Forty sessions on a Saturday. Families pick a slot.
Eight time slots with five sessions each. A slot greys out the moment it fills, families see their number, and nobody gets the 10:30 twice.
The problem
Fall minis go up on Instagram and the DMs are the booking system
You post the date and within an hour there are 90 DMs for 40 slots. You reply to each one with the times left, and by the time they answer the slot is gone. A Google Form does not know the 10:30 is taken. Someone gets double-booked every year.
The recipe
Exactly what the button sets up
Capacity, reset time, opening hours, and the form fields. It is a starting point, not a cage. Every value is editable in Settings and the builder.
Recipe
Fall minis, Oct 18
- Eight hourly slots, five sessions each. A full slot is greyed out on the form and rejected by the API.
- 40 sessions total as a backstop. The form reads as full at 40.
- No opening hours. Open the list when you announce the date.
- Asks for name, phone, time slot, and how many people.
- Families see their number on the success screen.
- Capacity
- 40 in total
- Signups open
- Any time
- Form asks for
- Email, Name, Phone, Time slot, People in the photo
- Slots: Time slot
- 9:00 AM (5), 10:00 AM (5), 11:00 AM (5), 12:00 PM (5), 1:00 PM (5), 2:00 PM (5), 3:00 PM (5), 4:00 PM (5)
- Counter on the form
- Shown
How it works here
How the list works
Cap each slot
Eight hourly slots, five sessions each. When the 10:30 fills, it greys out and the API refuses it.
Cap the day
Forty sessions as a backstop. The form says full when they are gone.
Party size
A number field for people. You know which slots need the wide lens.
Numbered requests
"You're #23." Families stop DMing to ask if they made it.
Confirm from the export
CSV in position order with slot and party size. Confirm by email, in order.
Same link every season
Change the date in the name and the slots in the dropdown. The link stays the same.
Why it holds up
What matters most
No more double bookings
Slot capacity is enforced inside the same database lock as the position number. Two families cannot both get the last 10:30.
The DMs stop
The form shows which times are left and greys out the full ones. You answer the interesting questions.
The form looks like your portfolio
Serif type, warm background, your accent. Tokens, set once.
It works from a bio link
The hosted page goes in your Instagram bio. No website changes needed.
FAQ
Questions people here ask
Can families pay the session fee here?
No. Unwaited does not take payments. Send an invoice or checkout link when you confirm the slot.
Can it cap each time slot?
Yes. Each slot has its own capacity. Set five for the 9:00, one for the 4:00, whatever the light allows. A full slot is disabled on the form and rejected by the API.
What if two families submit for the last spot at the same time?
One gets it. The check runs inside the database lock that assigns numbers, so the second sees the slot marked full and picks another.
Does it email the confirmation?
Yes. They get a confirmation with their number and slot, plus a link to check their place or cancel. You get an owner email per request.