Ask when the kitchen needs the restriction count

The date a guest count locks and the date a kitchen needs restriction notes are two clocks. The operator confirms the date, and published spaces are whatever is listed.

Write the lock date and the kitchen date on two lines

A headcount can be final while the restriction list is still open, or the reverse. Ask the operator which date is which before you treat one deadline as both. Put the guest-count lock on the first line. Put the date the kitchen needs the restriction notes on the second line. Leave a line blank until the operator writes that date.

The first row is only the guest-count clock. The second row is only the restriction-notes clock. A reply that fills one row leaves the other row open. Sending the headcount does not send the restriction list unless the operator says that note included both. When a reply could sit on either line, ask which date the operator means and write it on the matching line. The same calendar day can hold both answers. Write them on two lines so a later change to one date stays on its own line.

Who is counted is a different guide. Yeses, plus-ones, and vendor meals are who is counted in Ask which headcount line a venue contract includes. That page is about who is counted, not when the kitchen needs notes. Keep the people there. Keep the two dates here.

Ask what the kitchen wants written down, and leave the list blank until guests have answered. A restriction the guest wrote down is copied in the guest's words. The operator says what the kitchen wants written down, and the operator says which date those notes are due. Ask what to do if a note arrives after the kitchen date, or if a guest is added after the lock date, and write that answer beside its line.

Hold both dates on the venue comparison worksheet, the lock date in one cell and the kitchen date in another, beside the space you asked about. An empty cell means you are still waiting. Two operators can name two different pairs. Keep each pair with the operator who wrote it.

The room is a separate choice. Private dining rooms in Washington, DC asks whether a quote is a closed room or a buyout of the whole service. Rehearsal dinner venues in Washington, DC asks whether the dinner stays near the hotel and ends in time for people to sleep. Use those pages to choose a room. Bring this table into that conversation and ask that operator which date is which.

Hypothetical: RSVPs at 21 days, kitchen list at 14 days

This section is a hypothetical. Neither number is a standard deadline. The figures show a gap between two clocks the operator has not yet written. This is not medical advice and not a kitchen policy. Replace both numbers with the dates the operator writes.

In the hypothetical, RSVPs close 21 days before the event, and the kitchen needs the restriction list 14 days before the event. 21 - 14 = 7. Seven days sit between the RSVP close and the kitchen's restriction deadline. Those days exist only after the operator writes both dates.

The hypothetical puts the guest-count clock first. The count locks 21 days out, and the kitchen date is 14 days out. Across those 7 days, the headcount can be final while the restriction list is still open. A guest who has not answered still has a blank line. A restriction the guest wrote down in that stretch goes on the list in the guest's words. If the operator names the kitchen date earlier than the lock date, write that order instead: the restriction list can close while the guest count is still open. Ask which date the operator means before you treat one deadline as both.

Start from the spaces that are listed

Published spaces are whatever is listed. Browse published spaces, then ask that operator which date the guest count locks and which date the kitchen needs the restriction notes. The operator confirms the date. While either line is still blank, stay with the DMV venue guides and the venue guide. Plan the gathering after the operator has written both dates, each on its own line.