RSVP

RSVP stands for "Répondez s'il vous plaît," French for "please respond." On a graduation party invitation it is the request for guests to confirm or decline by a specific date. The deadline matters more than the politeness. Set it 10 days before the party, not the week of. You need a full 7 days of buffer time to chase the people who did not respond, finalize the food count, and place the last grocery order. If you set the RSVP date too close to the party, the food count is unstable and you over-order out of fear. How to chase: do not email a second time. Send a text. People reply to texts within 24 hours; they ignore second emails. Phrasing that works: "Hey, just locking in food count for Sam's party, are you and family in for May 25?" Open-ended, easy yes. Default RSVP rate from a 30-guest invite list is 75 to 85 percent. Plan food for 1.25x the RSVP count, not 1.0x, to cover late additions.