RSVP culture
What it really means
If an invitation asks you to RSVP (reply), always answer — yes or no — by the date given, because hosts plan food and seats around numbers. Saying yes and not turning up ("flaking") is genuinely rude, especially for weddings and dinners. Better a polite no than a silent maybe.
Context, tips & common mistakes
Reply to invitations promptly even when the invite looks casual — a WhatsApp "you around Saturday?" deserves an answer within a day, because silence reads as rude here, not neutral, and hosts are counting heads for food, bookings and space. "Maybe" is the reply hosts quietly resent: it burdens them with your uncertainty, so commit or decline and change later if life intervenes.
Declining is completely fine — "can't make it but have a brilliant time!" costs nothing and preserves everything. What damages friendships is the pattern: accepting then cancelling day-of without a solid reason, twice, is how invitations quietly stop. Formal invitations (weddings especially) mean strict deadlines, named guests only — no plus-ones or children unless written — and RSVP by the stated method.
Example conversation
What you could say back
No spoken reply needed for this one.