The Complete Guide to Your Wedding Website Must-Haves

It’s always an exciting part of the wedding planning process when you sit down with your partner to create your wedding website. Seeing your schedule, photos, and wedding RSVP plans right in front of you makes the whole thing feel more real - for you and your guests!

Your wedding website will be the go-to resource for your wedding attendees to refer back to again and again before the big event. Therefore wedding websites should be a one-stop shop for them to find out any vital information about the venue, time, dress code, and more. You want to ensure that all of the relevant and practical details are covered whilst also getting guests excited to celebrate your special relationship with your spouse-to-be.

It’s easier than you think to get caught up in the excitement and neglect to add all the vital information for your guests - just because you know it off by heart doesn’t mean they do! This is why having all the details is particularly important if your wedding website is taking the place of traditional paper wedding invitations and, therefore, the only way your guests can find out key facts about the upcoming wedding. Even if you do have paper wedding invitations, a wedding website is still the most convenient and modern way to share all the information your guests need.

So, the next step is to pick one of the many gorgeous wedding website templates that suit your and your partner’s unique personalities and get ready to fill it in! But how do you make sure you don’t miss anything crucial for your wedding website? This article has all the must-haves for creating a perfect Say I do website: all the practical details to include, plus tips for making sure it expresses who you are and the relationship you’re celebrating.

The obvious: wedding RSVP, schedule, and more

There are a few items for your wedding website that you just can’t neglect. It goes without saying that you need to cover any questions about who, what, where and when. Put these details in an obvious location on the site so that guests can easily refer back to them. You should include:

• Wedding RSVP information. Make sure you include information about what date you need to hear back by and any details you need from your guests
• The wedding date and time. Everyone needs to know where to be and when so they can make plans for their itinerary
• The wedding venue and address. Make it as simple as possible for your guests to know where to go. Even if your wedding is in a fairly straightforward location, it’s still a good idea to include a map, a link to the venue’s website, and anything else that will make finding the location as simple as possible. If you have a Say I do wedding website; this happens automatically
• Dress code. When guests are getting ready to attend a wedding, there’s one key detail they want to know: what to wear. Help them avoid a faux pas by making the dress code very clear so everyone’s at an appropriate level of formality. Include practical information: if you’re having an outdoor wedding ceremony and suspect it might get muddy, let them know what type of shoes you recommend
• The story of you and your partner. Without this detail, your wedding website may feel a little soulless. Including some facts about how you met, the proposal, and the story of your love is essential for adding a personal touch to your wedding website. This is also a great way to make sure your guests are getting as excited as you are for the upcoming celebration of your love

The easily forgotten details

Once the major facts have been clearly covered, you should extend each point. Put yourself in your guests' shoes, think about anything they might be unsure about, and try to have answers to any questions about your day that may come up.

What to include on your wedding website:

• Wedding location. People can still get lost pretty easily, but your wedding website can be a helpful tool to help guests get to where they need to be. Add a map, and think about adding a short written description of directions, including key landmarks to look out for
• Accommodation. Have you organised a hotel block reservation and hired out an Airbnb? Whatever arrangements you’ve made for your guests, be sure to communicate this on your wedding website clearly. Many couples are now opting to host a whole wedding weekend, so accommodation planning has never been so essential
• Transport. Like with accommodation, you’ve probably got some plans for how to get to and from the venue, such as a bus or taxi van for guests. If so, share all the details they’ll need and how to access these easily
• Wishing well/registry. No matter the size of your wedding, people will still want to get you a gift to celebrate your happy occasion. Make it super easy for them by letting them know what you want with a link on your wedding website
• Childcare. If you’ve organised a babysitter or two, add information about this for parents. Many people will want to know who they need to contact to watch their kids while attending the ceremony or reception
• Frequently asked questions. If you’re trying to organise a large or complex wedding, a FAQ section can be a helpful addition to ensure sure your guests know what to do without having to get in touch over every detail

Don’t forget that everyone you’ve invited is making a big effort to be there for your day. Try and make it as easy as possible for them to get organised!

Wedding website hidden gems

Once you’ve put the key facts of the day on the website, have fun with some creative or quirky ‘hidden gems’. This is a fun way to put some personality into your wedding website and make sure it represents your and your partner’s relationship.

