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Miss Lamb, Norfolk Age and Occupation: 25, Homeland Security Consultant Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Graduate Student Engagement Date: January 2009 Wedding Date: January 2010 Venue: Trinity Presbyterian Church/Harrison Opera House About Me: I’m a Homeland Security Consultant with a tendency towards pulling office pranks, taking lunch breaks, and drinking Wawa shakes. I’m also an English major with a serious obsession with alliteration and rhymes. While I’m not keeping America safe, I’m training for half marathons and the Escape from Alcatraz swim. Or moving for the third time this year. Or baking. Or wedding crafting. Or crying about wedding planning. All the while, I’m getting myself into Lucille Ball-esque scrapes and making Jim Carey-esque faces. Our big fat Czech/Baptist/Jewish/Italian wedding is a combination of vintage eclectic, DIY, and little spoonful of sugar from our Event Coordinator. It’s going to be a Norfolk flavored wedding with the verve of an only-daughter-blow-out bash!
About Miss Lamb

The Lambs Make Their WWW Debut

September 26th, 2009 @ 2:00 pm by Miss Lamb

Anyone ever pronounce it de-butt? Hahahahahahahaha - I find the spelling of debut funny in a very 7th grade sort of way. I am also having flashbacks to “playing wrestling”, which is much like “playing house”, except we were pretending to be our favorite WWW wrestler. Jake the Snake, The Undertaker, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Ric Flair, and Brett Hart - didn’t matter who my brother was playing, I would give him The People’s Elbow and then we’d get into trouble for roughhousing.

Anywebsite, I love the idea of the wedding website. Like Save-the-Dates, sometimes I think they’re narcissistic, but also like Save-the-Dates, they really come in handy! I reference the websites of marrying friends at several points during the planning process, especially if I’m attending the wedding from out of town. Since the majority of our guests are traveling from out of town, we considered a website to be a must.

I browsed all of the well known providers, plus a few more. I knew that we weren’t quite tech savvy enough to create one from scratch, so we went with the pre-designed ones created especially for weddings.

Here’s my list:

Wedding Tracker
Pros: Recommended by our Event Designer, Flash Designs
Cons: The themes didn’t fit the feel I was going for

Ewedding
Pros: Great designs! Starting to get close on the feel
Cons: A tad more than we wanted to spend

In fact, I almost splurged for this theme because I was getting really frustrated with the lack of neutral colors available across the board.

Wedding Window
Pros: Great designs and highly customizable
Cons: The customization takes a lot of effort and it’s a tad expensive
But check out this amazing looking site!

Wedding Website Templates
Pros: Interesting designs I hadn’t seen before
Cons: Not the best user interface and needs a lot of work

Wed Simple
Pros: A ton of features included, more neutral palette designs
Cons: Again with the price, just on the expensive side

This website helped me to easily compare a lot of options side by side:

Wedding Websites

After about 2 days of researching, penny pinching, hemming and hawing, our event designer pulled through in a big way. She suggested looking at:

My Wedding

I know what you’re thinking. I’m psychic like that. It is a terrible home page. Just move past that and click on Free Websites on the top navigation bar.

Just look at some of these amazing designs!

I found about 4 designs that also had color combinations in our palette. I didn’t feel like I was “settling” for a design that didn’t sing to me and I didn’t feel like I was handing over a lot of money (because it was no money at all!). What’s more, I didn’t sacrifice functionality. I’m still getting an RSVP tracker, music player and more extra pages than we’ll know what to do with. Really, it was the perfect solution for us.

Here’s a shot of the top half of our homepage:

Home+pa

For privacy’s sake, I had sloppily edited our names and date with the spray paint function in Paint. How 1999 is that? Awesome. Then I realized that our first names aren’t that private and the date would be cropped out anyhow. So you’ve been spared from my spray paint privacy massacre for the time being.

Was the wedding website important to you? Are there any other great free sites you’ve used?

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37 Responses to “The Lambs Make Their WWW Debut”

1.
His Barista
Member
His Barista (message)  1,824 posts, Buzzing bee

Haha. I’m on My Wedding, too! I love it! Even though there aren’t a lot of burgundy and/or gold options I love all the extras…and who can complain about FREE? lol.

 
2.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Dachshund (message)  487 posts, Helper bee

A wedding site was definitely important for Mr. D and me. We have so many people traveling from Canada to come to our wedding, it’s great to have useful information in one place without wasting paper!

I’m using Wedshare.com. I set up about 10 trial sites before I decided on that one, just because of they layouts they have. I really like it, tbh, but I wish it was free : ) I’m almost considering nixing it and setting up a blogspot layout for us. Not sure yet.

 
3.
nelzbels
Member
nelzbels (message)  107 posts, Blushing bee

What a coincidence. I am trying to figure this out right now too! We actually have a full blown site on blogspot, but be warned! There is NO way to password protect it easily! So after spending the last 8 months with the site and completing it, we’re trying to switch to another service that allows us to password protect it and still get the same level of custimizability that we had with blogspot. What a pooper! I think I’m leaning towards WeddingWindow but it’s definitely on the pricey end! But it is important to us because of our large number of OOT guests as well.

