A woman who has created 'missed RSVP' cards for those who don't respond in time to wedding invitations has caused quite the stir, with people being split over whether or not the cards should even be a thing.
39-year-old marketing manager Nishma Mistry ruffled a few feathers after she created 'sorry you can't make it' cards for guests who fail to RSVP in time for a wedding deadline, after seeing so many brides get frustrated.
She runs the community Asian Bride Sorority and was sick of hearing from brides who'd been driven round the bend by guests who never confirmed whether they were coming to the wedding or not.
Nishma has been married for 14 years but remembers having to ring round all 550 of her guests to find out if they were coming so she could actually have some numbers to sort out the event.
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She wished that at the time, she'd had a message to send to invited guests who'd never bothered to respond in time, so she's decided to make some for other weddings and frustrated brides.
"We’re sorry you can’t make it to our wedding," the guest rejection cards read.
"Our RSVP deadline has passed and you unfortunately did not respond.
"We would have loved to have you attend but final numbers have now been turned in and your presence will be missed. Bride and groom."
However, she says she's had some people calling them 'tacky' and 'harsh' as they seem to reckon this really isn't the sort of thing that weddings ought to be doing.
If guests don't RSVP in time, that might be a problem, but the detractors didn't seem to want a letter telling them they couldn't come after all.
However, it might sound 'harsh' but RSVP deadlines are in place for a reason.
Weddings are stressful enough without being clueless about how many people are going to be there and how many guests you'll need to cater and pay for.
If the plethora of relatives you'd be inviting to your wedding can't be bothered to RSVP within the deadline, then maybe you shouldn't have to bother guessing whether to set a plate out for them.
Nishma struck back at the critics, saying it was 'inconsiderate' to sit on a wedding invite for months without responding.
She admits that she might have to go back to the drawing board as far as the words are concerned but is convinced that there's a pressing need for just such a message.
Among those who've backed her and think it's a good idea are brides who've had to go through this rigmarole themselves.
One said: "I absolutely love it. The people have a problem with it are the people that would not RSVP."
Another said she wished she'd done this and some people who did RSVP to her wedding hadn't even showed up in the end.
Topics: Weddings, Sex and Relationships
Joe Harker