Guests

Track RSVP status

Updated October 14, 2026

In short

Click the RSVP badge on a guest's row and choose Invited, Awaiting, Attending, Maybe or Declined. Guests don't RSVP through Lovely Seating; you record their replies. New guests start as Invited. Auto-Seat seats Attending and Maybe guests (and can include those who haven't replied), and Declined guests never take a seat.

Each guest has an RSVP status that you keep up to date as replies come in. It decides who takes a seat, who Auto-Seat seats, and who counts for your caterer.

We track RSVPs, we don’t collect them

Lovely Seating doesn’t send invitations or have an RSVP form for guests. Collect replies however you like (cards, your wedding website, messages) and record them here. If your replies are on The Knot, Zola or Joy, you can import that list.

The five statuses

Invited: on your list, no reply yet. Every new guest starts here.
Awaiting: also no reply yet. Use it for “invitation sent, waiting to hear back” if you like to tell the two apart. Both are treated the same way.
Attending: they’re coming.
Maybe: not sure yet.
Declined: they can’t make it.

Update an RSVP

1
Find the guest
Go to Guests. Search for them if your list is long.
2
Click the RSVP badge
On a computer, click the coloured badge in the RSVP column.
3
Choose the new status
Pick from the Set RSVP menu. It saves straight away.

On a phone, the RSVP isn’t shown on each row. Tap the guest’s name, change RSVP in their details, and tap Save.

To update lots of guests at once, such as everyone who replied yes this week, tick them and use RSVP in the bulk bar. See bulk edit.

What each status does

Auto-Seat seats Attending and Maybe first

Auto-Seat on the Floor plan screen seats guests marked Attending or Maybe. Invited and Awaiting guests are skipped, unless none of the others are waiting for a seat: then it offers to include everyone who hasn’t replied, in one click. Declined guests are never seated. Right after an import, Auto-seat guests seats the imported guests whatever their RSVP (except Declined). See how Auto-Seat works.

Taking a seat: everyone except Declined uses up a seat when seated, including Invited and Awaiting guests you seat yourself.
Meal and headcount totals: count everyone except Declined. See caterer counts.
Find Your Seat: declined guests can’t be found on your guest page.

When someone declines

If you mark a seated guest as Declined, you’ll see a message like “Anna declined — they no longer take a seat.” Click Unseat in that message to free their chair. If you miss it, the Overview health check reminds you about declined guests who are still seated.

Keep track of who hasn’t replied

Overview has an Attendance card with Attending, Maybe, Awaiting and Declined totals. Awaiting includes Invited guests.
While replies are outstanding, Overview also shows “RSVPs are still pending — follow up”. Click it to see exactly who.
In Guests, open Filters and tick No RSVP yet, or choose a status under RSVP. Sorting by RSVP puts Attending first.

Plus-ones

A plus-one starts with the host’s RSVP, and follows it when the host’s RSVP changes, unless you gave the plus-one a different answer. See plus-ones.

Read more about RSVPs, meals and guest needs on our feature page.

Frequently asked questions

Can guests RSVP through Lovely Seating?

No. There's no RSVP form or invitation email. You record each guest's reply yourself, or import it from The Knot, Zola or Joy as a CSV.

Why did Auto-Seat skip some of my guests?

Auto-Seat seats guests marked Attending or Maybe. New and imported guests start as Invited, so set the people who are coming to Attending or Maybe. If no Attending or Maybe guests are waiting, Auto-Seat offers to include Invited and Awaiting guests instead.

What's the difference between Invited and Awaiting?

Nothing, as far as the app is concerned. Both mean no reply yet, Auto-Seat treats them the same, and both count as awaiting on Overview. Use them however suits you.

Do declined guests count toward my meal totals?

No. Declined guests are left out of meal and headcount totals, and they don't take a seat.

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