 
4.
kjpugs
Member
kjpugs (message)  856 posts, Busy bee

My sister’s name is Melinda! There are so few of you guys… love it!

Also I used wedding window and found great coupons online- I got 15 months for the price of like 8 or 10 months (I forget the exact coupon). Just an FYI in case anyone on here likes them!

 
5.
shelliduke
Member
shelliduke (message)  222 posts, Helper bee

I also really liked mywedding, and we almost went with that one. FI decided to learn about programming so he designed our website, which was really great. We’ve managed to get most of it for free and when he was out of work for awhile he was learning about something he enjoyed - a win-win. :)

One big thing to me was that it have an RSVP option. I was trying to save on both paper and cut back on costs so I just put the site on the invite, along with my phone # for the less tech savvy.

 
6.
kmattso2
Member
kmattso2 (message)  990 posts, Busy bee

Very cute!! I’m using the website that you get when you sign up for theknot.com It’s free, has a bunch of bonus pages, and is highly customizable and easy to use. I really like it. You can also password protect it if you want.

 
7.
alishaneva
Member
alishaneva (message)  1,526 posts, Bumble bee

that’s beautiful! Thanks for the advice, too!

 
8.
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Bee
Miss Spaniel (message)  2,606 posts, Sugar bee

I use the same one, for the same reason. :) It’s been great so far!

 
9.
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Bee
Mrs. Mouse (message)  3,306 posts, Sugar bee

I used Brides.com because it seemed easy and it was free, but if I would have cared more I probably would have gone with something a bit more personalizable.

 
10.
ke3
Member
ke3 (message)  247 posts, Helper bee

I also used mywedding! I really liked their designs and it was pretty easy to get all the information out I wanted to! :)

 
11.
WorstTwinEver15
Member
WorstTwinEver15 (message)  758 posts, Busy bee

I used Wedding Window and thought it was completely worth the price paid. Everyone loves the site, and it was SUPER easy to customize.

Yours turned out great!

 
12.
alvina
Member
alvina (message)  298 posts, Helper bee

Where was this post a month ago? :-P

I ended up going with Wedding Wire since they had a RSVP thingie… that I think is locked (or like not everyone can see everyone elses’ RSVP? at least that was my impression, I could be wrong. :oT I’ll find out when I need to use it. haha)

 
13.
FlipFlopBride
Member
FlipFlopBride (message)  1,305 posts, Bumble bee

I did make one, but to be honest, I’ve forgotten where it’s even at. It might be at MyWedding…who knows if I’ll even use it again.

 
14.
jspeby
Member
jspeby (message)  186 posts, Blushing bee

haha My brothers had wrestling blankets on their beds when we were younger and one was a water bed. So we’d pick a wrestler off the blanket and use the waterbed as our ring. I was always Jake the Snake. People usually have no clue what I’m talking about when I tell them this. So glad I’m not alone of this!!

 
15.
jmc
Member
jmc (message)  469 posts, Helper bee

We use mywedding and love it. And I found out about it on Weddingbee!

 
16.
ggsb
Member
ggsb (message)  842 posts, Busy bee

we actually used a wordpress blog since we weren’t doing rsvp’ing online. I liked that we could buy our domain name, password protect it, and then use it to keep in touch with friends after the wedding with the same URL.

 
17.
LoriLori
Member
LoriLori (message)  234 posts, Helper bee

We’re using ourweddingday.com. It’s free, has music and an online rsvp thing and there was a page theme that matched ours! Sold!

 
18.
jaymugirly
Member
jaymugirly (message)  52 posts, Worker bee

Since my FH and I are both in the web business we actually created our own site. It’s pretty awesome. He developed a blog for us to use as we go through the year. We are about to send out the save the dates, so I’m hoping everyone will visit the site after they receive theirs!

 
19.
Member Icon
Member
skibobrown (message)  260 posts, Helper bee

Thanks for this post! This is super useful, and I haven’t seen many bees post before about wedding websites. We are in the process of designing ours right now. I think we are going to go the custom route, since the Mr. has some background in web design. However, we would like to look around online for some inspiration, so this post has given us some good ideas of where to look :-)

 
20.
Member Icon
Member
KtobeC (message)  65 posts, Worker bee

we use mywedding too! love the design, we picked one that matches our save the dates, it’s awesome and free is my favorite price.

 
21.
ebs1123
Member
ebs1123 (message)  81 posts, Worker bee

While I didn’t spend toooo much time looking, I had a lot of trouble finding anything to go with our bright colors (royal blue and lime green), so I ended up building the site in iWeb - - a LOT easier than it sounds, if anyone else is in the same boat.

 
22.
Miss_Carmel
Member
Miss_Carmel (message)  317 posts, Helper bee

Your site design looks great! Our wedding website was one of the first things I did for our wedding after the engagement. I decided that we’d need a website for the same reasons, most of our guests are coming in from out of town, it’s also the easiest way to spread the word about the registries, directions, addresses, etc.

We used Wedding Window, and although it was a bit costly I love the designs and the many features it offers. Great post!

