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Free Download: Wedding Guest List Template
Get our professionally designed Excel template with:
Guest tracking with RSVP status, meal choices, and dietary needs
Automatic headcount formulas that update as you add guests
Wedding party sheet to track bridesmaids, groomsmen, and their details
Gift tracking with thank-you note status
Managing 100+ wedding guests across multiple events—engagement party, rehearsal dinner, ceremony, reception—is overwhelming without the right system. Names get lost in text threads, addresses live in three different places, and nobody can remember who has dietary restrictions.
This free, professionally designed template handles everything from save-the-dates to thank-you notes. Download it for Google Sheets or Excel and start organizing your wedding today.
No email required. No strings attached. Just a clean, functional template.
What's Included in This Template
This isn't a bare-bones spreadsheet with three columns. We've built in everything you'll actually need to track across your entire wedding planning process.
Guest Information Tab
Name fields — First and last name separated for easy sorting and mail merge
Mailing address — Street, city, state, zip in separate columns for envelope printing
Email and phone — For digital communication and last-minute coordination
Relationship to couple — Bride's side, groom's side, or mutual friends
Household grouping — Link family members together for invitation addressing
RSVP Tracking Tab
Save the date sent — Checkbox to track who's received early notice
Invitation sent — Date the formal invitation went out
RSVP status — Yes, No, Pending, or No Response
Number attending — Actual headcount including plus-ones
Meal selection — Beef, chicken, fish, vegetarian, or custom options
Dietary restrictions — Allergies, kosher, halal, gluten-free, etc.
Event Management Tab
Rehearsal dinner — Track who's invited to pre-wedding events
Ceremony — Some guests may be ceremony-only
Reception — Your main event tracking
After-party — For the late-night crowd
Gift Tracking Tab
Gift received — What they gave you
Thank you sent — Never forget to send a note
Notes — Special details to mention in your thank-you
How to Use This Template in Google Sheets
Google Sheets is ideal if you and your partner both need to edit the list. Changes sync in real-time, so you'll never overwrite each other's work.
Click "Make a Copy" to save the template to your own Google Drive. The original stays protected so you always have a clean version to reference.
Share with your partner by clicking the blue "Share" button and entering their email. Give them "Editor" access so they can add and update guests.
Start with your "must-invite" list — immediate family, wedding party, best friends. These are your A-list guests who are coming no matter what.
Use filters to sort by RSVP status, side of the family, or which events they're attending. Click the filter icon in the header row to enable this.
Export to CSV if you need the data for mail merge or importing into another tool. Go to File → Download → Comma-separated values.
How to Use This Template in Excel
Prefer Excel? The template works just as well offline. Here's how to get started:
Download the .xlsx file and open it in Microsoft Excel or Apple Numbers.
Enable editing if you see a yellow security bar at the top. This is normal for downloaded files.
Follow the same workflow as the Google Sheets version—start with must-invites, then work outward.
Tip: Save the file to OneDrive if you want real-time collaboration with your partner. Otherwise, you'll need to email versions back and forth (not recommended—things get out of sync fast).
Customizing Your Guest List
The template covers the basics, but every wedding is different. Here are common customizations:
Adding columns for plus-ones
Add a "Plus One Name" column next to the primary guest. You can also add a "Plus One Confirmed" checkbox if you're tracking whether they've actually provided a name.
Tracking children separately
For family guests with kids, add columns for "Children Invited" (yes/no) and "Number of Children." This helps with headcount and seating arrangements.
Adding a priority tier column
Create an A/B/C tier column to categorize guests by priority. A-list guests are definite invites, B-list guests get invited if you have room, C-list is your backup if there are declines.
Color coding by group
Use conditional formatting to highlight rows by group—blue for family, green for friends, yellow for work colleagues. This makes scanning the list much easier.
Common Questions About Wedding Guest Lists
How do I count guests—individuals or households?
Most couples count by "seats at tables" (individuals) for budget and venue capacity. But you should track by household for addressing invitations. This template handles both—use the household grouping column to link family members, while each person gets their own row for accurate headcounts.
Example: "The Smith Family" counts as 1 invitation, but if it's two parents and two kids, that's 4 guests toward your venue limit.
Should I include the couple in the guest count?
No—the couple is not counted in the guest total. When your venue says capacity is 100, that means 100 guests plus you two. Same with catering quotes—you're not paying for your own plates in the per-head cost.
Google Sheets vs Excel—which is better?
It depends on how you work:
Google Sheets is better for real-time partner collaboration. You can both edit simultaneously without version conflicts.
Excel is better for offline access and mail merge. If you're printing your own envelopes, Excel's mail merge feature is more robust.
Either works. Pick whichever you're more comfortable with.
How do I handle plus-ones in the template?
Two approaches:
Option 1: Add a "Plus One Allowed" column (yes/no). Simple, but you won't have the plus-one's name until they RSVP.
Option 2: Add plus-ones as separate rows linked to the primary guest using the household grouping column. More work upfront, but more accurate headcounts.
We recommend Option 2 if you're tracking meal choices and seating—you'll need a row for each person eventually anyway.
When a Spreadsheet Isn't Enough
Spreadsheets are great for tracking who's invited and who has RSVP'd. But they don't help with the hardest part of wedding planning: deciding who to cut.
You started with 200 names. Your venue holds 120. Your budget says 100. Now you're staring at a list of people you care about, trying to figure out which 100 get invited and which 100 don't. And every night, you and your partner have the same conversation about the same borderline guests.
That's not a spreadsheet problem. That's a decision problem.
What if both partners could rank every guest independently—without influencing each other? What if the guests with the highest combined scores were automatically sorted to the top? What if you could slide a cutoff line to your exact capacity and see exactly who's in and who's out?
Already have a draft list? Import your spreadsheet into our app and have both partners rank guests independently. Then slide the cutoff line until you hit your target count. No more arguing about individual names—just discuss the few guests right at the borderline.
Related Resources
How to Organize Your Wedding Guest List — Step-by-step guide to setting up your list with tiers and categories
Who to Invite to Your Wedding — Framework for deciding who makes the cut