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How to create a website for your wedding
Weddings are one of the most important days in a bride’s life. However, when it comes to planning her big day, she can’t do it all on her own. That is why we created this blog post with some helpful tips for brides who want to create their own wedding website!
A wedding website is an easy way for couples to share information about themselves and their special day with family and friends in advance of the event. So whether you’re looking for help in creating a website for your wedding or need advice on if a professional should design a website for you , there’s something in our post that will help you plan your perfect wedding!
This article will cover the following:
1. How to research styles you’d like to use on your website
2. Choosing a template that will match your wedding’s style
3. Adding some of the photos from your engagement session
4. Using hashtags to help people find your content on social media sites like Instagram and Pinterest
5. Include an “about” section so people can learn more about your journey as a couple
6. Adding relevant sections
How to do research
Research the styles you’d like to include to create a website for your wedding
We DIY’ers love “doing it ourselves”. A drawback of being a “DIY’er in this process is that there is a ton of “FREE” information out there that can provide great direction but keep you stuck in the research phase and eventually the frustration phase. So, if you’re anything like me, and just learning it is enough to make you feel overwhelmed you are in for a treat.
This article is going to not only help you learn on a very high level, “How to make a wedding website” but it will also give you some actionable steps that you can take if you are determined to create a website for your wedding.
- Research
– Our tagline here at transitional web design is “Reverse Engineer Success” this means that we believe, “if you don’t have to re-invent the wheel, then don’t!” Observe the success other people are having, creating the same kinds of things, and “do that!” STEP 1
in the research phase is to search google for wedding websites that you really like!
- Note the photos , the layout, the ease of use, the colors and fonts used. This will give you a great starting point as to the style and overall look that you may be aiming for.
- Take notes – When you find a site that you like, open up MS Word and write down the URL. Then start listing out everything you liked about it and didn’t like. You can use this as your reference document to ensure that any changes made along the way stay true to the original list of “likes” and “dislikes.”
- Once you are finished
taking notes about the elements and functionality of websites that you like, then you are ready to start planning.
- Don’t take longer than a day or two in this stage. You can always tweak the look and functionality later. The most important part is to get a solid idea in your head about things you want to imitate or draw inspiration from.
Choosing a template
Choosing a template that will match your wedding’s style
A great way to get an all-in-one approach to this website is to download a themed template.
Templates are notoriously famous for drag and drop functionality or a visual creation website experience. You can find themed templates easily from Google by searching for the phrase: “WordPress wedding themes”. If you are using a WordPress website, this is an easy way to either purchase or download a theme for your website quickly. You may see many publishers, but take some time and read through reviews, and test the template through a demo to see if you like its functionality and it matches to some degree what you’ve identified in your notes.
WordPress natively has a library of themes as well that you can browse and download even faster than doing a Google search.
You can find out specifics on starting a WordPress website and installing a theme on the website setup section of our blog.
before moving further, you should have already accomplished the following:
- A domain name
- Web hosting
- WordPress installed
- A rough idea of functionality/ colors/fonts etc…
- A theme downloaded and installed that will serve as a base for our idea
If any of these things seem foreign to you, or you are not sure how to do them and would like assistance, please drop us a line, and a pro can assist you with setting things up to this point.
Adding some photos
Add some of the photos from your engagement session
Ok, now, if your photographer has some photos ready, or you have photos from your engagement or just over the span of your relationship have taken a bunch of photos, pick your top 50 photos and prepare them for their journey onto your website!
Use the media tab in the sidebar of your WordPress dashboard, and let’s upload those photos!
Even if your photographer only has a few professional-looking wedding photos ready for use, that’s really all you need right now.
anyway, let’s get these pictures posted to your website, and let’s ensure each photo is properly named and has uploaded successfully.
Now that the photos have been uploaded, we can easily insert them where we’d like them on our theme.
Select appearance in the sidebar, and then “Customize”
Once that opens up, you will have the easiest experience customizing the look of your site, the fonts, colors, sizes, etc.. make sure that your pages fit the theme of/color scheme of your wedding.
While in the customizer, go down the list, and adjust all of the settings that are appropriate for your project.
If you decide to create a website for your wedding, here are a few reminders to keep in mind when it comes to content for your site:
Invite-Only Events
Don’t Mention invite-only events on your page
Remember, everyone who has access to your website may not be on all the guest lists. If you’re having an event like a rehearsal dinner, meetings with vendors or venue inspections that are only for the wedding party or bridesmaids, don’t include them on the site and instead provide information about them separately to avoid making other guests feel excluded..