• Things to do around town. If you have many out-of-town guests, you could include recommendations for your favourite local spots. It’s even better if these recommendations relate to your relationship. When they’re not busy with wedding events, your guests might have fun checking out the cute cafe where you and your partner went on your first date
• Video message to all your guests. To personalise your wedding website, why not create a video message for your invitees to watch? Be sure to tell them how excited you are to see them and have them there for such an important milestone
• A photo gallery. Friends and family members might enjoy checking out photos of you and your partner throughout your relationship, so they can see how far you’ve come. Within this selection, we’d recommend including milestone events in your lives, such as memorable holidays you've been on and your engagement photos, for example. Or you could make it a ‘now and then’ photo album, with side-by-side snaps of you at the start of your relationship versus now.
• An introduction to the wedding party. Not all your friends and family members are likely to know your wedding party, so introducing them ahead of time on your website is a great opportunity for people to become familiar with their faces. Including a bit about them and an accompanying photo will ensure any first meets on the day will go a little smoother because they won’t be a total stranger!

Information to get from your guests

• Meal choice. You might have a few options for the meal at your reception. If that’s the case, help your caterer out by asking which meal each guest would like in advance. Be sure to also ask about dietary requirements and allergies - if overlooked, this could be a disaster
• Song request. It’s always fun to let your guests suggest some tracks for the DJ to play at the reception. Heads-up, your mates will probably choose songs you associate with your friendship's memories, making this a great opportunity to revisit (and cringe at) some cherished memories. If you have a Say I do site, adding this to your RSVP form is super easy
• A trivia question. If you’re planning on playing a wedding reception game, such as trivia about your relationship, let your guests send in something to add to the question bank ahead of time
• A wedding video message. Ask guests to record a short video message wishing you luck or giving you some advice for marriage. You can then play all the video messages at the reception. This can be uploaded as a private video to YouTube and embedded on your website
• A photo. This is a more low-key rendition of a video message idea. You can ask your guests to send across a photo that they have of you, your partner, or the two of you together. Then, you can display these on a slideshow at the reception and reflect on some of your memorable moments as a couple alongside your best friends
• Accommodation requirements. If you are organising accommodation for loved ones, make sure you know whether or not your guests require it by asking them early on. You’ll likely have a limited number of accommodation options available close by, so being organised and promptly requesting people’s accommodation plans will avoid any disappointment later down the line

Final checklist for your wedding website

You really don’t want to miss anything when creating your website. Here’s our official list of information to include, so you can make sure you haven't forgotten anything:

• Wedding RSVP information, complete with meal preferences (and dietary requirements or allergies), song requests and any other information you need from them
• The wedding date and time
• How to get to the venue - the more detailed, the better!
• Dress code information
• The story of you and your partner
• Accommodation options
• Transport options
• Wishing well/registry guidelines
• Available childcare options
• Whether you're having an unplugged ceremony and reception
• What your wedding hashtag is
• Frequently asked questions - if your logistics are a little complex, this is a helpful and user-friendly way for your guests to find out everything they need to know
• A few hidden gems, such as things to do around town, a video message to your guests, a photo gallery or a wedding party introduction

When and how to share your wedding website?

Your wedding website should only really be shared with your guests once you've locked in your wedding date and venue. A great advantage of having wedding websites is that you can keep adding to them or amend things easily if anything changes. The perfect way to share your wedding website URL with your guests is to include it on your save the dates, either as a written link or with a bespoke QR code. Remember, getting your save the dates out anywhere from 6-12 months before your wedding is recommended to ensure all your loved ones can be there.

Aligning your wedding style

As well as helping you create a professional-looking wedding website, Say I do also offers the option to help you design and send out digital save-the-dates and thank-you cards. What's more, you can align them to match your wedding website and let’s be honest, who doesn't swoon over matching stationery? Save time and money (and a few trees) by going digital with your wedding stationery suite.

A final note, and maybe the most integral reason to include all the above information on your wedding website, is to stay organised and keep your plans running super smoothly. This allows you to focus on the most important part of the wedding day - your love for your partner.