Wedding Blog

Mr. Pomegranate is a software developer and also specializes in web development, so I knew that the traditional Wedding Tracker, WedORama, or the plethora of other options offered on the web wouldn’t live up to his terms. This was a project that Mr. Pom would most definitely be taking an interest in. We sat down and decided on the minimal features that we’d want to offer our visitors. Once we had those features nailed down, Mr. Pom sat down to code out the design of the site and I sat down to populate the content.

The home page with our welcome note.
FOUR DAYS LEFT! Can you believe it!?

The Home Page starts out with the For Our Guests section extended to minimize the number of clicks it takes to get to the important information. In the letter, we linked to the top four pages that we thought people would want to access:

the online RSVP page, the Driving Directions page, the Accommodations page and the Contact Us page. I also asked Mr. Pom to include a handy-dandy Countdown on the front page—this has been my daily addiction.

The first page of our online RSVP system


Here I go - logging in!

We used a JPEG version of the RSVP postcard and zoomed in on the location of their RSVP Code. Instead of creating a password, we asked that the guest enter their last name as well. Any last name of one of the party’s members would work and would load all of the group’s names.

The second page of our online RSVP system

For each attendee we listed their name and asked if they would be attending with a handy radio button. For some of the lucky guests, we included a personalized nickname - shown here is my MOH’s RSVP screen. In the lower half of the screen, we requested that guests notify us if they would be staying at the hotel that will be offering shuttle service (and OOT Boxes). This helped me get a preliminary count of the size of the hotel room block I would need, how many shuttles I would need to reserve, and how many OOT Boxes I’d need to make.

The final screen of our online RSVP system

Once the RSVP was completed, we gave the guest a confirmation of their answers. Mr. Pom and I each received an email every time a guest sent in their RSVP or changed their entry. It was totally fun to see the RSVPs pouring in—though I found out later that many guests felt guilty about RSVPing online when I had already placed stamps on the postcards. I think about 10% of our guests used the site, but it was definitely a big winner for the last minute responders.

Our ceremony page


Our reception page

The ceremony and reception pages included information about Olive Hill and the Tasting Room patio, where they were situated, and how you would arrive at the top of the hill and then get back down. It also included the shuttle start times and asked guests to wear comfortable shoes—grass and gravel is no fun with stilettos. I included some of the photos I took at one of my tours many months ago.

Our directions page


Our accommodations page

On the directions page, I included all of the information in the invitation—map and directions, but we also included a link to Google Maps so that guests could get customized directions from their location. The accommodations page also included a couple little extras that the invite didn’t have. The room block information allowed guests to receive a HUGE discount on their rooms (booking the block way in advance helped our guests save almost $80 per night). We also included a couple of other less expensive options, in case the hotel of choice was out of their budget.

Our things to do page.

Our Things To Do page included a few of the local amenities as well as a few fun features offered at our hotel like golfing and gambling. I know that most of our guests will be arriving just to see the wedding, but a few are arriving the night before and I wanted to be sure that they’d be entertained while we are rehearsing.

Our registry page

Lastly, the gift registry page displayed the store logos for our chosen registries and linked directly to our own registries on the store websites. This happens to be one of my favorite pages, as it makes it easier for me to registry stalk! Oops! Did I just admit that!?

The Blog tab links to my personal wedding blog and the Contact Us tab takes guests to a simple email form in case they have any questions. There are still a few sections to cover, namely the Our Story tab and the Photos tab. I’ll admit, with four days until the wedding these sections are STILL NOT DONE! In the least, the Photos tab will be completed by the wedding. It will allow our guests to upload photos that they take at our wedding, view our engagement photos and get a peek at our professional wedding photos (when them come in). I can’t wait for this feature to be completed!

Do you have a wedding website? How has it made your wedding easier to manage?