Event parts

Some events are really several events. A ceremony and a reception. A conference day and a dinner. A morning session and an evening one.

Event parts let you define those separately, decide which guests are invited to which, and track RSVPs per part. Set them up from Manage Event → Event Parts.

Defining parts

Each part has a name, and optionally a description, a start and end time, and its own location. The location matters more than it looks: parts are how you handle a day that moves between venues, and a guest invited to the evening needs the evening address rather than the morning one.

Parts keep the order you put them in.

Entitling guests

Guests are entitled to parts individually. Someone invited to everything sees everything; someone invited only to the evening sees only the evening.

Each guest’s invitation reflects what they are entitled to, so nobody is told about a part they are not invited to. That is the awkwardness this feature exists to remove.

Per-part RSVPs

Guests respond per part, and each response is recorded separately, so you get attending headcounts for each one.

This is the reason to use parts rather than running separate events. Catering for the reception is a different number from seats at the ceremony, and parts give you both from one guest list.

Not the same as a schedule

A schedule is the running order everyone sees. Parts are invitations that different people get and respond to separately. An event can have both, and often should: parts to decide who comes to what, a schedule to tell the people who are coming what the day looks like.

When not to bother

If everyone is invited to the whole thing, do not use parts. A single event with one RSVP is simpler for you and for your guests. Parts earn their complexity only when the guest lists genuinely differ.