We’ve already talked about how a wedding website can save you guest list stress. But it’s also the easiest way to share everything your family and friends need to know before the party kicks off. We’ll take that over being bombarded with questions!
Don’t struggle with trying to squeeze every itty bitty detail onto your wedding invitation. Include this essential information on your wedding website instead!
Story Sponsor: Joy
Joy offers hundreds of beautiful wedding website designs with the ability to customize layouts, fonts, details and add photos and videos. Best of all, it’s 100% free for couples!
In This Story
Key Details
Who, Where & When
Putting your names, wedding date, time and location front and centre on your wedding website will ensure these key details are easy to find!
Schedule of Events
Are you hosting a wedding weekend, rehearsal dinner or morning after brunch? Help your guests plan for these extra celebrations by including a timeline of all of the festivities taking place before and after the main event. Using a wedding website like Joy will give you control over which guests can see which events on the schedule.
Contact Information
Who should your guests get in touch with if they have any questions in the lead up to your wedding or on the day? You might be happy to be the main contact during the wedding planning, but you’ll definitely want someone else to field the calls while you’re busy getting married!
Guest List Details
RSVP
Let your guests know how they should RSVP to your wedding and by when. Wedding websites like Joy offer guest list tools so your loved ones can reply to your invitation at the click of a button!
Children
This is the kind of awkward RSVP conversation your wedding website is made for!
Will you be having children at your wedding? If yes, note any kid friendly arrangements for seating, catering and entertainment so parents know what to plan for. If no, we’ve got plenty of ways to announce an adults only wedding for you to choose from.
Plus Ones
No matter what you’ve put on your invitation, there will always be one person who glosses over your diplomatic wording and asks whether they can bring someone who isn’t invited. Or worse, RSVPs with extra attendees!
Mentioning on your wedding website that you can only cater for plus ones named on the invitation could save you from a difficult conversation or two. Or, you can let Joy do the work for you by limiting plus ones, so your guests can only RSVP for the amount of people you’ve allocated for them.
Location Details
Dress Code
This helps everyone understand the formality of your wedding. Dress codes can be hard to decipher at the best of times, so you can always add some clarifying details like “no jeans” or “ties optional” if you think your loved ones will have questions about the attire you’ve requested.
Include any tips about the weather for the time of year and let guests know if the ceremony or reception will be held outdoors. If you’re exchanging vows with the sand between your toes or enjoying an open air reception on a sprawling property, this will help them come prepared with the right footwear, outfit and accessories.
Transport
Holding your celebration somewhere a little tricky to find? Detailed directions will help guests on their way and come in handy when the clock is ticking down to your ceremony time! Don’t forget to include drop off and parking information for when they arrive.
If you’re tying the knot and partying in different locations, let guests know the estimated travel time between your ceremony and reception venues. If you’ve organised transport to help everyone get from A to B, you’ll need to share details on the meeting point and departure time.
It’s not just about getting there, but getting home! Information on ridesharing and taxis to travel safely after last drinks are called will be much appreciated.
Accommodation
Make it easy for guests to find somewhere to stay near your wedding venue by sharing accommodation recommendations. This is especially helpful if you’re getting married in a remote or overseas destination.
If you’ve organised a room block, your wedding website is the perfect place to share all the details about the property and how your guests can reserve their rooms at the discounted rate.
Personal Details
Love Story
Maybe not everyone invited to your wedding has been there every step of your relationship. Share a little of your love story on your wedding website and bring your family and friends on the journey!
Include how you met, when you knew you were all in, how the proposal went down and a few fun facts about each other, coupled with some of your favourite photos together. This helps to personalise your website and tells your guests they’re in the right place.
Wedding Party
There’ll probably be a few people at your wedding who don’t know each other, so kick off the introductions with some insight into who is part of your wedding party and why you wanted them by your side. It will help your guests put names to faces and inspire some conversations as they mix and mingle!
Wedding Gifts
Traditional etiquette frowns upon sharing gift information on your wedding invitation. (Etiquette is always frowning on something!) But your guests are still going to want to know if you’ve organised a registry, honeymoon or house fund, charitable donation or simply prefer no gifts at all. You can also add a note if you would rather guests not bring their gifts to the wedding.
If it’s a toss up between relying on the grapevine and including a note on your wedding website, we’d pick Option 2 any day!
On The Day Details
Wedding Day Timeline
Share when key events will take place during your wedding day, including the timing of things like your ceremony, cocktail hour, reception, speeches, first dance, cake cutting and exit so no one misses a thing!
COVID-19 Safety
Reassure your guests that you’re following health directives applicable to your location and specify everything you, your venue and suppliers will be doing to look after their wellbeing during your wedding. The requirements could change frequently up until the day you get married, so let guests know they can always find the latest information on your website. Announcements banners and push notifications can help you share these updates with everyone.
Virtual Wedding Information
If you’re planning to live stream your celebration, your virtual wedding guests will need a guide on how and when to access the stream, and who to contact if they have trouble connecting. You don’t want grandma to miss out on witnessing your ceremony due to technical difficulties!
If you’re using a platform like Joy, your guests can tune in directly through your wedding website and mobile app, which makes it super easy for them to celebrate virtually with you.
Photography & Video
Are you happy for your guests to capture photos and video at your wedding? Do you want to be the first to share the news on social media? Whatever your preference, let them know!
If you want a device-free celebration, our list of unplugged wedding wording ideas will help you find the perfect way to say so.
If you’re keen for your guests to get snapping, mention your wedding hashtag so they know what to use when posting to their socials.
Finally, if you’d like everyone to share their photos from your wedding to a live feed so all the happy snaps are saved in one place, include those details too. (Joy has a ‘Moments’ shared album that will help you do just that.) This will also enable your virtual guests to follow along from afar!
Catering
Tantalise tastebuds with a preview of your wedding menu! Can your guests expect canapes, a three course meal or food trucks? Will you be having a cash or open bar? Adding these details to your wedding website will help give your guests an idea of the vibe you’re going for.
Entertainment
Build excitement for your big day by sharing whether there’ll be dancing, live music or other activities for your guests to enjoy. They’ll already be excited to see you get married, so any entertainment will be the cherry on top!
We couldn’t imagine going over all these wedding details with every guest and trying to keep track of who knows what. A wedding website that doesn’t cost anything but some time to put together sounds like the quickest way to get back to the fun stuff!
Thanks again to Joy for sponsoring this story. Not only can you create a beautiful and helpful wedding website that’s personalised to your style and celebration, you can manage everything from RSVPs to FAQs. We think you’ll be impressed by the wedding planning features Joy has to offer, and all for free!
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