Wedding Guest Survey: Questions to Ask & Free Template

The closer your wedding gets, the more questions pile up: how many guests need a vegetarian meal, who's bringing a plus-one, who needs a hotel room booked, and who'd rather dance to cheesy pop than a classic waltz. Asking every guest one-by-one is a nightmare. That's why more and more couples are using one simple tool: the wedding guest survey. We'll show you what it should include, what questions to ask your guests, how it differs from an RSVP, and where to find a ready-to-use template.

What is a wedding guest survey and why do you need one?

A wedding guest survey is a short form you send to guests before the wedding to gather all the key organisational details in one place. Instead of trying to fish for information in dozens of separate conversations, you get a complete set of data you can actually work with.

In a well-designed survey, you can ask guests about:

• Dietary requirements — vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, or lactose-free meals,
• Food allergies — nuts, seafood, gluten, and anything else the kitchen needs to know about,
• Plus-ones — whether a guest is bringing someone and who they are,
• Transport — whether they'll use a shuttle bus or drive themselves,
• Accommodation — if they need a room in a nearby hotel or B&B,
• Music preferences — songs that are guaranteed to get them on the dance floor,
• Children attending — whether they're bringing their little ones and their ages.

The data from your survey is the foundation for several key decisions: final numbers for the caterer, booking the right size coach, blocking out hotel rooms, and creating your final seating plan. Without it, you're just planning in the dark.

What questions should you ask? A complete list

The best survey is one that gathers everything you need without overwhelming your guests with dozens of questions. Below is a ready-made list of sample questions grouped by topic — just pick and choose the ones that fit your wedding.

Attendance and Plus-Ones

• Will you be celebrating with us?
• How many people will be attending in your party?
• Full name of your plus-one (if applicable).
• Will you be attending the ceremony only, or the reception as well?

Dietary Needs and Allergies

• Do you have any special dietary requirements? (e.g., vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, lactose-free)
• Do you have any food allergies the kitchen should be aware of?
• Are there any ingredients you absolutely cannot eat?

Transport and Accommodation

• Will you be using the shuttle bus we've arranged for guests?
• Where would you like to be picked up from?
• Do you need us to arrange accommodation for you?
• How many people need a room, and what type would you prefer (single, double)?

Music and Entertainment

• What song will get you straight on the dance floor?
• Is there a song you'd rather not hear on the night?
• What's your favourite type of music? (wedding classics / pop / rock / cheesy hits / other)

Additional Questions

• Will you be bringing children? If so, please let us know their ages.
• Do you have any accessibility needs (e.g., wheelchair access, seating near an exit)?
• Is there anything else you'd like to let us know before the wedding?

You don't have to use all of these questions. The shorter the survey, the more likely people are to fill it in — just choose the sections that will genuinely help you make decisions.

Paper or Digital Survey?

You can hand out a paper survey with your invitations or share a link to an online form. Both methods will gather the same answers, but they differ in what happens to the data afterwards.

A paper survey looks elegant tucked inside an invitation and doesn't require a smartphone. The problem starts once you've collected them: someone has to decipher the handwriting, type it all into a spreadsheet, and manually count up the dietary needs, hotel rooms, and bus seats. With a hundred guests, that's hours of tedious work and it's easy to make a mistake.

A digital survey solves this exact problem. A guest can fill out the form on their phone in two minutes, and the answers land directly in one central place — no transcription needed. What's more, a well-designed online RSVP for your wedding can combine the survey with the RSVP and seating plan. The same details your guest provides when confirming their attendance are instantly available for your wedding seating plan. One form, zero admin, and a seamless flow of data from one stage to the next.

If time and convenience are your priorities, digital wins hands down. Paper only really makes sense if some of your guests are older and might struggle with an online form — in that case, it's a good idea to offer both options.

Free Wedding Survey Template to Download

You don't have to create your survey from scratch. We've prepared a ready-to-use wedding guest survey template to download, which includes all the sections described above: attendance, diet and allergies, transport, accommodation, music, and additional questions.

The template is available in two versions:

• Printable PDF — simply print it out and include it with your invitations. A great choice if you prefer a classic, paper format.
• Google Forms — a ready-made online form that you can copy to your own account and share via a link. The responses flow directly into a spreadsheet, so there's no need to type anything up.

You can shorten and adapt both versions as you wish — remove questions you don't need and add your own. Treat the template as a starting point, not a rigid form.

Tip: If you're planning to collect RSVPs digitally, consider combining your survey with the attendance confirmation in a single form. Your guests only have to respond once, and you avoid sending out two separate requests.

How to Use the Survey Responses

Collecting the data is only half the battle — what matters is what you do with it. Each section of the survey translates into a specific organisational decision.

• Diet & Allergies → Catering. Tally up the vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free meals, and give the kitchen a named list of guests with allergies. Your venue gets exact numbers, and no guest is left with an empty plate.
• Music → DJ or Band. A list of 'must-play' and 'do-not-play' songs is the perfect brief for your DJ. The dance floor fills up much faster when you're playing the tracks your guests are genuinely excited to hear.
• Transport → Shuttle Bus. Knowing how many people will use the coach and from which locations means you can book the right size vehicle and plan the route without any guesswork.
• Accommodation → Bookings. The number of guests needing a room tells you exactly how many to block-book at the hotel and what types of rooms to reserve.
• Attendance & +1s → Seating Plan. A complete list of confirmed guests and their plus-ones is the foundation for your seating arrangements. Once you have the full list, check out our guide on how to seat your wedding guests.

The sooner you collect the responses, the more time you'll have to make calm, considered decisions. It's best to set a deadline for the survey that gives you enough time to pass the final numbers to your venue and print the seating plan without any last-minute panic.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What should a wedding guest survey include?

A good wedding survey should collect attendance confirmation, number of guests and plus-one details, dietary preferences and allergies, transport and accommodation needs, and often music choices and information about children. This is the minimum you need to plan your catering, transport, rooms, and seating plan. Add any other questions based on your specific wedding — remember, a shorter survey gets a higher completion rate.

When should you send the survey to your guests?

It's best to send it with your invitation or just after, setting a response deadline 4–6 weeks before the wedding — the same as you would for your RSVP. This gives you enough time to give your venue the final headcount, book the right transport, and finalise the seating plan. If you send the survey too late, you'll have to make some organisational decisions in a rush or based on estimates.

What's the difference between a wedding survey and an RSVP?

An RSVP is primarily about confirming attendance — a simple yes or no. A wedding survey goes further, collecting organisational details like diet, allergies, transport, accommodation, and music choices. In practice, it's best to combine the two into a single form. That way, your guest only has to respond once, and you get all the information in one place. You can learn more about confirming attendance in our article on RSVP.

Should I do a paper or online survey?

It depends on your guests, but an online version is far more convenient for planning. Paper looks elegant but requires you to manually transcribe all the answers. A digital survey collects data in one place instantly and can integrate with your RSVP and seating plan. The safest bet is to offer both options if you have guests who might find an online form tricky to use.

How do I collect guests' dietary preferences?

Ask directly about special diets (vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, lactose-free) and separately about food allergies. Give guests a field to list any specific ingredients they can't have. Then, simply tally up the meal types and give your caterer a list with the final numbers, along with a named list of guests with allergies. If you do it digitally, the summary is generated automatically, with no manual counting.

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Want to collect guest details on diet, transport, and accommodation without copying texts into a spreadsheet? With souveil, the survey is part of your RSVP form — guests fill it in once when they confirm their attendance, and all the answers land right in your couple's dashboard, ready for your seating plan.