House rules.Argue with them at your own risk.
A short list, because good guests mostly know them already. They apply to every event on the schedule, and the host has the final word on all of them.
04 · Code of conductAnswer the invite
In, out or maybe, one click from the email. A maybe beats silence: silence is how a host ends up with forty sandwiches and six guests.
Be a good guest
Covers the arguing, the phone on speaker, and whatever you were about to do that is not on this list.
Plans change, so change the sheet
Something came up? Switch to out. The count is only useful if it is honest, and the host plans around it.
Plus-ones go on the sheet
Add them by name before the day. Nobody minds a plus-one; everybody minds a surprise.
The host's place, the host's rules
If the host says shoes off, shoes come off. If the host says it is time to go, it is time to go.
Leave it the way you found it
Or better. Glasses to the kitchen, coats off the bed, and nobody leaves the venue a mess.
Don't forward your email
The links in it sign you in as you. Want a friend to come? Ask the host to add them.