I think I ordered the fish
A couple offered their guests a choice of two starters and two mains. Their RSVP site collected the choices. The couple sent them to you in a spreadsheet the week before, in a different order from the table plan. The coordinator matched them by hand, but four guests had changed tables since. On the day, the waiting team asks each table who ordered what, and some guests cannot remember what they chose three months ago.
Two people with allergies were marked in a notes column that did not make it onto the kitchen sheet. Chef found out when a server asked at the pass.
Choices, seats and dietary needs are in different files
The table plan, the meal choices and the dietary needs are collected at different times, by different methods, and often sent to the venue separately. Matching them is manual and has to be redone every time the table plan changes.
- Meal choices come from RSVP sites, spreadsheets or the couple's own notes.
- Guest names are spelled differently in each file.
- Dietary needs are mixed with preferences in a free text column.
- Children's meals and supplier meals are listed separately or not at all.
- Table changes break the matching.
Service that stumbles in front of everyone
The wedding breakfast is the part of the day when every guest is seated and watching. Asking guests what they ordered slows service and looks disorganised. Getting a dietary plate wrong is worse. Chef needs table-by-table counts to plate efficiently, and without them, plates go out in the wrong mix and come back.
We do not give food safety advice. Your kitchen's own allergen procedures decide how dietary needs are handled. We make sure the information reaches them correctly.
How we build a guest meal choice list
- Couples upload guest choices from their RSVP tool or enter them in their planning area, with a column for dietary needs and a separate flag for anything medical.
- Choices are matched to the table plan by name, with near matches shown to the couple or coordinator to confirm.
- Each guest has a seat, a starter, a main, a dessert if chosen, and any dietary need in your kitchen's categories.
- The kitchen receives counts per table and per course, with dietary plates listed by table and seat.
- The waiting team receives a table sheet or codes to print on place cards, such as a small symbol for each choice, so plates reach the right guest without asking.
- When the table plan changes, the meal list follows the guest automatically, and the kitchen sees the updated counts.
| Table 4 | Starter | Main | Dietary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seat 1 | Soup | Beef | None |
| Seat 2 | Terrine | Fish | Flagged for kitchen |
| Seat 3 | Soup | Vegetarian | Vegetarian |
| Totals | Kitchen count | Kitchen count | Listed by seat |
A wedding breakfast that flows
Chef plates by table with the right mix. Servers read the place card or their table sheet and put each plate in front of the right person. Dietary plates are checked by seat. When a guest moved tables the day before, their choice moved with them.
Is your venue matching by hand?
- Meal choices arrive in a separate spreadsheet from the table plan.
- Servers ask guests what they ordered.
- Dietary needs have been missed on the kitchen sheet.
- Table plan changes mean redoing the meal matching.
- Chef does not get counts per table.