Your wedding website is one of the most important places for your guests to get information about your upcoming event.
Your wedding website is easily one of the most important areas for your guests to get information about your upcoming event. This is not a task that should be left at the bottom of your to-do list. In fact, you will want your wedding website up and running before you send out your invitations. With all your wedding information just a click away, guests won’t have to reach out to you with their questions. There is only so much information you can (and want) to include in your invitation. Think of your wedding website as an overflow for your invitations. This is where you will put all your information that did not fit on the invitation like registry information and extra details about your event.
Zola and The Knot make creating a website super easy, and even fun. Enclosure cards can be used to communicate some of these points, but with so little space, you’ll want to post more information in a place where it can be easily accessed by your guests. The Knot allows you to turn your website link into a QR code, which makes it very easy to share in an enclosure card. If the platform you’re using doesn’t allow this feature, just visit www.qr-code-generator.com and enter your link. It will automatically generate a downloadable QR code for easy sharing.
Read on to learn what pieces of information are essential to include on your website.
Registry Details
Your invitation is not typically a place you want to share your registry details. Instead include this information in your enclosure card (if you are including one) or on your website. Looking for a less traditional registry option? Many platforms allow guests to get a bit more creative when creating a registry. Gone are the days when you had to register for physical gifts. Both Zola and the Knot allow couples to register for experiences. Many guests are more likely to give money toward a shared experience during the honeymoon rather than giving to a general honeymoon fund.
Event Details
This is the most important section on your entire wedding website. In this section include all the information that you put on your invitation plus some. The date, time, and location are all extremely important pieces of information. Is your event an adult-only affair? Mention it here. This is also a good place to touch on the bar situation. If you are having a cash bar and your vendor doesn’t accept credit cards, it can be helpful to mention that here so your guests are prepared.
Dress Code
Establishing your dress code on your wedding website is so important. Usually, this is one of the first questions a guest will have. Some choose to include this on their wedding invitation but take advantage of your FAQ section on your website to go into detail about exactly what you are asking for. This can prevent unnecessary questions on what exactly is acceptable to wear. Here you can define your dress code, and even give examples. So no guest is questioning what exactly is “black tie optional” or “cocktail”.
Your Love Story
Everyone wants to know how and where you met you met. Your wedding website is the perfect place to include this information. Do be careful when writing your story, as massive blocks of text tend to lose people’s interest quickly. Instead try to break this information up into several shorter paragraphs, and keep it as short and to the point as possible.
Wedding Party
Wedding programs are becoming less and less popular. Your wedding website is a nice place to recognize those in your wedding party and to include a description of their relation to you. Including this information on your wedding website can save you a little money on paper products the day of. Honestly, and we hate to say it, a majority of the wedding programs end up in the trash at the end of the night anyway. Use this section to introduce your wedding party, and even add details on who the person is in relation to you.
Transportation & Lodging
Some couples opt to set up a hotel block for their guests or arrange transportation between the venue and the hotel. It could be helpful to note shuttle times here, as well as including a direct link to book in your hotel block. Your guest will appreciate the easy and smooth transition while they are making accommodations for your wedding.
Social Media Details
We hate to see it. The bride is walking down the aisle, and great aunt Beth has her iPad out trying to get photos and is in the background of all the photographer's photos. You hired a professional photographer for a reason. Establish whether you will be having an “unplugged” wedding, and set your expectations. This is also a good place to share your wedding hashtag if you have one, and any site you are using to share photos from your event (like Instagram or another photo-sharing platform).
Local Attractions/Restaurants
Sometimes your guests are visiting your city for the first time. What better way to welcome your guests than to give them ideas of things for them to do during or visit during their time here. Some guests may have a lot of downtime during the weekend or want to make a mini vacation for your event. Share your favorite activity to do in your city or favorite restaurant you and your sweetie like to visit. This will make your guests feel welcome in your city, and also share a few intimate details about yourselves.
Venue Guidelines
If your venue has guidelines or rules expected for guests this is a good place to address them. For example, many venues have a liquor license which means outside alcohol is not permitted on the premises. This ensures you have covered all your bases and your guests know what is and is not expected of them upon arrival.
Itinerary
An itinerary is super helpful to guests to let them know exactly where they should be and when. It is much easier than making and printing a paper itinerary or trying to email it out to ensure all guests who need it have it. With it on your wedding website, it makes it easy for anyone and everyone who needs to access the information.
RSVPs
Many website platforms allow couples to track their RSVPs in real-time. They also allow guests to RSVP instantly on your website. Guests can log on to your website, type in their name and RSVP, and even select their entree option (if applicable). This allows you to track your RSVPs in real-time. Additionally, with the use of a QR code directly to your website, guests can easily scan your code and arrive at your website rather than typing in a long URL and potentially making a mistake. Also, this eliminates the need for return envelopes and confusing RSVP cards without names. although, you may still want to include the physical RSVP card for older or less tech-savvy guests.
Unique Traditions
Unique traditions at weddings are always refreshing. Many guests may wonder what the reasoning is behind them or where they came from. This is the perfect place to tell guests about any of your unique traditions and the reason you are doing them. Not everyone is familiar with weddings, or even traditions from other cultures. Maybe you’ll even inspire someone to carry on your unique tradition!
With all this said, there is tons of information you can include on your website, but these are just a few examples of bits of information that would be nice to include. Remember, break up this information into bite-sized, easy-to-understand points so as not to overwhelm your guests. This is a lot of information but done right you can eliminate nearly all unnecessary communication leading up to your event.