Include important Information:
Travel information
If you’re having a destination or local wedding, make sure to include travel information for guests! Whether they are coming from out of town and want the nearest airport info as well as where in your hometowns best hotel is located. Don’t forget any discounts on shuttles buses rental cars that can get them around town while celebrating with friends & family
Don’t Forget the Timeline
Many couples plan their wedding around a certain date and time, but they often forget one important detail: guests! Make sure that you include all event details on your website or some people might end up without transportation, or if they do have it, without a clear idea of when to arrive and depart.
Don’t Forget the Transportation Details
If guests are having a hard time finding your wedding destination or if there will be shuttles provided at certain hours then you should include that information on the website as well. Some brides want their guests to come dressed in a certain way. Including that information can be tremendously helpful as well.
Recommend Local Activities
A wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime event and you want it to be everything your guests will never forget. To make sure this happens, we recommend including recommendations for out-of-town guests with our guide on where they should go before or after the ceremony.” This passage provides information about what local activities could do while waiting around during their morning at an intimate gathering such as getting groomed up!
So, if you met, went on your first date, got engaged, or even kissed for the first time somewhere close to the city the wedding will be held at can be fun facts to share. These facts can also give your guests that aren’t invited to “EVERY EVENT” related to your wedding, something to do the week of your wedding, and a good reference for exploring the location.
Don’t Write a Novel
Don’t forget to include the fun moments in your wedding party! Don’t write a novel, but instead give an informative overview about yourself and how you met. You should also mention any interesting facts that made for good reading material on this special day with loved ones.
Include Registry Information
Your wedding website is the perfect place for all of your Registry information. Include direct links so guests can simply click through and hit “buy,” ask them to contribute if you need contributions or charity donations, then mention what will happen with any proceeds from these transactions in order to make those who write checks feel like they’re partaking an active role during this life change together!
Using hashtags
Hashtags help people find your content on social media sites like Instagram.
Ensure that you are updating your social media accounts as well these accounts can help people to build anticipation for your event. You can share pictures with your followers as things happen.
You can also start your own hashtag so that your attendees that take photos can tag you and pictures can be found by all! Instagram’s Story feature can help you to share your planning in real-time. You might even use a live story as a means to keep those who could not attend informed.
Include an “about” section
An About section helps people learn more about your journey as a couple
Your about section may include details like:
- Brief history
- Dating journey
- Engagement process
- Wedding venue specifics
- Little known facts about bride/groom
- etc…
This about section is really an opportunity for people to get an idea of what the two individuals getting married are all about. Often, learning about a couple adds to the dignity of the occasion. You may talk about the good times and noteworthy milestones that you have reached in your relationships. This will help you to connect even more with your guests. It may also give some guests some context when they are composing a card for you.
There’s nothing worse than not knowing enough about a couple, being invited to their wedding, and saying something awkward because you just won’t know enough about them.
Adding relevant sections
Sections will keep your content flow expected.
Your website at this point is probably packed with quality content that makes most of your guests feel like close friends and family!
Now let’s ensure that the most important parts of your website are displayed prominently for those that are just on your site for specific information.
Hero Section at the top of your website
This attractive section of the site is normally identified by a large main image that gives the whole picture as to what this website is about. Whether it’s a picture of the happy couple, the venue, or the engagement, this hero section should clearly identify what this website is all about! Find out more about the hero section
The brief section that points to an about page
This brief About us – is a great way to whet the appetite of your guests. This is one way to ensure that those that only have a surface-level knowledge of who you are as a couple, can get to know you a bit better before attending. As mentioned earlier, these sections can also inspire some of the cards that are written for you by those who may not know you or your journey as well.
Event attractions for guests
Event attractions are a great section to include for those that will be taking extra time in your location. Event attractions help those guests that aren’t familiar with the city your event is held, to have some activity before or after your event. Help your guests to identify the BEST restaurant in your city, or other events that may be happening during the week of your wedding.
When and Where
Most importantly, Identifying when and where the event will take place is very valuable information. With all the mental and physical work it takes to travel, invitations can be lost/misplaced. So having an online resource that people can use to verify location time, dress code and other specifics will help your guests to feel connected with your timeline and ultimately contribute to their overall experience.
In Conclusion:
The wedding website is a great way to share all of the information about your upcoming event with family and friends in advance, but it’s not an easy task. That’s why we created this blog post with some helpful tips for you in wanting to create a website for your wedding. If you’re looking for help in creating your dream site or need advice on how to DIY, then, speak to one of our experts today! We can also provide hosting services so that everything will be done quickly and without hassle.
Let us know if there are any other questions you have by giving us a call at: (470)345-3647 -or- email us at build@transitionalwebdesign.com
Darren Chambers
Digital Marketing/ Web Development Specialist
TWD of Atlanta, GA
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