The Yeas Have It

You’ve always dreamed of a huge wedding, and now that dream will soon say hello to reality. It won’t be just close friends and family filling your wedding venue, but also the gang from the office, your jogging buddies, your book club, your former high-school pals, your second and third cousins from Iowa. The invitations took four bridesmaids and an entire week to get out. How will you keep track of the yeses, the nos, and the unresponsives?

Surf the Net and you’ll find a number of wedding planning aids, from software programs to simple checklists. One of the handiest tools you can use is a basic spreadsheet program such as Microsoft Excel. Import your guest list into a worksheet, then create columns with the following headers: Yes, No, and No Reply. To put a fine point on your tracking, add columns for number of guests per invite and whether the person or party is a guest of the bride or the groom. Each time you receive a reply card, enter the response in the appropriate column. It’s easy to tally up the numbers of each column to give you an ongoing head count. You can even add columns for information such as special needs, dietary restrictions, and travel dates.

As the wedding date looms, you can sort your worksheet to give you a list of the remaining RSVP evaders. At that point, it’s time to telephone. If you wish, ask an attendant or a close relative to tackle this chore. If contact is repeatedly unsuccessful, leave a message stating your regret that they’ll be unable to attend, then count them out. Particularly with large weddings, there’ll be an inevitable handful of no-shows and unanticipated guests. Add a bit of cushioning to your catering plans, and don’t let such RSVP scofflaws crash your party.

– Lisa Costantino, Amazon.com Wedding Expert

Tags: Brides, Bridesmaids, Handiest Tools, Iowa, software programs, Travel Dates, Wedding