wedding websites deciphered
The search for the perfect way to message all your wedding details and keep track of guest list, food choices, allergies, kids vs no kids, timeline, wedding weekend events and much more becomes easily overwhelming. No worries, we are here to help! Options for wedding websites are much more plentiful than we can fit in this blog post, so we have narrowed it down to our top 3 for unique reasons.
Before we dive into our top 3, our honorable mention is The Knot. If you have attended a wedding in the last 5 years you have absoutely ran across this site- it’s quite popular! This site is easy to use, however it lacks the ability of customization. If you are a-okay with pre-set templates, this is the simple route to go.
Starting with our 3rd place site, we have Zola. Yes, the one that you have likely seen the most commercials about. Zola does lend for a lot of website designs for those that do want to have more input in how the website and theme of your day fit together; however, they are pre-designed pages, fonts and colors. Even though there are a bit more customizable designs than our second choice, there is very limited planning and tools available aside from RSVP management. Although it is also free, it is definitely not ad free! BUT, building your registry directly into the site is pretty handy.
Next up, we have Joy. With a variety of tools on hand and complete management of RSVPs for no cost, we think this is a pretty solid choice for those who would like some control over design but don’t need a full planning website. Given the simplicity of the site itself and the ease of communicating to guests any changes, this has been a go to for many couples who have had weddings in the last two to three years that involved a lot of changes up until the big day. We love that you are able to make multiple admins for those who may need to input info on your website, customizable URL (for a cost), and ability to customize your site for wedding party or rehearsal dinner guests. See the below example for a snippet into the website customization options and modern user interface.
And the winner is…. Wedsites! We are swooning over this site. From complete customization with ability to upload custom calligraphy, logos, color hex codes, etc as well as ability to add and remove blocks of text and timelines based on info you want to convey on each page, this is the ultimate website to keep your theme consistent across your big day! The ability to also design and construct pages and then hide them until they are polished and final or it is a month before your wedding, this makes for great communication to your guests. The RSVP form allows you to also see a report of how many total guests have RSVPed and who has yet to RSVP. Although this website is free initially, it does require a fee for custom URL, custom RSVP management, seating chart builder, vendor payment reminders and much more. Three of the most used features were the custom URL, RSVP customizations which is huge for stress free accommodations to allergies/ food restrictions, and the ability to send out emails, additional invites, day after brunch communication, etc without using paper products!
