When we started planning our wedding, I knew that I wanted to create a wedding website for our guests. It’s a great and easy way for guests to access wedding information. Moreover, you can start using it well before sending out your invites (we included our address on our save the dates), and you can include as much or as little information as you like.
Although I would have liked to program our homepage from scratch, I didn’t have the time as I was about to graduate from university. I chose a less time-consuming path—creating our website with iWeb on my Mac. It is an easy to handle program to create homepages with. Check our Mrs. Cupcake’s detailed tutorial if you’re interested. The only caveat is that you need a domain/server to host your self-made website.
Luckily, we didn’t have to look far to host our website. Being part of a techie family, my dad has his own domain and server. He agreed to let me use it for our wedding website and we had the simple URL of www.name.de/wedding.
I spent a long time thinking about which topics to include. I wanted the navigation to be intuitive for our guests. They should be able to find the information where they would be looking for it. I created the header in Photoshop using one of our favorite engagement photos by Legacy. We included the following categories and subcategories:
I kept our about section short and sweet. Most guests knew us (or at least about us), but for those who weren’t familiar with one of us we included a blurb about our respective backgrounds, schooling, and hobbies. We didn’t include a section on how we met, because we figured that everyone knew our story.
Guest information reiterated many things from our information leaflet—namely how and by when to book a hotel room, how to get to the hotel, and sightseeing suggestions. The “other info” page informed guests about the unreliable cell phone connection in the canyon and the average weather conditions for our wedding weekend.
Wedding details included the schedule for our wedding weekend and the names of our wedding party. I included some extra information about the schedule so that guests would know what to expect—”social hour and family photo time” and that our reception would wind down around 11:00 PM.
As wedding etiquette holds that registry information shouldn’t be part of wedding invitations, websites are a great way to spread the word. We linked to each of our four registries. At the bottom of the page I added a little caveat for our international guests to prevent frustration, as not all American e-commerce pages accept foreign credit cards.
I also included a gallery page with a few photos so that our guests could get to know us a little better. Photos from our time in Japan, snowboarding, getting engaged, and one from our official engagement photos.
Lastly, I also created a Japanese version (like our Japanese invites) of our webpage for the ease of our Japanese guests.
* All screenshots personal
I like the simple layout of your site! I made one as well, kept it fairly simple but included all the important stuff like hotel and registry information and directions.
We had a wedding website too and actually, the most frustrating part about it wasn’t the design or choosing where to host it, but instead the fact that so few people have utilized it. Ugh.
I like that you kept yours simple and sweet, but still made sure to include everything, especially for the foreign guests. Very cool and considerate!
We did set up a website through mywedding.com We used it for RSVP’s, accomodations, wedding information, etc. I think a lot of people have used it and it was easy to set up.
It is so cool that you included a Japanese version for your friends over there! Great job on the site! 
Your site is so pretty! I’m amazed at all these pretty sites brides make in addition to their gorgeous weddings!
what a gorgeous website. I feel so lame with my simple/half assed website.
I love your website! That photo of you two at the top is so dreamy And how thoughtful to include a Japanese page!
Miss Bracelet, Frankfurt, Germany/Rapid City, SD Age and Occupation: 26, Post-Graduate Student Fiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Electrical Engineering Student/ Ex-Navy Cal Tech Engagement Date: May 11, 2011 Wedding Date: September 2012 Venue: Schloss Heiligenberg/ Spearfish Canyon Lodge About Me: I'm a half-American from Germany who fell in love with a wonderful guy from Montana. We met in Japan and have been in a LDR for most of our relationship. I love organizing so much that it could be my middle name (Post-Its, anyone?). I have a serious addiction to paper products and milk chocolate. My fiancé totally gets my tomboy-princess-combo personality and will bring me chocolate when I need a pick-me-up. After a legal ceremony in Germany, we're planning a down-to-earth (semi-destination) wedding with our friends and family in the US.
Latest Gallery Pics