It's 11:30 AM on the day we listed as our RSVP deadline. The "Save the Date" notice was sent out a year ago, when we postponed for Covid, and invitations arrived in people's mailboxes three weeks ago. We are at 95 guests coming, and about 40 of them didn't come in until after I sent out a reminder email last night. And 61 more still haven't replied at all! There are some complicate Covid-related logistics with our reception that translate into not much wiggle room with our deadline. What do I do with people who still haven't said yes or no by midnight tonight? Do I just assume they aren't coming, and it's just awkward for them if they show up anyway because we don't have a place for them? Or keep hounding them about a party they clearly don't care that much about?
Realistically, I think the problem has to do with our format. Earlier this spring we thought we'd be able to do a drop-in open house reception, and that's the word that went out. But our venue nixed that idea because it would have resulted in too much mingling, and said it was a sit-down meal with restaurant policies, or nothing. The change to a sit-down meal combined with all the Covid policies was WAY much information to put on an invitation, so our invitation just directed people to the website to read the details and to RVSP. I have a feeling a lot of them never went to the website at all until yesterday's reminder, and now they're scrambling to adjust to the fact that it's not a low-key afternoon-long drop-in event but a formal sit-down meal with a definite starting time. I feel badly for anyone who is feeling put on the spot, but they've had the information for three weeks, and obviously 95 people DID manage to figure it out in time, so ...
