP deadline, so a low response count a few weeks before the deadline doesn't necessarily indicate low final attendance. Final numbers are only reliable once the deadline has passed and follow-up has been done for non-responders.

Digital invitations (email or an RSVP website) often see faster but sometimes lower overall response rates than mailed paper invitations, partly because digital invites are easier to overlook, so the communication channel itself is a factor to consider alongside historical response-rate averages.

A personal follow-up (phone call or direct message) to non-responders shortly after the deadline typically recovers a meaningful share of otherwise-uncounted guests, and this follow-up count should be added to your planning numbers before finalizing catering and seating.