Susan wanted to know about the program and the menu (see below) but I wanted to write about data management and event planning.

I won't go into to much detail but here's the long and the short of it:

Data integration: GOOD
Data silos: BAD
Using a bunch of excel spreadsheets to manage an event: UGLY

Trying to manage all of the moving parts of an event with a bunch of spreadsheets is a losing proposition. You'll waste a lot of time doing double data entry and you'll make mistakes like assigning a person to the wrong table, excluding someone from the guest list, etc.

Don't do it. Before even considering hosting an event, at the very least get yourself a proper database that integrates contact management and donations with an event module that can produce all of the outputs that you're going to need for the big day (nametags, seating, guest list, who paid who didn't, pledges, dietary restrictions, etc.). Check out Techsoup for some pointers on choosing a database or a Constituent (or Customer) Relationship Management (CRM) solution.