Organizing your Wedding Guest List Spreadsheet

• What your single spreadsheet can do


• Get a cloud version of your guest list


• Choose a template


• Step by step


• Advanced features

I recently got married and the most exciting part for me (next to spending the rest of my life with my wife) was:  the planning.  I consider myself very organized and I have multiple spreadsheets for hundreds of aspects of my personal life, so planning a wedding was an exciting challenge for me.  Don't be intimidated by the "spreadsheet."  I will show you how to easily navigate through your own wedding guest list spreadsheet.

What your single Guest List Spreadsheet can do

• Keep an address book of all invitees


• Automatically count bride and groom sides


• Automatically count number of invitations needed


• Keep track of gifts received


• Keep track of thank you cards sent


• Keep track of RSVP's sent/received for multiple wedding events (rehearsal dinner, engagement party, reception, ceremony, etc)


• Give you a headcount for multiple wedding related events (rehearsal dinner, engagement party, reception, ceremony, etc)


• Advanced features: Easily export for easy printing of invitation labels, thank you card labels, and place card labels

Get a Cloud Version of your Guest List

Most people create their own wedding guest list on a Microsoft Excel file.  This is fine, if you are the ONLY PERSON RESPONSIBLE for your guest list (but you typically won't be).  You NEED a cloud version - so that you, your fiance, your wedding planner, etc., can edit or reference this document simultaneously.

Choose a template

Save yourself some time and DO NOT try to create your own spreadsheet (unless, of course, you are an Excel Guru).  There are hundreds of very capable spreadsheet templates out there.

If you absolutely insist on a Microsoft Excel format, weddingwire.com and theknot.com forums have plenty of information about excel guest list spreadsheets.  Here is one thread Excel Guest List Template.  But be sure to upload it to your 365 cloud to allow easy sharing and portability.

I recommend this template on Google Docs, Wedding Guest List by Kathy Poe.  To use this spreadsheet, click on that link and "Use this template.", You must have a Gmail account and ensure you are signed in.

Step by Step:

Basic Use of Kathy Poe's Wedding Guest List Template

1. After you have copied the template into your Google Drive, click on "Share" on the upper right to share it with those who need access: your fiance, family, and/or wedding planner's gmail address.


2. There are 6 different sheets in this template: Summary, Bride Fam, Bride, Groom Fam, Groom, B list


3. In the Summary Sheet, enter your wedding date in the A1 cell.  DO NOT EDIT anything else on this page.  This will be your dashboard for your headcount and invitations.


4. In the Bride Fam, Bride, Groom Fam, Groom sheets, fill out invitees' address information
   

   

   
   


5. The Gift column is used to list the gift received (i.e., $100 cash, coffeemaker, etc).


6. The Thank You Note & Reception RSVP columns are used as a check box to ensure a thank you note and RSVP was sent.


7. OPTIONAL: The Rehearsal Dinner, Engagement Party Count, Part 1 Count, Party 2 Count, Party 3 Count columns are numerical values for how many people in the family are invited to each individual event.  For example, Paul and Susie Smith have three kids who are all invited to the reception, but only Paul and Susie are invited to "adults only" engagement party.

Advanced features

Once you have your guest list populated and finalized, you can use this to export into programs like Avery Design and Print.  This will allow you to easily print labels for invites, thank you cards, and place cards.  I will show you how to do that in a future post.  This is what you will need for that tutorial: Avery Easy Peel Mailing Labels for Ink Jet Printers, 1 x 2-5/8 Inches, Clear, Pack of 300 (18660)