Grading a Small Wedding or Elopement Guest List

Yes. Even 10 guests need documented RSVPs, meal choices, and addresses for thank you notes. A structured CSV takes 15 minutes to build and prevents the informal chaos that leads to catering errors and forgotten guests.

At minimum: First Name, Last Name, Email or Phone, Street Address, City, State, ZIP, RSVP Status, Meal Choice, and Dietary Restrictions. That is 10 columns for a list that might have only 20 rows.

Enter them manually into your spreadsheet as soon as you receive them. Set the RSVP Status to Attending or Declined and note in a comments field that it was a verbal response so you have a record.

Yes. The grader analyzes every row regardless of list size. A 15 person list with 3 missing addresses gets the same fill rate analysis as a 200 person list. Small lists are not exempt from data quality problems.

Especially yes. At a small dinner, one guest with an untracked nut allergy being served a shared dish is a serious risk. Dietary tracking matters more per person at intimate events than at large receptions where buffet variety provides natural accommodation.

Yes. Your CSV is analyzed entirely in your browser using JavaScript. No data is uploaded to any server, ever. You can verify this by disconnecting from the internet before uploading.

Currently we support .csv files. If your data is in Excel (.xlsx), Google Sheets, or Numbers, export it as a CSV first.

Your grade is a weighted score based on column coverage (30%), data completeness (50%), and data quality (20%). An A means your list is wedding ready. A C or below means there are gaps that could cause problems. The grader checks for 22 standard wedding planning columns, including RSVP status, meal choice, table assignments, invitation tracking, and address fields used by venues and caterers.

The fastest way is to import your list into iDoTogether. Each household gets a personal link you can text or email. Guests fill in their own address, RSVP, meal choice, and dietary restrictions from their phone. No spreadsheet editing required. Most couples go from a D to an A in 48 hours without touching a single cell.

It gets expensive fast. Returned mail costs $2 to $3 per piece (stamp + envelope + reprint). Duplicate names mean double invitation suites at $4+ each. Missing emails mean you can't send digital RSVPs, so you're chasing people by phone. Missing meal choices mean your caterer adds a buffer charge. Most couples don't discover these gaps until the week invitations ship.

Absolutely. Planners use the grader to audit client lists before handoff to stationers and caterers. Many recommend iDoTogether to their couples as the collection tool because it eliminates the back and forth of chasing guests for addresses and RSVPs.

Manually auditing a 150 person guest list takes 30 to 60 minutes and you'll still miss things. The grader checks 22 columns, detects duplicates via fuzzy matching, flags partial addresses, and calculates fill rates, all in about 10 seconds.

Completely free, no account required. We built this to help couples planning their wedding. If you want to take it further, iDoTogether has a free tier for up to 50 guests and a one time $99 upgrade for unlimited.