LETTER OF DECLINING AN INVITATION

Letter of declining an invitation is a letter to refuse an invitation from somebody.

Writing a letter of declining an invitation means you cannot come to the event or meeting that
will be held in a particular date or time. The letter can be a physical letter or electronic letter
(e-mail). There are some expressions used to write a letter of declining an invitation. Those
expressions will be mentioned below.

To decline a formal invitation, you can write:

 “Thank you for your invitation. However, I regret that I will be unable to attend.”
 “Thank you for your invitation to…. Unfortunately, due to a prior commitment, I will
not be able to attend.”
 “Thank you for your invitation, but I’m sorry I can’t come.”
 “I’m sorry, but I’m not going to be able to make it on…”
 “Thank you for extending the invitation to me, but I’m not available that day. I’m
really busy with work. Can we have a meeting later this week?”
 “Sorry, I appreciate the invitation, but I won’t be able to go. I have a big project that
I have to complete. Let’s talk later this week about how the event went.”

Writing Tip
If you are declining a formal invitation, it’s customary to say why you can’t attend
with a phrase such as “Due to a prior commitment, I will not be able to attend…” With
formal invitations (but not wedding invitations), you can also end your letter/email with a
phrase such as “Wishing you every success with the (name of event).” There are some steps to
declining an invitation. Here are the steps that taken from:
https://www.speakconfidentenglish.com/accept-and-decline-invitations-in-english/)

Step 1: Say “Thank You” first

 “Thank you for the invitation, but…”
 “I appreciate the invitation, but…”
 “Thank you for extending the invitation to us, but…”
 “That is so kind of you, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to come to…”
Step 2: Explain you cannot go with an apologetic tone
 “…but I am not able to make it.”
 “…but I am not able to come.”
 “…but I’m sorry, I’m afraid we can’t make it.”
 “Unfortunately, I already have plans.”
 “I would love to come but…”
 “That sounds fabulous but…”
 “I wish I could join you but…”
 “I am so sorry we can’t make it…”
 “It is a shame we can’t be there…”
 “I am disappointed that I can’t make it…”
 “That would have been wonderful, but so sorry we can’t be there.”

Step 3: Give a simple and clear reason

 “It is our director’s birthday that day.”
 “My team has a meeting that afternoon.”
 “The children have a school event we have to attend.”
 “We will be away on vacation then.”
 “We have a prior engagement.”
 “We have a clash in our schedule.”

Step 4: Close the letter positively

 “I hope it goes well.”
 “We will be thinking of you.”
 “We will make it up to you another day.”
 “I would love to catch up another time.”
 “How about another time?”
 “How if we reschedule this meeting into…?”
Example of letter of declining an invitation:
MAPALA RAYA CORPORATION
120 Rockefeller Street
Grand Rapide, Michigan 10009

25th August, 2013

Your ref: AM/CS/20C
Our ref: AS/BP/17A

To:
Mr. Adam Masrani
Marketing Director

Dear Mr. Masrani,

This letter is in reference to your meeting request on 29 th August, 2013 to discuss about the
future prospects of the project to design a new business unit. Thank you for extending the
invitation to me. I would love to attend, but unfortunately, I have other meeting with my
staff on the same day and will not be able to make it.

How if we reschedule this meeting into 1st September 2013 at 11 A.M.? I hope it goes well
for you. I commit I shall make the most of this meeting and give you no opportunity to
disappoint you.

We shall discuss about the various products involved in the business. I look forward to
your reply and show you all the products to your growing company.

I believe this meeting will help us speed up the project. Thank you for your attention.

Yours sincerely,

Agus Setya
Marketing Manager