How to Collect Guest Names During RSVP

Collect Guest Names lets you capture the individual name of every person each invitee is bringing — not just the count. It's perfect when you need a full attendee list (place cards, catering head counts, badges, guest-list check-in) but don't need a full seating chart.

If you later decide you do want to seat people, you just flip on Table Management — every name you've already collected becomes an unassigned guest ready to be dragged onto a table. No re-collection, no data loss.

Enabling Guest Name Capture

1. Go to your event dashboard at dashboard.fotify.app
2. Select your event and click "RSVP" in the sidebar
3. Open the "Details" tab
4. Find "Collect Guest Names" in the Event Settings section
5. Toggle it ON

That's it. The next time a guest RSVPs (through their invitation link or the public registration form), they'll be asked to enter the first and last name of every person in their party.

What Guests See

Once enabled, the RSVP form adjusts based on how many people the guest is bringing:

• Accepting solo — they fill in their own name, as usual
• Bringing plus-ones — a new section appears with a name row for each additional attendee
• Declining — no name fields are shown

First and last name are required for each entry, so you always end up with a complete attendee list.

Where the Collected Names Appear

All captured names are available throughout the dashboard:

• Guests tab — click the Users icon next to an RSVP to view or edit everyone in that party
• Guest list PDF export — each plus-one appears as an indented sub-row beneath the main invitation
• Attendance verification page — when a party is scanned at the door, security staff tap each person individually as they arrive, with per-person timestamps
• Tables tab (if you later enable Table Management) — every named person shows up as an unassigned chip, ready to seat

You can also pre-fill names yourself from the Guests tab if you already know who's coming with each invitee.

Relationship with Table Management

Collect Guest Names and Table Management work with the same underlying data — they're just two different ways to use it.

Setting	Tables Off	Tables On
Collect Guest Names toggle	Optional	Required — automatically ON and locked
Guests enter names during RSVP	Yes, if toggle is on	Always yes
Dashboard shows Tables tab	No	Yes
Seating chart / drag-and-drop	No	Yes

Key behaviour:

• Turning Table Management ON automatically turns Collect Guest Names ON and locks it (tables need per-person names to work).
• Turning Table Management OFF leaves the guest-names toggle wherever you set it. You can keep collecting names without tables, or disable both.
• You can start simple with just Collect Guest Names, then flip tables on later — every existing name is preserved.

When to Use Each Option

Use Collect Guest Names only if you want:

• A full attendee list for catering, badges, or check-in
• Personalized place cards without a formal seating chart
• To plan seating informally (e.g., on paper) using the exported guest list

Use Table Management (which includes Guest Names) if you want:

• A visual seating chart with drag-and-drop
• Per-table capacities and color-coded RSVP status
• Guests to see their assigned table inside the invitation

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: I turned on Collect Guest Names after some guests had already RSVPed. Will I get their plus-ones' names? A: Existing RSVPs keep the names they submitted (the main guest's name is always there). New RSVPs and RSVP edits from existing guests will include the plus-one names going forward. You can also pre-fill any missing names yourself from the Guests tab.

Q: Can I disable Collect Guest Names after turning it on? A: Yes — as long as Table Management is off. While Table Management is enabled, Collect Guest Names is required and the toggle is disabled. Turn tables off first if you want to stop collecting names.

Q: Will turning Table Management off erase the collected names? A: No. Your guest names are preserved regardless of the Tables toggle. Turning tables off just hides the seating UI — the names stay attached to the RSVP.

Q: Are guest names shown to other guests? A: No. Individual names are only visible in your organizer dashboard and in the guest's own invitation (where they can edit their own party).

Q: Does Collect Guest Names replace the plus-one counter? A: No, they work together. Guests still pick how many people they're bringing, and then they're asked to name each one.

Q: Does this work with the public registration form? A: Yes. Whenever Collect Guest Names (or Table Management) is on, the public registration form asks for each plus-one's name.