Managing a gala: guests, waiting list and a welcome without queues

Carton Blanc manages the guests of a gala held by invitation: invitations sent in waves, registrations confirmed at once, a waiting list when capacity is reached, a reminder the day before and check-in at the door on a phone.

A gala fills by recommendation. Tables are limited, guests expect careful treatment, and sponsors want a clear report: how many invited, how many present, how many absent. An Excel sheet shared between three people rarely meets that standard.

Carton Blanc gives the organising team a single list. Guests register on an elegant page, receive a confirmation, and on the night the welcome desk checks them in on a phone. The software does not sell tickets: if your gala is paid, payment is handled outside Carton Blanc.

How Carton Blanc handles this event

Invitations

You invite from a list, with the gala flyer. A partner or patron who invites their own contacts receives a personal link, and registrations that come through that link stay attached to them.

Registration

Each guest registers on the gala page and receives a confirmation instantly. The page shows the programme, venue and times.

Waiting list

Once the capacity of the venue is reached, later guests go on a waiting list and are told so. For a gala that is already full, it is the only honest way to treat people you cannot seat.

Reminders

The D-14 reminder goes only to guests who have not replied. The reminder the day before gives the address, the doors opening time and a calendar link.

Check-in

At the entrance, the list opens on a phone. Arrivals are checked off as they come, and the total present feeds the end-of-evening report.

The recommended mailing calendar

For a gala, Carton Blanc's default calendar holds up. You can bring the announcement forward by a few weeks if you are targeting executives whose diaries fill long in advance.

1. D-42 · Six weeks before

   The date announcement, with the flyer and the link to reserve a place.

2. D-28 · Four weeks before

   The full invitation: programme, speakers, venue, dress code.

3. D-14 · Two weeks before

   The reminder, only to guests who have not yet registered.

4. D-1 · The day before

   The reminder to registered guests: address, doors opening, calendar link.

5. D+2 · Two days after

   The recap of the evening, with a message for those who came and another for those who could not.

Organiser's tips

1. Give each relay its own link. A patron who invites twenty people will do it better than a forwarded message. With one link per relay, you can see where registrations come from.
2. State the dress code in the first invitation. It guides the choice of outfit weeks ahead and avoids last-minute questions.
3. Set up a separate check-in line for latecomers. Most guests arrive at the same time. Several phones open on the list, split alphabetically, shorten the wait.
4. Send the sponsors a report within the week. The follow-up message and the count of those present go out two days later. That is the window in which sponsors decide whether to return.

The flyer for this event

Several gala flyers exist in the catalogue: a night gala in midnight blue and gold, a photo gala and a classic card. They are created free of charge in your account.

See the flyers for this occasion

What Carton Blanc does not do

Carton Blanc is not a ticketing tool: it takes no ticket payments and sells nothing to guests. No email is sent without the organiser's approval. There is no advertising, no resale of data and no free plan.