I have recently got married and the truth is before meeting my husband, I did not really think I would get married. So I have never thought much about the wedding.
On the other note, the one thing I know very well is the technology, internet and specially website design and development. So immediately after saying yes we started planning and designing our wedding website because we wanted to do things differently.
Both of us are from web design and development industry and we have seen the spectrum of different websites ranging from good to bad and template cluttered to ugly. We thought of doing some research before creating our wedding website and we have found out ten most important things that make a wedding website breathtakingly impressive and spectacular. So whether you are an internet geek or a beginner, the following list is a perfect place to start when you are planning to create your wedding website.
1) CHOOSE MEMORABLE AND EASY WEDDING WEBSITE URL:
Consider securing a website domain name that has both yours and your partners name if available - this makes it a bit more special for you and will be more memorable for your family, friends and guests too. Try getting the combinations like these two examples:
- SuzieAndJonathan.com
- SuzieJonathanWedding.com
However on invitations, it makes sense to put the shorter URL so you can ensure your wedding website fits well on invitations. You can use URL shorteners like Bitly or Google's URL shortener.
2) INCLUDE VENUE INFORMATION:
It’s important to provide your guests as much information as possible for them to arrive on time and easily find the venues. You can have the following on venue page:
• Phone numbers of contact personnel’s at the venue
• Location map that can provide easy directions. The best way is to add a Google Map
• Ceremony start and end time
• Additional special information and instructions
Expert Tip: Include a link on your wedding website to download a document with phone number, location and any other important details for the venue. Some or most of your guests will want to get the map printed and have the venue information readily available on your big day.
3) PROVIDE INFORMATION OF HOTELS:
Find out the best hotels in the area and list them on your website to help your guests find the best hotel to stay, also try providing several options and a different price range. Ensure that you provide following useful information of hotel page on your wedding website:
• Information of location
• Contact details of the hotel including phone numbers and email address
4) PROVIDE INFORMATION OF REGISTRY:
There are many online stores who offer element for their registries. You can consider linking them directly to your registry from these pages. Some popular registries which you can include are:
• Crate and Barrel
• Bloomingdales
• Williams-Sonoma
• Macy's
Expert Tip: You can also add some items which are not part of an official registry. For example, you could add wish list of Amazon.com or add a link to any other specific item.
5) ADD A PROPOSAL STORY:
We all love a great love story, isn’t it? So give your family, friends and guests what they want. This is the best chance you have to talk about your proposal and share your personal stories and everyone will naturally get curious to know all the details.
6) SHARE A PHOTO ALBUM:
You can share photo albums on your wedding website and make a life story. Albums can be combined into various categories. Here are some ideas of organising your photos into different categories:
• Pictures as a couple
• Pictures of engagement
• Pictures of your wedding
• Pictures of your honeymoon
• Pictures of your baby shower
• Pictures of your baby
• Pictures of your first home
7) USE RSVP FORM:
Your wedding website allows you to easily receive RSVP from your guests. One of the easiest ways to do this is to use Google Docs, add it in your wedding website, and set the form up to notify you when your guest has sent an RSVP.
Make this form sweet and short with a section for comments for your guests to send a personalised message. Here is a general idea of what fields you should include in your RSVP form:
• Include a listing of all names of your guests
• Will they be attending your wedding? Add two fields “Accept with pleasure” and “Regretfully decline”
• Contact info and email address
• Food preference (Vegetarian, Non-vegetarian)
• Comments
8) ADD A SPECIAL AND PERSONAL TOUCH:
Whether you are creating your wedding website with your wedding colors or you and your partner have any favorite font, ensure that you add a sweet digital touch of your love to your wedding website to make it specially yours.
9) ADD YOUR VENDORS LIST:
I am sure you would want to show some love to the vendors who make your wedding special and beautiful. Here is your chance to promote them and let them know how delighted you are to work with them. You can add a listing of their wedding services websites with a small description of how they supported you and why you love them.
10) DON’T FORGET TO ADD A WEDDING DATE:
Make sure that you don’t forget to add your wedding date on your website, ideally your wedding date should come on the home page in bigger and bolder font, in addition you can add the date on additional pages, perhaps at the top area of the web page (the header) or at the bottom of each page (the footer).
• Phone numbers of contact personnel’s at the venue
• Location map that can provide easy directions. The best way is to add a Google Map
• Ceremony start and end time
• Additional special information and instructions
Expert Tip: Include a link on your wedding website to download a document with phone number, location and any other important details for the venue. Some or most of your guests will want to get the map printed and have the venue information readily available on your big day.
3) PROVIDE INFORMATION OF HOTELS:
Find out the best hotels in the area and list them on your website to help your guests find the best hotel to stay, also try providing several options and a different price range. Ensure that you provide following useful information of hotel page on your wedding website:
• Information of location
• Contact details of the hotel including phone numbers and email address
4) PROVIDE INFORMATION OF REGISTRY:
There are many online stores who offer element for their registries. You can consider linking them directly to your registry from these pages. Some popular registries which you can include are:
• Crate and Barrel
• Bloomingdales
• Williams-Sonoma
• Macy's
Expert Tip: You can also add some items which are not part of an official registry. For example, you could add wish list of Amazon.com or add a link to any other specific item.
5) ADD A PROPOSAL STORY:
We all love a great love story, isn’t it? So give your family, friends and guests what they want. This is the best chance you have to talk about your proposal and share your personal stories and everyone will naturally get curious to know all the details.
6) SHARE A PHOTO ALBUM:
You can share photo albums on your wedding website and make a life story. Albums can be combined into various categories. Here are some ideas of organising your photos into different categories:
• Pictures as a couple
• Pictures of engagement
• Pictures of your wedding
• Pictures of your honeymoon
• Pictures of your baby shower
• Pictures of your baby
• Pictures of your first home
7) USE RSVP FORM:
Your wedding website allows you to easily receive RSVP from your guests. One of the easiest ways to do this is to use Google Docs, add it in your wedding website, and set the form up to notify you when your guest has sent an RSVP.
Make this form sweet and short with a section for comments for your guests to send a personalised message. Here is a general idea of what fields you should include in your RSVP form:
• Include a listing of all names of your guests
• Will they be attending your wedding? Add two fields “Accept with pleasure” and “Regretfully decline”
• Contact info and email address
• Food preference (Vegetarian, Non-vegetarian)
• Comments
8) ADD A SPECIAL AND PERSONAL TOUCH:
Whether you are creating your wedding website with your wedding colors or you and your partner have any favorite font, ensure that you add a sweet digital touch of your love to your wedding website to make it specially yours.
9) ADD YOUR VENDORS LIST:
I am sure you would want to show some love to the vendors who make your wedding special and beautiful. Here is your chance to promote them and let them know how delighted you are to work with them. You can add a listing of their wedding services websites with a small description of how they supported you and why you love them.
10) DON’T FORGET TO ADD A WEDDING DATE:
Make sure that you don’t forget to add your wedding date on your website, ideally your wedding date should come on the home page in bigger and bolder font, in addition you can add the date on additional pages, perhaps at the top area of the web page (the header) or at the bottom of each page (the footer).
I'm used for my own wedding website http://weddinges.com
ReplyDeleteVery useful tips for brides when planning their wedding website. But if you need help with your wedding planning, consider using an all in one event planning software that helps you collaborate with your team efficiently. Also, using a free seating plan software will help you handle your guest management without loosing your mind completely.
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