It sounds like you did everything you could to make it fair. If there is a maximum capacity, you can't mess around with that. You would be putting people in jeopardy. It is awful that these folks are making it personal, but, you can move it off the personal and say you have to follow the safety requirements.
One thing to consider for next year -- if the event is really popular, is there another venue in your area where you could hold it to accommodate more people?
We are having our annual Halloween dance, and we are limited to approx. 800 guests as we are limited to space and volunteers at the event to safely monitor it. It is a family event, so students are able to bring mom and dad, etc., as well as younger siblings. We put a due date for ticket purchases clearly on the event form and now have people emailing and calling the school to get into the event. When we have to turn them away, they are extremely hostile and argumentative. We explain that it is due to several factors including space, volunteers, and fire code issues; but, they still persist and make it personal. Has anyone had similar situations running family events, and if so, how do you handle the backlash and waitlist issues if any?
