RSVP wording

Every unanswered invitation becomes a phone call in the last fortnight. Good RSVP wording is therefore a kindness to your future selves: a clear deadline, an easy way to answer, and the questions you actually need answered — attendance, numbers, food.

Example 1 — Traditional reply line (on the invitation)

Kindly reply by the first of May to Mrs J. Hartley, Rose Cottage, Lower Slaughter The favour of a reply is requested by 1 May

Example 2 — Reply form fields (for a form or link)

Please reply by 1 May 2027 Your name(s): … ☐ Joyfully accepts — number attending: … ☐ Regretfully declines Dietary requirements or allergies: … Song request for the evening: … Replies go straight to Emma & Liam.

Example 3 — Gentle deadline reminder (message)

Hello! A small nudge from Emma & Liam — if you haven’t replied to our wedding invitation yet, we’d love to hear by 1 May so we can give the caterer real numbers. The reply button is on our invitation page: [your Vowlio link]. Can’t wait to celebrate with you.

How it is put together

One deadline, everywhere — The same date on the invitation, the form and the reminder. Four to six weeks before the wedding suits most caterers.

Accept / decline, in words — “Joyfully accepts / regretfully declines” is the classic pair; “can make it / can’t make it” is its modern equal. Both beat a bare yes/no.

Ask food once — Dietary requirements belong on the reply, not in a follow-up message six weeks later.

Good to know

“RSVP” is French (répondez s’il vous plaît) — on British invitations “Kindly reply by…” says the same thing in English and is increasingly preferred.
Chase once, kindly, after the deadline; assume a lost card or a buried link before assuming rudeness.
With a link invitation, the reply button should go to one place only — a single form keeps one list, which is the entire point.