It’s no secret that weddings come with a hundred things to remember. Venue location, dress code, event order, and much more. Once you’ve gone over it in your head a few thousand times, you have it all down, but now you have to relay everything to your guests and hope they remember, too!
Luckily for you, we’re living in the digital age. Personalized wedding websites are the norm now, and they’re a great way to communicate all your wedding details to your guests. But what sorts of things do people put on their wedding websites, anyway?
Hello from Olio! I’m Sarah, the owner of this beautiful historic event space in Peabody, MA. This large, open space is perfect for all sorts of creative weddings. With my years of experience here and in my other business, Without a Hitch, I’ve seen all sorts of weddings, and I know what essentials need to be communicated to the wedding guests.
In other words, I’m here to tell you what essentials you’ll need to create your own wedding website! Here are some wedding website tips to ensure your site is spectacular.
Include Your Love Story
Let’s start with the basics, AKA you! Since your love story is at the center of this wedding, tell people about it! Think of it as your about page. This can include general background information on the happy couple – where you grew up, studies, interests, etc. Then there’s the main story, the story of your relationship. This could be how you met, what made you choose one another, and/or the story of the proposal. Whichever is most exciting and captures your love story the best, make it a main part of your wedding website!
Make a Clear Event Timeline
One of the most essential parts of your wedding website will be an event itinerary. Be clear about all the basics. Give the time, location, and directions for every event that all guests are invited to attend. This most likely includes the ceremony, cocktail hour, reception, and possibly an afterparty. A wedding website is very handy for this sort of thing since all the information is in one place that anyone can access on their smartphone throughout the day.
It is also important to make sure you don’t include any exclusive wedding events on your timeline. Rehearsal dinners, private events with your VIPS, or bachelor/bachelorette parties should be left off, along with any other events that exclude certain guests. Instead, reach out directly to the guests you want to invite to those exclusive events. This helps prevent confusion about guest invitations and avoids hurt feelings or cases of FOMO among those not invited.
Provide Travel and Hotel Info
Another important wedding website tip is to give your guests the necessary travel info. Since you’ll most likely have at least a few guests unfamiliar with the area, make sure to put the venue location and directions to the venue on your wedding website. If you’re in a city or suburb with public transportation, try to inform people on the best routes to your venue. For instance, if your guests are landing in Boston, and your venue is in Peabody, the closest subway transit to your venue is in Salem. You’ll want to tell them that, so they don’t end up lost on the T.
Providing choices for hotels is also super helpful but try not to overdo it. You don’t want to overwhelm your guests with choices, so try to aim for the best ones, or maybe the cheapest ones. We typically recommend choosing one single hotel (if possible) or two if needed.
Booked Olio clients, check your client portal for details on nearby hotels.
Tell Guests Your Wedding’s Dress Code
If you want to communicate a clear dress code for your wedding, your wedding website is the place to do it. That may mean you want a traditional dress code like black-tie formal, semi-formal, etc. However, it could also mean you want something nontraditional that fits your theme and vibe, like “beach formal”, “gothic semi-formal”, etc. If you’re looking to match your dress code with a unique theme, the wedding website can be a great place to link your guests to images for outfit inspiration. That way, everyone can see what you’re going for.
Set Up an RSVP Option
While it might be better to send your grandma a paper RSVP with a response card and pre-stamped envelope, keeping track of that for every single person may get a little hectic. Mail gets lost in transit all the time, after all. An online RSVP form on your wedding website encourages your guests to quickly fill out the form and settle the RSVP right away. You can even encourage people to fill out the form at the top of your site page. It's a much more convenient and sustainable RSVP method. Plus, it will give you one less thing to stress over. However, it’s also smart to make sure there are some traditional paper options, specifically for your elderly or less tech-savvy guests.
Link to Your Gift Registry
The great thing about a wedding website is that you can have everything your guests need in one place, in a way that traditional paper invites just can’t do. For instance, putting the link to your wedding registry on a paper invitation may come across as tacky or rude. However, putting a subtle link to your registry on your wedding website doesn’t have that effect at all. It’s just a quick and convenient way to show people what you might want as a wedding gift. It can be done humbly and politely, especially if you add a little electronic “thank you” note whenever a guest makes a purchase for you.
Wedding Website Tips
Now that we’ve hit all the main points, here are some additional wedding website tips to help you create the perfect site.
Add an FAQ section – Make sure to add an FAQ section, as there are bound to be a few logistical questions everyone asks. Is your venue handicap accessible? Can guests bring a Plus One? What’s your wedding hashtag? Any little but important question that can be easily cleared up should go right here.
Introduce the Wedding Party – Some couples will have short introductions for each member of the wedding party close to or alongside the couple’s story. It’s a great way to create conversation starters for guests who may not know the party members.
List Local Attractions – Near your travel info, it’s a smart idea to list a few nearby attractions, especially if you know you have guests who are traveling far or staying long in the area.
URL – Personalized and Private – This tip is twofold. When creating a URL for your wedding website, try to get a custom URL. This will make it look cleaner on any stationary you print it on. Also, be careful where you release your URL. It may seem easier to post in on social media and call it a day, but then all your followers who weren’t invited will see it as well. And that can be...awkward. Some people don’t print the URL on the invitations. Save-The-Dates are often the perfect place to introduce your brand-new wedding website to your guests. You may also password-protect your set to keep things private and share the password on an invite insert.
Keep the Website Mobile-Friendly – When designing your website, remember to consider its appearance on mobile devices. Whether you're using Wix, Minted, The Knot, Joy, Squarespace, or another website builder, most platforms offer tools to help design your site's mobile layout. Utilize these options to ensure your mobile users have a seamless experience.
Make the Site Fit Your Theme – Your wedding website doesn’t need to look bland and boring. Many website-building platforms allow you to create themes through background details, coloring, and photography. Take advantage of these tools and make the site fit your wedding’s vibe!
No Acronyms – This last tip may be a little less essential, but it’s still very helpful. There is so much wedding terminology out there! You want to avoid confusing language, and using acronyms for certain things can be very confusing to those not in the know. Is “BM” a best man or a bridesmaid? Is a “MOH” a matron or a maid of honor? Avoid using acronyms for local places, too. If you’re directing people through East Cambridge, don’t use the slang “EC”. You don’t want out-of-towners getting lost.
I hope these tips helped with your wedding website creation! If you’re still in the stages of planning, and if you need a venue, feel free to contact us, send me a text (978-595-1091) or book a tour! We’d love to get to know you.
See you soon,
Sarah Narcus,
Owner, Olio
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