Does RSVP Really Matter In India?

Traditionally, RSVP wasn’t a concept that belonged in Indian households. Weddings were sprawling, open-invite affairs. You didn’t ask if someone would come — you assumed they would, and sometimes with extended family, neighbors, and even the wedding band from the last function they a ended. The more the merrier, they said. No one counted plates. No one tracked names. Abundance was the aesthetic, and unpredictability was part of the charm.

That approach worked — back when weddings were held in courtyards, food was cooked by relatives, and the guest list was defined by word- of-mouth. But today’s Indian weddings are a different beast.

Now, weddings happen in destination resorts and boutique hotels. Meals are plated, not piled. Room bookings need guest names. Travel logistics span states, countries, and airports. Brides and grooms no longer simply hope guests will show up — they need to know when, where, how, and with whom.

An unconfirmed guest isn’t just a mild inconvenience. It could mean food waste, empty tables, missed room reservations, or last-minute chaos that makes a perfectly planned wedding feel uncomfortably disorganized.

When you don’t know how many people are coming to the Haldi or the Reception, you can’t finalize catering quantities. When someone forgets to mention their plus-one until they arrive, you scramble for chairs, meals, and sometimes even entry badges or welcome kits.

In an age where everything from photography to florals is booked and budgeted down to the last detail, leaving guest a endance to chance feels like a risk few couples can afford.

Add to that the technical hurdles: clunky RSVP links, confusing forms, or too many communication channels. The friction adds up — and guests fall through the cracks.