How do you use an Excel spreadsheet for a wedding guest list?

Open a new workbook and label the first row with your column headers. Type each guest's details into their own row, keeping one person per line. Do not merge cells for names, as this breaks sorting and filtering.

Once your list is populated, use the filter feature to see only the people who have not replied. You can also sort by surname to check for duplicates or by household to keep families together. The count function tells you how many people are in each group without you having to add them up by hand.

• Use data validation to make sure status cells only contain the words you chose, such as accepted or declined.
• Freeze the top row so your headers stay visible as you scroll.
• Save a copy before you make big changes, in case you need to start again.

Share the file carefully. Only people who need it should have edit access. If you are worried about confusion, keep one master copy and let helpers view or comment rather than edit.