What RSVP means – and why it still matters
RSVP comes from the French "Répondez s'il vous plaît": please reply. In Turkish the same idea is called LCV, "Lütfen Cevap Veriniz". With a printed card, RSVP usually meant a phone number at the bottom and weeks of calls, messages and half-remembered answers. With a digital invitation the reply is part of the invitation itself: the guest opens the link, fills in a short form and you see the answer in your panel the moment it is sent.
The question behind every RSVP is simple: how many people are really coming? The venue needs that number for the contract, the caterer for the menu, and you for the seating plan. Good guest tracking turns that question from a guess into a list.
What guests fill in
The RSVP form on Davetiyelink is deliberately short, because every extra question lowers the number of people who finish it. A guest gives:
- Name, so you know who replied.
- Attendance: attending or not attending.
- Number of people, so a couple or a family with children counts correctly.
- Optional contact details and a short note – useful for questions such as "we arrive the day before".
- Optional song request for the DJ or band.
Guests do not need an app or an account. They open the link in their phone's browser, answer in a few taps and are done.
What you see in your panel
Every reply appears in your panel as soon as it arrives. You see who is coming, who has declined and the total headcount on one summary screen, with notes and song requests in the same list. There is no need to collect answers from different chats or ask family members what they heard.
On the Standard plan and above you can download the full list as a CSV file. It opens in Excel, Google Sheets or Numbers, so you can sort guests into tables, share the list with the venue or merge it with the guest list you already keep.
The same invitation also collects wishes and photos. Messages in the guest book and photos on the memory wall go through your approval before they are shown, so you decide what appears on your invitation.
Keep the form short
It is tempting to ask everything at once: meal choices, allergies, arrival times, accommodation, plus-ones. In practice the best response rates come from forms that take less than a minute. For most weddings, name, attendance and number of people are enough. If you need more, use the note field and say in your invitation text what you would like to know – for example, "please let us know in the note if you need a hotel recommendation".
Avoid asking for personal data you do not need, such as dates of birth or full addresses. Guests appreciate a form that respects their time and privacy.
How to get more replies
Even with a good form, some guests forget. These habits help:
- Give a clear deadline. "Please reply by 15 May" works much better than "please let us know".
- Explain why. A short line such as "so we can confirm numbers with the venue" makes the request feel reasonable.
- Send a personal message with the link. A greeting with the guest's name gets more attention than a forwarded link with no text.
- Remind once, kindly. About one or two weeks after sending, compare your list with the replies and send the same link again to those who have not answered. The link never changes.
Using the replies to plan
Once replies come in, the list becomes a planning tool:
- Divide your guest list into three groups: attending, not attending and no reply yet.
- About two weeks before the wedding, call the people who have not replied. Older relatives in particular may prefer a phone call to a form.
- Group attending guests into tables – family, friends, colleagues.
- Give the final number to your venue, keeping an eye on the date in your contract.
- One or two days before the event, send a short reminder with the time and the map link, so everyone finds the venue easily.
Be realistic
No RSVP system reaches a 100 percent reply rate on its own. Some guests will not answer, and a few will change their plans at the last minute. The aim is not perfection but a reliable base: a list that shows most answers, makes the gaps visible and tells you exactly whom to call. Combined with a few phone calls, that is usually enough to give your venue a confident number.
Guests from other countries
If some of your guests live abroad, ask them to write their arrival date or whether they need accommodation in the note field. That one line can save a lot of back-and-forth later. You can write the invitation text in two languages and choose a Turkish, English or German guest interface, so the form buttons and labels appear in a language your guests understand.
Pricing
RSVP is included in every plan, including the free one. The Starter plan costs 0 ₺ and covers up to 10 guests, so you can test the form and the panel before you decide. The Standard plan (1,000 ₺) covers up to 1,000 guests and adds CSV download; Premium (2,500 ₺) has no guest limit, and there is also a Corporate plan (5,000 ₺). Prices are in Turkish lira and are the same wherever you live.
How it works
- Choose a template and create your invitation.
- Add the date, venue, map link and a reply-by date to your text.
- Share the link on WhatsApp, by email or text message.
- Follow replies in your panel and download the list when you need it.