The Why and How of Wedding Websites

If you’re still on the fence about whether or not to put in the time necessary to build a wedding website, we’ve got you. In the why and how of wedding websites, we’ll cover the reasons for having one and then clue you in to what you should make sure to include. Plus we’ll cover the extras… things that aren’t totally necessary but would add to the experience for you and your guests.

Maybe you’ve had this happen: you put the date for a wedding on your calendar and somehow the invite that was on the refrigerator for months on end is missing. So now you have the date but are missing the details.

And you don’t want to bother the bride or the groom, right? They’re busy! And you’re not sure who else is invited and asking someone who is not invited… well, things can just get messy and awkward.

All of this anxiety (and more) can be avoided with a wedding website, of course.

Why have a wedding website

It’s always there

This is the number one reason for a wedding website: once you post that information, it’s there. For good. Until you decide to shut it down.

If someone does bother you with questions about details, you can just point them to the website. So simple.

But it’s not just for the guests

Here’s what a lot of people don’t take advantage of: the wedding website isn’t just limited to pages you’ve shared publicly. You can create private pages where you keep track of every single detail of planning, communications with vendors, important appointments, and notes.

Think of all the sticky notes you could eliminate. And of course, it’s always with you.

You can also have pages that you only share with your bridal party or your immediate family. Anything you need to convey to specific subsets of people can be dealt with via your website.

Let it work for you

From your wedding website, you’ll be able to send out digital save the dates (and you can also do paper if you’re sentimental about having that keepsake) and digital invites. Even if you exclusively do mailed invitations, you should have them RSVP on the website.

Then you can track your guest numbers and always have that information at your fingertips.

You should also link to your gift registries and keep track of all of that from one spot. How easy will this make things when it’s time to write thank you notes?!

Get new information out fast

If there are any changes to anything about the wedding — from weather impacting venues to a sudden alteration in the timeline — you can get this to your guests quickly and efficiently with an email update.

You can even build countdown newsletters to create excitement and anticipation.

Set the tone for your big day

Your website can and should reflect the tone of not just you as a couple but also of the wedding itself.

You can do this by choosing colors that match the wedding party and photos of the two of you and family and anything you share in common to create a visual narrative. (We wonder who could help with that in terms of, huh, engagement photos?)

The How of Wedding Websites

Tech Stuff

What if you’re not great with computers? Don’t be intimidated. There are all kinds of wedding website services out there that do most of the work for you. You just have to upload photos and words and pick colors. Fun stuff. No coding involved.

You can look at popular wedding website platforms here.

And a lot of them are free unless you want a custom domain name. Which we think would be fun so go for it.

Start with your story

Have a landing page with photos of the two of you and share your story. How and when did you meet? Is there a fun story around your engagement? Get creative. What do you want people to know about the two of you as a couple and about each of you as individuals?

Also consider that there will be people at the wedding who do not know each other but just know the two of you. When you share your stories like this, it helps everyone feel like they’re part of the bigger picture.

Think about the basics

What do people need to know? Have every bit of information they could possible ask for in one spot. The address of the church or the venue. The exact timeline for the day. The timeline for other days if you’re having more events over a longer time period. Hotels they could stay at (with links).

Your wedding website could even link to our post about Erie activities for out of town guests. ((wink)) But seriously, do. Because why reinvent the wheel? Link to as many helpful pages as you can rather than writing everything yourself.

Include less obvious stuff like dress codes. And make sure to explain what you mean. Wording around this can be very confusing to people. What the heck does “American cocktail attire” mean!? Spell it out. (Please.)

Extras that you could consider

• Are you including any fun or unique traditions in your wedding? Explain them ahead of time and why you’re doing them. This will add to everyone’s enjoyment.
• You could create a section with photos and tiny bios of everyone involved in the wedding from your wedding party to the officiant to anyone else people will see at the edges of the main event.
• Create a new page after the wedding with some of your wedding photos. This is especially nice if you don’t want to blast them all over your social media.
• Speaking of social media, this can be a good place to set up some rules around photos from the wedding and their usage. Also, remind guests to not have their phones out during the ceremony itself. That’s what we’re for.

Also consider the fact that this website you’re creating is a sort of archive of this momentous event. It’s another way to preserve the memories of what went into making your day so special. (You can often download web pages if you don’t want to keep the site active after the wedding.)

We hope this all helps!