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Prepare a wedding guest spreadsheet for import

Before uploading a spreadsheet, agree what each row represents. Separating the household, its main contact and the invited people reduces corrections across invitations, RSVPs and seating.

TheVows team Updated 5 min read

Stacks of blank ivory guest cards, an open notebook and a gold pen on pale stone
Editorial image created for this guide; not a photograph of a customer or real event.

Agree on one working guest list, then adapt it to the system's current import template.

Define households before choosing columns

A household is an invitation unit: one person, a couple or a family. Its contact receives the link, but a phone number does not determine how many people are invited. Record the invited people instead of relying on an ambiguous family label.

Use the system's own template and exact headings. Avoid formulas, merged cells and total rows in an import file. If the template expects one person per row, repeat the household identifier as instructed rather than inventing a different structure.

  • A recognisable household name and main contact.
  • Individual invited names in the template's expected format.
  • Invitation language and relevant events where supported.

Keep phone numbers as text

Format the phone column as text so a spreadsheet does not remove leading zeroes or turn long numbers into scientific notation. Check the importer's accepted format before applying a bulk conversion.

For an Israeli number, 0501234567 represents the same destination as +972501234567 internationally; the domestic zero is omitted after +972. Check the correct country code for overseas guests. These are formatting examples, not numbers to use for a test send.

Resolve duplicates without losing guests

Compare both families' contributions using names, partners and phone numbers. Sharing a surname does not prove a duplicate; one person under two nicknames may still appear twice. Check before combining households that share a contact number.

Flag missing details instead of guessing. An import describes invited people; it should not convert a missing response into an acceptance. Keep sensitive notes that are unnecessary for invitations out of the file.

Verify the import before inviting anyone

Keep a dated source copy. Review validation messages or the preview, then reconcile household and individual counts. Inspect a large family, a single guest and an overseas contact to catch structural mistakes.

Find out whether a repeat import adds, updates or detects duplicates. Do not upload the whole file again to fix a few errors without knowing the behaviour. Open a sample invitation and confirm its people and events before a real send.

Before you finish

  • Rows and columns match the current import template.
  • Phone numbers remain text with appropriate country codes.
  • Duplicates and missing details were reviewed manually.
  • Household and individual counts match the source list.
  • A sample invitation was checked before sending.

Questions along the way

Should each family occupy one row?

Follow the import template. Some systems require a household per row; others require a person per row. Download the current template and adapt your working list to it.

What if only some rows were imported?

Review errors and records already created before retrying. Uploading everything again may create duplicates when the importer does not update existing records.

From a list to personal invitations

TheVows keeps households and guests alongside RSVPs and seating. Start with the current template and a checked list before sending guest links.

Explore guest management

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