Log every reply with its party size, meal choice and dietary needs. The headcount, the meal tally and the dietary list update as you go, and one click exports a CSV for your caterer. Free, and nothing to sign up for.
Tap a status badge to switch it between pending, accepted and declined. Nothing is saved when you close this page, so export the CSV before you leave.
Keep one list with a row per invitation and four fields on each row: party size, RSVP status, meal choice and dietary needs. Count people, not invitations, and count meals for accepted guests only. Set the deadline 3 to 4 weeks before the wedding so the final number reaches your caterer on time.
Replies come in by mail, text, phone and website forms, so the list matters more than the channel. This RSVP tracking page does the counting for you. If your guests reply online through a wedding website, that site keeps its own list, and you can still use this one to merge in the replies that arrive by text.
These are the sample guests the tracker opens with. Two pending invitations hold three seats, which is why the tracker counts party sizes and not rows.
Your RSVP list tells you who is coming. Watch a guest scan the QR code on the table and add photos from the phone browser, no app and no account, straight into one album for the two of you.
WEDDING ALBUM
Clara & Theo
Example album
Most planners land on the same window: invitations out 6 to 8 weeks before the wedding and replies due 3 to 4 weeks before. That leaves room to chase the stragglers before the caterer needs a final number.
Sources, checked October 2026: Greenvelope (RSVPs due 3 to 4 weeks out, invitations 6 to 8 weeks out, 3 to 6 months for destination weddings), Paperlust (June 2026: final numbers about 2 weeks out, a 10-day buffer, personal texts 2 to 3 days before the deadline, destination deadlines 6 to 8 weeks out), Zola (invitations 6 to 8 weeks out, RSVPs about a month before) and Joy (June 2026: first reminder 2 to 4 weeks before the deadline, a follow-up 1 week after it).
One envelope can hold one guest or a family of five. The venue, the caterer and the seating chart all work in people, so every row in the tracker carries a party size from 1 to 10.
The family of four with two children is one invitation, four seats and two kids meals. Give the children their own row with the Kids Meal option if your caterer prices them separately.
Zola says to expect around 75 to 85 percent of invited guests to come. Use it to plan until the tracker gives you the real number, and see how many wedding guests attend for the full breakdown.
Caterers want two things from you: how many of each entree, and who needs what. The tracker counts meals and dietary needs for accepted guests only, multiplied by party size, so declined and pending rows never inflate the order.
The exact file the tracker downloads for its four sample guests. Six columns, one row per entry, ready for Google Sheets, Excel or your caterer's inbox.
Give the reply card or form one open line for allergies and preferences, which Paperlust recommends over a long checkbox list. Then copy each answer into the tracker's dietary field. Nine options cover the common cases, and Other catches the rest.
Yes. A row with a party size of 2 and Chicken counts as two chicken dinners. If the two people order differently, split them into two rows of one, so the entree count matches what lands on the plates.
No. Paperlust says to ask only if your caterer or venue needs a per-guest entree count. Buffet and family-style dinners usually do not, so leave the meal on No Preference.
Most late replies are forgotten, not rude. Joy suggests a first gentle reminder 2 to 4 weeks before your deadline and a follow-up about a week after it. Keep each message short and make the answer easy.
Hi [Name]! Quick note from [Couple]: RSVPs for our wedding are due [date]. You can reply right here with a yes or no and your meal choice. We hope you can make it!
Hi [Name], we send our numbers to the caterer soon. Are you and [partner] coming on [date]? A quick yes or no is perfect, and tell us if either of you has an allergy.
Hi [Name], we're finishing the seating chart this week and haven't seen your RSVP yet. Can you let us know by [day] if you can make it? No pressure either way, we only need a count.
Scripts written by Pix Wedding, swap the brackets for your details. Timing from Joy's RSVP reminder guide and Paperlust, checked October 2026. The text thread is an illustrative example.
There is no single right tool. Many couples mix them: guests reply on paper or online, and one list pulls every answer together for the final count.
| Â | Paper reply cards | Spreadsheet | Wedding website RSVP | This free tracker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Printing and return postage | Free in Google Sheets | Free on Zola, Joy, The Knot and Minted | Free |
| How replies arrive | Guests mail the card back | You type in replies from cards, texts and calls | Guests fill in a form on your site | You type in replies from any channel |
| Party size and meal totals | Counted by hand from the cards | You build the formulas yourself | Built into most forms | Live totals, counted by party size |
| Account needed | No | A Google or Microsoft account | An account for the couple | No |
| Where the list lives | A box of cards | Your drive | The website account | This page only, export the CSV |
| Best for | Formal invitations and older guests | Couples who like building their own sheet | Couples who already run a wedding website | A quick count and a meal tally for the caterer |
Website builder pricing from Paperlust's wedding website comparison (August 2026), which lists Zola, Joy, The Knot and Minted as free for the website and RSVP. Checked October 2026. For a deeper look, see our RSVP app vs Google Form vs paper vs website guide.
