Alright franz, we’re going to dive into what to include on your wedding website…but first:
You’re engaged! CONGRATS! This is one of the most exciting parts of the wedding journey and probably my absolute favorite. I remember being newly engaged and before my (then) fiancé could blink, the questions started POURING in. We were overwhelmed and exhausted answering a majority of the same questions over and over again. This is where wedding websites can save you a lot of time, exhaustion, and frustration. I want to walk through some of the key things you’ll want to include on your wedding website as soon as you are able. This single link on the interwebs will be a lifesaver later down the road.
BASICS
Let’s start with the basics, shall we!
WHO IS GETTING MARRIED!
Believe it or not, your distant relatives might not even know who your life partner is! This is a great chance to catch them up on your love story and how you got to this point together. Not to mention a fantastic spot to post up your gorgeous engagement photos. Give people a fun visual with the latest photos of you and perhaps some from your dating years!
EVENT DETAILS
Make sure your people know where they are supposed to be and when! Including details of the wedding venue, parking, local accommodations, and the weekend’s schedule are important details every guest will need. If you’re hosting a destination wedding, this is where making a travel guide for your guest is clutch. My couples who have hosted destination weddings have put together guides that include how to travel, what to pack, what airports and car services to use. You want to make travel as easy as possible for your guests. Then, they’ll be more likely to come!
HOW TO RSVP
Many of your vendors will need a final headcount for last-minute preparations. You definitely don’t want to pay for 150 plated dinners if only 120 show up. Sites like TheKnot and others have online RSVPs so people don’t have to worry about mailing a card back. However, if you love snail mail, ask your wedding suite designer to include RSVP cards and pre postage stamp them. This makes it easy for guests to fill them out and pop them right back in the mail to you. Also, make sure your RSVP date is 4 weeks prior to your wedding. This helps your vendors out!
FUN ADD-ONS
YOUR BRIDAL PARTY
Introduce your bridal party (if you’re having one!). Again, this helps give context to the important people in your life. Pro-tip: Make it brief. We don’t need the novel version of you and your 12 best friends, we just need the cliff notes 🙂
WEDDING GUEST EXPECTATIONS
Are you having an adult-only event? Do you have a dress code for your guests? Make sure these details make it onto your wedding website (and even as an insert in your wedding invitations). You don’t want to have any confusion on the day-of that could make someone feel awkward or unwelcome. This is also a great place to say if you’re having a dry wedding or if there are rules at the venue, such as no hard alcohol. Since most venues with this policy also have a fine associated with breaking the rules, you don’t want to end up with a huge bill because your guests were ill-prepared.
YOUR WEDDING REGISTRY or HONEYFUND
Whether you have a registry, or kindly ask guests to contribute to a honey-fund, or even to donate to your favorite local charity, your wedding website is a great place to host that information. Most websites have easy integration with wedding registries. My husband and I registered via the Amazon Wedding Registry since we could important things from any website to one single panel.
THE WRAP-UP
When it comes to figuring out what to include on your wedding website, it’s pretty simple. “What would I need to know as a guest”. If you can answer that question with the information on your wedding website, you’re good to go. I’m going to list a few of my favorite wedding website providers below. Take a few minutes to explore each one and figure out what works best for you. There isn’t a “right” way to do it, just a “you’ll want to do it”. I’m excited for you to start building! Make it awesome!
If you’re looking for more wedding planning tips, head over to my wedding tips page via the blog!
