Put in how many people you are inviting from each part of your life, and see how many are likely to say yes. Every starting rate is our estimate, and you can change it.
| Close family | 19 of 20 |
| Wider family | 24 of 30 |
| Close friends | 18 of 20 |
| Other friends | 15 of 20 |
| Work | 7 of 10 |
| Travelling from abroad | 3 of 6 |
| Likely to say no | 20 |
What this does not include: people who say yes and then do not turn up on the day, plus-ones you did not plan for, or children unless you count them in a group. Count people, not households or invitations.
Every "% say yes" starting figure is our own estimate. We could not find a published UK figure for how many invited guests attend that we could check, so change any rate you know better.
We are building a wedding guest list that tracks the real replies as they come in.
Hear when it opensYou will see a single figure quoted online for how many wedding guests say no. We looked for one we could check against a named UK survey, with a sample size and a method, and did not find it. The commonly repeated numbers come from US wedding sites and RSVP tools describing their own users. We would rather tell you that than dress a US figure up as UK data.
What does hold up is that the answer depends on who you invite. Close family nearly always come. Guests who need a flight, a hotel and a day off work are the ones most likely to send regrets. So the calculator splits your list by group and gives each one its own rate. The starting rates are our estimate from how guest lists usually behave, and they are labelled that way above.
The range matters more than the middle number. The low end assumes each group comes in 10 points under your rate, the high end 5 points over. Book the venue and set the budget for the high end. A caterer will charge you for the final number you give them, and a guest who says yes late is still a guest.
Once you have a number, the wedding cost calculator turns it into a budget, broken down by category.
There is no published UK figure we could check. Figures that get quoted online are mostly from US wedding sites and their own users, and do not say how they were measured. That is why every rate in this calculator is our starting estimate and can be changed. Your own family and friends are the best guide you have.
Only if you could afford and seat everyone who says yes. If your venue holds 100, invite for 100, not for the number you expect. Plan your budget on the top of the range this calculator gives, not the middle.
In our experience, guests who need to travel a long way, colleagues, and friends you see less often. Close family almost always come. That is our observation, not survey data, so the starting rates reflect it and you can change them.
Most caterers want final numbers one to two weeks before the day. Set your RSVP date at least a week before that, so you have time to chase the people who have not replied.
Only if you count them in one of the groups. Count people rather than invitations: a family of four is four, even though it is one envelope.