How to collect meal choices on an RSVP
By the MakeTheRSVP team · Updated June 2026
If you are serving a plated meal, collecting entree choices and dietary needs up front saves a lot of back-and-forth. Here is how to ask and track it.
Offer a short list of options
Two to four entrees is plenty. Cover a meat, a fish or poultry, and a vegetarian or vegan option so every guest has something.
- Chicken
- Fish
- Vegetarian
- Vegan or gluten-free on request
Always include a dietary notes field
A free-text line for allergies and preferences catches anything your options miss, like nut allergies or gluten needs. It is the field caterers ask for most.
Track it in one place
An online RSVP rolls every entree choice and dietary note into one list you can hand straight to the caterer, instead of piecing it together from texts.
Present the options so guests choose in one tap
Guests decide faster when the choices are concrete. Label each option plainly, chicken, salmon, or a stuffed portobello, rather than in vague menu-speak, and keep the list short so nobody has to deliberate.
An online form can show the options as buttons, so a guest taps their pick in a second instead of typing it into a free-text box where spellings and phrasing vary.
Getting the counts to your caterer
What a caterer wants is a clean tally: how many of each entree, plus a short list of dietary needs. Because every reply is structured the same way, you can read the totals off your dashboard and export the full list to a spreadsheet to send over.
That beats forwarding a thread of texts and hoping you counted the vegetarians right.
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FAQ
How many meal options should I offer?+
Two to four is plenty. Include a vegetarian option and a dietary notes field to cover the rest.
How do I ask about allergies on an RSVP?+
Add a short dietary notes field so guests can type allergies and preferences when they reply.
Can guests change their meal choice later?+
Yes. With an online RSVP, guests can update their response, including the meal choice, until the deadline.
What if a guest doesn't pick a meal?+
Follow up before the deadline, or set a sensible default like the vegetarian option so no plate is missed. On an online RSVP you can see at a glance who still needs to choose.
Should kids' meals be a separate option?+
If you are serving a children's plate, list it as its own choice so the caterer gets an accurate count and parents can select it easily.