How to Collect Dietary Requirements on Your Wedding RSVP (Without Spreadsheet Chaos)

You've sent the invitations. The RSVPs are trickling in. And then your phone starts buzzing.

"Just to let you know — Tom can't eat gluten." "Hi, my plus-one is vegan, hope that's okay?" "Sorry to message so late, but I have a severe nut allergy."

Within a week, you've got a WhatsApp thread, a few emails, a voicemail from Aunt Carol, and a sticky note on your fridge. You're planning a wedding for 180 people.

This is the spreadsheet chaos moment — and it's entirely avoidable.

The solution is collecting dietary information through your RSVP, not after it. This guide shows you exactly how to do that: what to ask, how to word it, and how to set it up so the information arrives organised and ready to hand to your caterer.

Why dietary requirements matter more than ever

Around 1 in 100 people in the UK have coeliac disease. Approximately 2% have a diagnosed food allergy. And the number of vegans in the UK quadrupled between 2014 and 2019.

For a wedding of 150 guests, that's potentially 10–15 people with specific food needs — some of them serious if not accommodated. Your caterer needs this information at least 2–3 weeks before the wedding. You need it organised by name, not scattered across message threads.

What to collect on your wedding RSVP

A well-designed wedding RSVP should gather five things from every guest:

1. Attendance confirmation — yes or no
2. Plus-one name — if you're allowing plus-ones, you need their full name (not just "my partner")
3. Meal selection — if you're offering a choice (chicken / fish / vegetarian / vegan)
4. Dietary requirements and allergies — structured options plus a free-text box
5. Accessibility needs — wheelchair access, hearing support, or anything the venue needs to prepare for

Most couples skip numbers 2 and 5. This creates problems: caterers need names on place settings, and venues need notice to prepare for accessibility requirements.

Exact wording for dietary questions

Here are wording examples that work well on digital RSVP forms:

Meal selection

"Please choose your main course:
Chicken supreme / Pan-fried salmon / Wild mushroom risotto (vegetarian) / Vegan option"

Dietary requirements and allergies

"Please list any dietary requirements (e.g. vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, nut allergy)
Vegetarian / Vegan / Gluten-free / Dairy-free / Nut allergy / Halal / Kosher / Other (please specify)"

Plus-one

"Will you be bringing a plus-one? Yes / No
If yes, their full name: ________________
Plus-one dietary requirements or allergies: ________________"

Accessibility

"Do you or your guest have any accessibility requirements? (e.g. wheelchair access, hearing support)
________________"

Keep the wording matter-of-fact and friendly. Avoid clinical language. Guests are more likely to fill in a field labelled "Any allergies we should know about?" than one labelled "Mandatory dietary disclosure."

The problem with paper RSVPs and text messages

Paper RSVP cards look beautiful. But they create a data management problem.

You receive 120 cards back. Some are illegible. Some guests leave the dietary box blank. Others write "misc" or "I'll let you know." Now you have to manually enter everything into a spreadsheet, cross-reference it with your guest list, identify the gaps, and chase the non-responders — all while planning a wedding.

Text messages and emails are worse: responses arrive in no particular order, formatted differently by every guest, and buried in conversation threads.

Digital RSVP pages solve this at the source. Dietary information arrives already attached to each guest's name, in a single exportable list, ready to share with your caterer.

How to set it up in GuestlistOnline

GuestlistOnline includes 13+ registration field types — including a dedicated dietary requirements field, accessibility needs, and built-in plus-one management. Here's how to configure your wedding RSVP:

Step 1: Create your event and choose the Wedding template

Create your event and select the Wedding template from the nine available designs. It's built specifically for weddings — clean typography, soft aesthetics, and a layout that feels appropriate for the occasion.

Step 2: Add a meal selection dropdown

In the registration settings, add a Dropdown field. Label it "Meal selection" and enter your menu options as choices:

• Chicken supreme
• Pan-fried salmon
• Wild mushroom risotto (V)
• Vegan option

A dropdown forces a clear selection rather than leaving a blank text box where guests write "anything is fine" or leave it empty.

Step 3: Add the dietary requirements field

Add the Dietary requirements registration field. This gives guests structured options (vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut allergy, halal, kosher) plus space to elaborate.

A good label for this field:

"Please list any dietary requirements (e.g. vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, nut allergy)"

Keep it open-ended. Some guests have combinations ("lactose intolerant and vegetarian") that don't fit a single checkbox.

Step 4: Enable plus-one management with names

Turn on plus-one management in your event settings. This prompts each guest who indicates they're bringing a companion to enter that person's full name — and their dietary requirements — during the same registration flow.

This is the step most couples miss. Without names, you cannot build accurate place settings or allocate dietary meals to specific seats. "Plus-one for Sarah Jones: vegan, nut allergy" is actionable. "Sarah's plus-one is vegan" is not.

Step 5: Add an accessibility field

Add an Accessibility needs registration field. Keep the label simple:

"Do you or your guest have any accessibility requirements? (e.g. wheelchair access, hearing support)"

This takes 30 seconds to add and can significantly improve the experience for guests with disabilities — something they'll remember long after the wedding.

What to do when guests forget to fill in dietary info

Even with the clearest form in the world, some guests skip the dietary question. They're in a rush, they assume someone else will handle it, or they genuinely forget.

GuestlistOnline's email reminders feature lets you send targeted reminders to guests who haven't completed their RSVP, or who left specific fields blank. Schedule a reminder 2–3 weeks before your deadline and it reaches the right people automatically.

For guests who have confirmed attendance but left dietary information empty, you can filter your guest list by incomplete fields and send a follow-up. No manual scanning. No spreadsheet formulas.

Sharing the data with your caterer

Once RSVPs close, export your guest list as a CSV from GuestlistOnline. You'll get a clean, sortable file with each guest's name, meal selection, dietary requirements, plus-one details, and accessibility notes — all in one document.

Most caterers ask for this list 2–4 weeks before the wedding. With everything collected digitally, producing it takes minutes rather than a weekend.

Getting started

GuestlistOnline's free plan covers 1 event and up to 50 guests — suitable for an engagement party or small wedding. For larger weddings, the Per Event plan is a one-time fee of €19.99 and covers unlimited guests, all 13+ registration field types, email reminders, and CSV export.

If you're also planning engagement drinks, a hen do, and the wedding itself, the Pro plan (€29/month or €249/year) covers unlimited active events with a 7-day free trial to start.

Set up your wedding RSVP on GuestlistOnline and have your dietary requirements collected, organised, and ready to share — before the chaos begins.

Related reading:

• How to Create a Wedding RSVP Page That Guests Actually Use
• Wedding RSVP Management
• RSVP Management for Any Event

Frequently Asked Questions