What percentage of invited guests actually attend???

[lizajane12]

Hi gals,

 

For those of you whose Caletas weddings are in the past, how many of your invited guests attended? We are working on our guest list, and want to invite more than we are planning on attending, but want to make sure that's the way to go. 

Has anyone had every guest show up? About half? Of course it's different for every party, but just trying to get an idea of how you ladies approached this.

 

Also, when did you require that they RSVP by?

Did you ask for a rsvp via the STD?

Did anyone end up sending out a second round of invitations after learning that many of the original invited guests weren't coming?

 

Thanks!

[mllek1986]

Hi Lizajane,

I am getting married in PV at Dreams Resort and Spa on January 24, 2012, not at Caletas, but I'm sure we all have similar experiences.

We sent out a STD magnet to all of our guests (around 200 people) in August 2010, we did not ask for an rsvp on this. We had our website info on the STD and had a lot of details on price estimation, resort etc (price stayed the same-we changed locations and resorts though lol).

We sent out Invitations in February 2011 (11 months out) and asked that all deposits through the group be made by March 25th to our TA (for those who booked - this would be they're rsvp), we set an official RSVP date for October 31st so that people could find last minute travel deals if they wanted. To save money on postage (and because maybe half of people actually send their rsvp's back) we decided to have our rsvp set up on our website.

As of right now we have around 60 guests that will be joining us in January (around 40 through travel agent, others have time shares they will be using and some on their own). So I guess we had just over a quarter of our invited guests who will make it.

My TA said that its generally less than half of all invited guests who end up going.

We personally did not send out "B list" invitations (second round) as we found this to be a bit rude (from my experience with friends who did this- they always find out) so we decided to just invite everyone in the first go, this is just my opinion though.

Hope this helps. If you have any questions feel free to pm me.

Kate

[AfricanVenus]

I'm like Mllek1986. I'm getting married elsewhere, not Caletas, but we've all been thru the invitation-number issue. I think it's important to remember that you should invite as many as possible, because less than half of that will come usually. Even some of the folks who RSVP yes will drop off towards the end. I didn't do STDs because I felt like there wasn't enough time (9 mos timeline) and they're a waste of money, lol. Here was my timeline:

 

September 2010: Engaged

October 2010: Looked for venues

December 2010: Booked venue and sent out invitations to RSVP by Dec. 31, 2010

January-May 2011: Invited more people as we had little response. Lost some, gained some.

June 2011: Wedding on 25th, and not all guests have booked! lol

 

I sent out 30 invitations (mostly to couples so about 60 people total). Only 17 are coming to the wedding. I learned that people will not RSVP on time, act like they forgot they had 6 mos notice, etc. So just be cognizant that the numbers may very well be low. People are losing their jobs, behind on bills, preoccupied, etc.

[JQLong]

I read and was recently told that usually about 50% of guests invited show to DW.  But like AfricanVenus said....people have money issues and may want to attend but may not be able to afford to.  My fiance and I invited about 60 people -  included in this amount are people my mother insisted on inviting.  I really do not care how many people attend...as we are not going to an AI.  Our wedding package does not limit the number of guests.  At the end of the day...my fiance and our families will be there...That is most important to me!

 

JQ

[JMikla]

Our wedding is Dec 3rd 2011. We arrange special pricing with our TA that is guaranteed until our departure and the RSVP deadline was Feb 25th. We had 70 people pay their $200 deposit and it didn't seem to be a problem.

 

There were about 15 people that couldn't commit so early and are ready to pay more come September if they try to book closer to the date, and they are fine with that.

 

If there wasnt a deadline and we just allowed people to book their own trip, I think there would have been a lag in RSVPs. We invited approx 150 people so that means about 50% are coming so far.

[Ashley1987]

What was the price for Dreams?

[JMikla]

$1342.00 for a regular deluxe room for 8 nights.

[WeddingMexico]

I would said that average should be 20% less that what you invite, however if you get a special contract with one  hotel or two  you can track the number of guest you will have for sure about 3 weeks prior the wedidng, by their reservations, whit ths time you can release some seats with your catering and any other supllier without any penalties. It is important to find a hotel with a good rate your guest will appreciate. When are you getting married? This is also important, cause seasons in the hotel industry change as well flights. www.theweddingmexico.com