This page has two halves. The first is for guests trying to reply on a couple's Knot or Zola website, usually because something is not working. The second is for couples setting RSVPs up, editing them or closing them. Every step is quoted from the platform's own help centre.
For guests: how to RSVP
On Zola
Zola's guide for guests is four steps:
- Visit the couple's wedding website and click RSVP in the menu at the top.
- Enter your first and last name. Zola is explicit: "make sure you enter it the same way that it appears on your invitation - the name you enter must match how the couple entered your name in their guest list." If you are replying for a group, your own name brings up everyone in it.
- Click Will Attend or Will Not Attend next to each name.
- Answer any extra questions, such as meal options, then click Submit RSVP.
If there is no RSVP link in the menu, Zola says the couple has decided not to collect RSVPs online: watch for a card in the post.
On The Knot
The same idea: open the couple's website, click RSVP and enter your name. The Knot now requires a first and last name, which it says is to stop people with the same first name replying for each other — "if you have a friend named Joe from work and an Uncle Joe, you won't just see a 'Joe' RSVPing".
"It can't find my name"
This is the most common problem on both, and the cause is almost always the same: what you type does not match how the couple typed you into their list. A nickname, a typo on their side, a missing second surname.
- Search one name at a time. Zola notes that searching several names at once gives an error.
- Do not keep retrying. On Zola, after several failed attempts you are "temporarily locked out of the RSVP page" for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Contact the couple. Zola says it plainly: "we are unable to RSVP for you or alter a Guest List." Only the couple can fix the spelling.
Changing your answer
On The Knot you can update your RSVP while the couple still has it open: go to their website, click RSVP, enter your name, choose Update Response, change what you need and click Continue. The Knot emails the couple about the change, and adds a sensible note: if it is close to the day, tell them directly as well, because they may already have given final numbers to the caterer.
For couples: set up, edit, close
Setting up RSVPs on The Knot
The Knot collects every RSVP through your wedding website, so it has to be published first. Then:
- Build your guest list and add each guest to the events they are invited to.
- Choose who can reply. In your RSVP settings you can allow only guests marked Invited in your guest list, or anyone who opens the website. The Knot recommends the first.
- Make sure Collect RSVP is toggled on.
To ask about meals or allergies, select "Add a Follow-Up Question" and choose short answer or multiple choice. The Knot suggests multiple choice for meals and short answer for allergies. The answers appear in your guest list.
Setting up RSVPs on Zola
On Zola, online RSVPs depend on two conditions. Guests' names "must be added to your guest list (including all plus ones, children, etc.)", and they must be Definitely Invited to at least one event. Then, on the Your Events page, turn on "Let guests RSVP on website" for each event, and add meal options and any other questions.
Those answers show on your Track RSVPs page, and Zola lets you export them as a CSV or Excel file for the caterer.
Plus-ones
This is where the two differ. On The Knot, with Secure RSVP (only invited guests can respond), "guests will not be able to add extra guests to their household/party". If your RSVP is open to anyone, they can add as many as they like. On Zola, a plus-one has to be on your guest list for anyone to RSVP for them.
Editing a guest's RSVP
On Zola: go to Track RSVPs, click the guest, open the RSVP Status tab and change it. On The Knot, guests update their own answer while RSVPs are open, as above.
Closing RSVPs
On The Knot: log in, go to your Wedding Website, find Your Events, select Manage RSVP Settings and turn off the "Activate Online RSVP" toggle for each event. On Zola, turn off "Let guests RSVP on website" on each event.
Close them on the date you put on the invitation, a little before your caterer's deadline, so late changes do not reach you after you have sent the final numbers.
Before you open RSVPs
Whichever platform you use, the hard part is the wording of the questions, not the toggle. What to ask about diet and allergies, and how to phrase it so guests actually answer, is in how to ask about dietary restrictions on your RSVP. And to keep the replies straight afterwards, the guest list template takes the same columns.
For the record, ours works the other way round: there is no list to load first, so there is no name that cannot be found. Guests type their name and it becomes the list, meal and allergies included. The trade-off is that you see who has replied, not who is missing. That is our RSVP with meal choice, €49 once.
Frequently asked questions
How do I RSVP on a Zola wedding website?
Open the couple's website, click RSVP in the menu, and enter your first and last name exactly as it appears on your invitation. Mark Will Attend or Will Not Attend for each person, answer any meal or other questions, and click Submit RSVP.
Why can't I find my name when I RSVP?
On both platforms the name you type has to match the couple's guest list. A nickname, a typo on their side or a missing surname will not be found. The Knot now requires first and last name. Zola also locks you out for 15 to 20 minutes after several failed tries. Contact the couple: neither platform can change their list for you.
Can I change my RSVP on The Knot?
Yes, while the couple still has RSVPs open. Go to their website, click RSVP, enter your name, choose Update Response, change what you need and click Continue. The Knot emails the couple about the change, and suggests telling them directly too if it is close to the date.
How do I close RSVPs on The Knot?
Log in, go to your Wedding Website, find Your Events and select Manage RSVP Settings. Turn off the Activate Online RSVP toggle for each event you want to close.
How do I set up RSVPs on Zola?
Add every guest to your guest list, plus-ones and children included, and mark them Definitely Invited to at least one event. Then, on the Your Events page, turn on Let guests RSVP on website for each event, and add meal options and other questions if you want them.
Can guests add a plus-one when they RSVP?
On The Knot, only if your RSVP is open to anyone: then guests can add as many extra people as they like. With Secure RSVP, which only lets guests marked Invited respond, they cannot add anyone. On Zola, plus-ones have to be on your guest list before guests can RSVP for them.
The steps and quotations in this article were read in The Knot's and Zola's own help centres on 20 October 2026. Interfaces change: if something no longer matches what you see, write to support@wedding30s.com and we will update it.