For whoever has to tell the caterer
Collect Meal Choices with the Yes, Not Long after It
Put the dishes and the allergy note inside the reply itself, so each choice lands beside the name and the kitchen gets one number instead of ten messages.
Ask once, at the yes
Meal choices go wrong when you collect them late. You confirm the headcount, then start a second round of messages about food, and by then half the guests have forgotten they were asked. The fix is to fold the meal question into the reply itself, so a guest states their choice at the moment they say yes.
Because it sits in the reply form, the answer lands beside the name on your list, along with any allergy note and anyone they are bringing. There is no separate message to match up and no column to fill in from memory.
What to put in the form
Offer the dishes you are actually cooking and let each guest pick one, then add a short free line for allergies or something they cannot eat. Keep it to what the kitchen truly needs, because every extra question is a reason a guest gives up halfway through replying.
How the details reach the kitchen
- Each dish shows its own count on the list, so you hand the caterer a number per plate rather than a pile of messages.
- Allergy notes sit under the guest who has them, not buried in a generic total you will misread.
- Plus-ones reply within the limit you set and give their own meal note, so extra places are fed too.
- If plans change, a guest answers again and the counts move with the reply.
Per guest, without per-guest asking
The choice
Guests tick a dish as part of their yes, so the preference is captured while they are already answering rather than in a second chase.
The allergy
A short note beside the choice travels with the name, which is the difference between two vegetarians and knowing which two.
The handover
At the end you have counts per dish and a list of notes to pass on, which is one number for the kitchen instead of ten separate messages.
The second chase you never start
The usual way to gather food choices is to send a separate message after the headcount is in: please reply with what you would like to eat, and any allergies. That message scatters. Some people answer, some forget, and a third who did answer did so with a note nobody linked to their plate. By the time the kitchen needs a number, you are re-asking.
Collecting the choice inside the reply removes the whole second round. A guest who is already saying yes types their dish and their allergy note as part of the same answer, and it lands on the list where you will find it. When plans change and they reply again, the choice updates too, so the number you hand over on the last day is the number you can cook to.
How it works
Collecting meals inside the reply
Switch on the reply questions
Turn on the RSVP button and add the meal choice, with a note field for allergies, right there on the form guests answer.
List only the real dishes
Name the options you are actually serving so the counts add up to a number the kitchen can cook to, not a wish list.
Let answers land on the list
As guests reply, each choice and allergy note attaches to their name, and plus-ones inside your limit give their own.
Hand over the totals
Read the per-dish counts and the allergy notes from the list and pass them to the caterer or cook, without a second round of asking.
Questions
Common questions about how to collect meal choices
Can guests note an allergy along with their meal?
Yes, there is a short note field beside the choice. A guest picks a dish and writes what they cannot eat, and the note sits under their name rather than lost in a total.
Do I get a count per dish?
The list totals each option, so you see how many want the fish and how many want the vegetarian plate, which is the number the kitchen actually needs rather than a rough guess.
Can a guest change their meal after replying?
Yes. They reopen the invitation and answer again, and the newer choice replaces the old one, so the per-dish counts move with their reply instead of staying wrong.
Do plus-ones get asked about food too?
When a guest names a plus-one inside your limit, that person is on the list as a real place, so their meal note counts with everyone else's rather than arriving as a surprise.
Get Started
One number for the kitchen
Add the dishes and the allergy note to the reply, let the counts gather, and hand the kitchen a total they can cook to. Start free and upgrade as your guest list grows.