How to Design Your Wedding Website

It's the easiest way to share info with your guests that's too long or too complicated to put on the invitations. Plus, as the big day draws near, your website is a great way to keep all of your guests in the loop. Sounds easy enough, right? Well, once you sit down to actually create your wedding website, you may find yourself unsure of which details you should include and which ones you can skip. Don't worry...we've got you covered!

The first thing guests will want to know is where exactly the wedding and reception will be held. Guests coming from out of town will also probably already be worried about small things like parking and travel times, so make sure the details are there and are easy for non-locals to understand.

If you're booking a hotel block for your guests, put the relevant info (including important dates and deadlines) on your website. You should also mention the major airport that’s nearest the hotel(s) and cover the transportation services (like Zipcar, Uber, or the Metro) you’d recommend. Also, guests always appreciate a list of the best restaurants, shopping districts, parks, and landmarks they can visit during their trip.

At the bare minimum, guests just want to be told where they need to be and when. Be sure to include info about the ceremony and reception start times as well as the schedule for any extra events like the after-party and morning-after brunch. Remember to only include details about the events everyone is welcome to attend. You don’t want to be having any awkward conversations later on!

How would you like people to get in touch with you if they have questions or concerns? Making it clear on the website can help you and your guests stay organized. We suggest creating a separate email address that is only used for interacting with your vendors and guests about wedding related issues. That way, you won't forget to respond to your cousin who Facebook messages you asking whether or not she can bring her kids to the wedding.

If you had engagement photos taken, this is a great place to display them! Don't go overboard, though. One of guests' biggest issues with wedding websites (and yes, they aren’t everyone’s thing) is the gallery of 500+ photos. Pick the best ones from your engagement session or a couple of your favorite snapshots and then move on.

If you and your fiance have been dating since high school and everyone attending the wedding knows you both pretty well, you can definitely skip this section. But if you're having a big wedding with a lot of extended family who don't know you or your intentions very well, give some background info! Share what you do for a living, what your hobbies are, and how the two of you met. People love getting little details like this!

Even if your guests know you well, it's possible they don't know your wedding party very well. Providing your pals' names along with photos and a line or two about how you know each other on the website is a great way to facilitate new connections and easy mingling at the wedding!

While you should never dictate your guests' clothing, you can list the dress code (like "black tie optional'' or "semi-formal") on your website. It can also be nice to include some useful tips for dressing for the weather or venue. For example: "San Francisco is chilly this time of year, so pack a pashmina!" or "The ceremony is in a garden, so consider wearing wedges instead of heels!"

According to most wedding etiquette experts, the website is the only place where it's appropriate to share your registry. So leave it off your invitations! All you need to include is the names and logos of the stores where you’re registered, your guests can figure it out from there.

Some - if not all - of your guests will be traveling to your wedding, so it is important to provide them with all the necessary information about booking their travel. Your wedding website is a perfect place to post this information so they can make informed decisions. You should make sure to include a list of hotels and resorts where you’ve booked room blocks, transportation details, and any other location specifics.

This is a section on your website that you will be updating throughout your wedding planning journey. You can include set times for specific events, key details surrounding transportation, and any other requirements like attire or food specifications. Overall, this is a place your guests can go to have all of their most pressing questions answered. Try to think about things that’d you’d be wondering if you’d been invited!

Your guests may be wondering if you're taking a honeymoon. If you are, it doesn't hurt to include a little info! We recommend sharing a picture of your destination and a couple of details: "We're so excited to head to Cancun from May 10th to May 18th! Casey can't wait to go zip-lining, while Alex plans to lay on the beach for most of the trip."

Ultimately, remember that your wedding website is there to make life easier for your guests. Focus on their needs. That means choosing a template that’s easy to navigate — bonus points if it's easy to read on mobile, too! Basically, don't prioritize style over function. If it looks gorgeous but is confusing or hides important information, no one will ever use it. 

Having a wedding website is the perfect way to ensure that every guest has the opportunity to educate themselves about your plans, especially in the time of COVID-19 where plans and regulations are constantly shifting. It’ll certainly save you hours of phone time explaining your decision! This is a great place to include any specific requirements that you’ll have for your wedding. For example, if you’re requiring masks or proof of vaccination.