 
23.
lcneiny
Member
lcneiny (message)  170 posts, Blushing bee

Thanks so much for this post!! I am itching to create a website and I wasn’t sure where to go. I “accidentally” set one up through weddingchannel.com when I signed up there on a whim, but I’m not really happy with the designs. I think I’ve narrowed it down between one design on mywedding and one on weddingwire!

 
24.
Annui
Member
Annui (message)  314 posts, Helper bee

Nearlyweds.com from OffbeatBride is what we went with. Unfortunately most of my side of the family barely uses the internet so it won’t be for them, but everyone else will find it useful!

 
25.
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Bee
Mrs. Espresso (message)  1,064 posts, Bumble bee

We used ewedding but that had a free trial session that we took advantage of. Like you said, I think wedding websites are a big help for out of town guests

 
26.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Ramen (message)  256 posts, Helper bee

i looove wedding websites (at least when the bride and groom have time to fill out all that fun info about how they met, got engaged, their bridal parties…); we were initially going to go with ewedding or whatnot, but mr. ramen really wanted to make our website all fancy… so i let him :)

 
27.
fiftyfootbride
Member
fiftyfootbride (message)  3,690 posts, Sugar bee

I made our own website, because, well, I thought it would be silly for me not to! I do that stuff for monays!! My only problem is that I haven’t finished all of the content part yet. I wish I just had somebody to write the stuff. I love designing it. :p

 
28.
ColorCoated
Member
ColorCoated (message)  951 posts, Busy bee

Thanks for the tips!

 
29.
Guest Icon
Guest
missjbear

I just set mine up this past weekend using MyWedding. I’m not very tech savvy and I didn’t have a single problem! I think their designs are great, I love that it’s free, and it’s sooo easy to use. Now I can get started on the Save-the-dates — I needed the website address first!

 
30.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Lamb (message)  463 posts, Helper bee

@jspeby: I’m so glad I’m not alone too! I still laugh remembering it!@Miss Ramen: I wanted ours to be really interactive so we have our story, intros to the bridal party, an interactive map, music, and more. It’s been fun to personalize!

 
31.
Member Icon
Member
penguins_713 (message)  29 posts, Newbee

We set one up and found that most of our guests looked at it. I think that the pictures we uploaded from while we were dating was everyone’s favorite feature. We used wedding tracker, and while it wasn’t free, I was happy with how easy it was to use and that we could customize our pages a little.

 
32.
Guest Icon
Guest
The Lambs Make Their WWW Debut » Weddingbee » The Wedding Blog | weddingsetc

[...] Visit link: The Lambs Make Their WWW Debut » Weddingbee » The Wedding Blog [...]

 
33.
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Bee
Miss Moonbeam (message)  1,328 posts, Bumble bee

I think our ewedding site is serving us well, and it’s free. You kinda just need one these days, no, not everyone in your family will look at it, but if they’re travelling they probably will and then you don’t have to put a registry card in your invite, nice e-way to avoid that faux pas.

 
34.
Member Icon
Member
clarerichardson (message)  49 posts, Newbee

I really really *really* like Wedding Wire’s tools, like guest management and online RSVP. We didn’t end up using their free website hosting, but all of their tools integrate really nicely into it.
Since I designed my own website, I went looking for free hosting that wasn’t wedding specific:
http://bellsandbouquets.blogspot.com/2009/10/free-wedding-website-hosting-options.html

 
35.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Lamb (message)  463 posts, Helper bee

@clarerichardson: GREAT info for the DIY-ers of websites - really great comprehensive overview!

 
36.
RecessionistaBride
Member
RecessionistaBride (message)  3,372 posts, Sugar bee

I found one I really like at project wedding… we have a travel theme wedding & they had an airplane theme page!

I may still create our own… but this was a good one to get started with. Also, PW setup was really easy. It was important to me that only our guests have access to it & not ex girlfriends or bosses. :)

 
37.
Guest Icon
Guest
Dreikam

I used a company called eoccasions. It only cost $59.99 for the whole year. I changed all the images the template had to customize it for my wedding theme. My domain name has expired but u can still view my website here.

http://www.eoccasions.com/users/0803/andreikaandmichael.com/

 


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Miss Lamb
Miss Lamb Miss Lamb, Norfolk Age and Occupation: 25, Homeland Security Consultant Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Graduate Student Engagement Date: January 2009 Wedding Date: January 2010 Venue: Trinity Presbyterian Church/Harrison Opera House About Me: I’m a Homeland Security Consultant with a tendency towards pulling office pranks, taking lunch breaks, and drinking Wawa shakes. I’m also an English major with a serious obsession with alliteration and rhymes. While I’m not keeping America safe, I’m training for half marathons and the Escape from Alcatraz swim. Or moving for the third time this year. Or baking. Or wedding crafting. Or crying about wedding planning. All the while, I’m getting myself into Lucille Ball-esque scrapes and making Jim Carey-esque faces. Our big fat Czech/Baptist/Jewish/Italian wedding is a combination of vintage eclectic, DIY, and little spoonful of sugar from our Event Coordinator. It’s going to be a Norfolk flavored wedding with the verve of an only-daughter-blow-out bash!
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