Every row in the tracker is pending, accepted or declined. The badge is the easy part. These are the situations behind it and the move that keeps your headcount honest.
| Status | Situation | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pending | Before the deadline | The invitation is out and the guest has not answered yet. | Leave it. Send one friendly reminder 2 to 4 weeks before the deadline. |
| Pending | After the deadline | You still need an answer, and the caterer date is getting close. | Text or call about a week after the deadline, then switch the badge as soon as they reply. |
| Accepted | Meal choice missing | They are coming, but the meal is still on No Preference, so the meal totals skip them. | Ask for the meal in the same message as your follow-up. |
| Accepted | More people than invited | The reply names a guest you did not invite. | Talk to them before you raise the party size. Our plus-one guide has wording. How to tell guests no plus-ones |
| Declined | Cannot come | Those seats are free and drop out of the headcount and meal totals. | Keep the row so you remember who replied, and add them to your thank-you list if they send a gift. |
| Accepted to Declined | Late cancellation | Someone who said yes can no longer come. | Switch the badge. The headcount and meal totals drop at once. Tell the caterer if your final count already went in. |
First dance
You guys!!
Your RSVP list tells you who is coming. One QR code on the tables collects what they shoot: the toasts, the first dance, the late-night dance floor. Guests upload from the phone browser, no app and no account.
From Mom
Scan to join the album
No app, no account
UPLOADING
THE ALBUM
June 21, 2026
647 photos · 95 guests
SCAN TO TRY
pix.wedding/
your-wedding
If you want your list to live in your own Google Drive, this tutorial sets up a guest list, RSVP statuses and the formulas that count who is coming. You can also export a CSV from the tracker above and open it in Sheets as your starting point.
Watch on YouTube (11 min)The people on your accepted list will take hundreds of photos you will never see unless you ask. Put one QR code on the tables and guests add photos and videos from the phone browser, no app and no account.
Scan to join the album
No app, no account
UPLOADING
THE ALBUM
June 21, 2026
647 photos · 95 guests
Most RSVP problems show up at the caterer deadline, when there is little time to fix them. These are the ones to catch early.
Sixty invitations can be well over a hundred people. Set the party size on every row so the headcount is in people, which is what the caterer bills for.
Paperlust suggests leaving at least 10 days between your RSVP deadline and the caterer's cutoff, so you have time to chase the people who forget.
Paperlust says to add a meal choice only if your caterer or venue needs a per-guest entree count. Buffets and family-style dinners usually do not.
Paperlust recommends one open line for allergies and preferences over a long list of boxes. In the tracker, pick the closest option or use Other.
The tracker gives each row one meal and counts it once per person in the party. When a couple orders chicken and fish, add them as two rows with a party size of 1.
The tracker keeps nothing after you leave the page. Export the CSV at the end of every session and keep the newest file.
Meal and allergy advice from Paperlust's meal choice wording guide and RSVP deadline guide (both June 2026), checked October 2026. Names in the example are illustrative.
We did a comparison spreadsheet of every photo sharing app (i know, we're those people). Pix won on UX, price, and the fact that guests dont need to download anything. Three months later the album still gets visits from our family, so add longevity to that list too
Used disposable cameras at my sisters wedding two years ago. Half the photos were thumbs and ceilings and it cost $200 to develop them all. Pix gave us 500+ usable photos for less money. No contest
I think the thing nobody tells you is that your photographer leaves at some point. Ours left at 10pm and the party went til 2am. ALL of our best dance floor moments came from Pix. The after party photos are unhinged in the best possible way 💀😂
What couples ask while the replies come in: meal choices, dietary needs, deadlines, plus-ones and getting the list to the caterer.
You can use this free wedding RSVP tracker. Add each invitation with its party size, mark it pending, accepted or declined, and pick a meal choice and dietary restriction. The page counts the headcount and the meal and dietary totals for accepted guests, and you can export everything as a CSV. Wedding website builders such as Zola and Joy also collect RSVPs with meal questions if guests reply online.
Give every guest row a dietary field and fill it in when the reply arrives. This tracker has nine options (None, Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten-Free, Halal, Kosher, Nut Allergy, Dairy-Free and Other) and shows a running count for accepted guests. On the invitation itself, Paperlust recommends one open line for allergies rather than a long checkbox list.
Most guides put the RSVP deadline 3 to 4 weeks before the wedding, with invitations mailed 6 to 8 weeks before. Paperlust suggests 6 to 8 weeks before for a destination wedding and at least 10 days between your deadline and the caterer's final count, since most venues want numbers about 2 weeks out.
It is free and needs no sign-up. It does not save anything: your list lives in the open page and is gone when you close or reload it. Export the CSV before you leave and keep the newest file. You can open the CSV in Google Sheets or Excel.
Set the party size on each row, from 1 to 10. A couple is 2, a guest with a plus-one is 2 and a family of four is 4. The accepted, declined and pending totals add up party sizes, so the headcount is in people, not invitations. If people in one party want different meals, add them as separate rows.
Press Export CSV. The tracker downloads a file called wedding-rsvp-list.csv with six columns: Name, Email, Status, Party Size, Meal Choice and Dietary Restriction. Open it in Google Sheets or Excel, filter to Accepted and send it, or send the meal and dietary totals shown above the list.
