You have two possible Saturdays and three household replies. One household can attend either date, another can attend only the first, and a third can attend only the second. A fourth has not replied. Before you write an invitation, put those answers beside each other and identify what you still need to ask.
Start the family reunion planning checklist with the decisions that produce the event details. The original worksheet below turns a small set of fictional replies into a date comparison, a venue inquiry and a tentative first message. It does not choose a date for the family.
Open the complete example · Download the full HTML source
Collect the answers the first decision needs
Ask each household about the same candidate dates. Distinguish “can attend,” “cannot attend” and “no reply.” Record the date of the answer and who can clarify it. Keep a preference separate from availability: someone may prefer June 19 while still being able to attend June 12.
The fictional Reed planning exercise has four households:
- A: June 12 yes, June 19 yes; prefers June 19.
- B: June 12 yes, June 19 no.
- C: June 12 no, June 19 yes.
- D: no reply about either date.
For each Saturday, two households said yes, one said no and one has not replied. Each has three replies out of four households. These are household counts, not guest counts. The exercise supplies no party sizes, so neither date has a confirmed attendance total.
Keep the original answers in the worksheet. A missing reply must remain missing when you count available households. Choosing the first Saturday merely because it appears first would hide the unresolved tradeoff.
Use the checklist to prepare a real conversation
Visit Houston's reunion planning checklist covers family interest, a planning committee, budgeting, communications, event arrangements and later supplier checks. Use those areas to identify the people and information your particular gathering needs. The worksheet here is an original small-family example, not a copy of its checklist or a venue booking.
Begin with a short organizer sequence:
- List the households you intend to contact and assign one person to collect replies.
- Compare candidate dates without changing unresolved answers into agreement.
- Ask the venue about both dates, capacity, indoor alternatives, access needs and written costs or terms relevant to your group.
- Bring the replies and venue information back to the family before committing to a date or price.
- Assign food, communications and day-of coordination, then build the invitation from the details actually settled.
For Reed, the response coordinator's next task is to contact D. The venue contact can inquire about both dates while that reply is outstanding. Party sizes, the family's spending limit, the venue, costs and any reservation are all blank in the model. They are questions to resolve, not zero-dollar entries.
Send a tentative message that asks for the missing information
The example includes a ready-to-edit first message:
We are comparing June 12 and June 19 for a family reunion. No date or venue has been booked. Please tell the response coordinator which dates your household can attend, your expected party size, and any arrangements you want discussed privately before a location is chosen. The reply deadline and contact details will be added before this message is sent.
Add a real deadline and contact route before using it. Keep sensitive details out of a broadly shared family worksheet; arrange a suitable direct conversation where needed. A relative's answer to the message still needs to be recorded in the working document. The HTML example does not collect replies.
Once the date and venue are settled, use the family reunion website guide to organize the guest-facing information. That page serves a different moment: relatives need the confirmed where and when, while the organizer worksheet helps you reach those decisions.
Keep an editable working copy
Download the filled Markdown model to inspect the complete example, or start with the blank Markdown worksheet. Fill in your own candidate dates, household references, reply wording, coordinators and unanswered venue questions. Keep the HTML as a reading copy for checking whether the comparison and next questions make sense together.
The sample includes the supplied replies and their counts on one page, so a reviewer can trace each total back to a household. It also keeps the tentative message separate from the venue inquiry. Neither document claims that a message was sent, a payment was made or a booking was accepted.
Finish the first planning conversation with a specific next question and the person who will ask it. For this example, that means following up with D and obtaining venue information for both Saturdays before converting a tentative plan into an invitation.
Download the filled organizer model · Download the blank organizer worksheet