Websites are no longer just for business, as personal web space is growing in popularity, especially within the wedding industry. People are beginning to realize how useful they are as a means of communicating information to all their guests. Gone are the days of endless phone calls chasing up missing RSVP’s. Now, at the click (or at very most a few clicks) of a mouse, everything you and your guests need can be made available in cyberspace!
Personal wedding websites are a popular trend to hit the wedding scene, as couples realize the enormous value of having one. Not only are they a convenient way of keeping your guests updated, they can be used to tell the couple’s story, and enable friends and family to follow their plans for the big day. They are also a great way of sharing great memories from the day with all those who may not have been able to make it in person. Elderly relatives or loved ones, who may live on the other side of the world, can now enter into the spirit of the joyous occasion.
Star Jones, co-host of “The View” and banker Al Reynolds for example had a wedding website, which they treated as an information resource for their guests.
There are numerous wedding websites offering a wide range of services. Which site you choose to use, will depend on how much you feel needs to be made available, and exactly what you want to use it for – i.e. simply a source of information for the wedding day, or a portfolio of the beginning of your new life as a married couple.
Some of these sites are very simple, consisting of just one page that announces the wedding, whereas others are used to tell a story of the couple, with photos of the engagement and wedding, as well as including much detail about how they met, the invitation and RSVP form, and links to an online gift registry. With the online RSVP, guests often find it much easier to reply; one Bride said over 75% of her guests replied online finding it a more convenient process.
Some couples start with a wedding website, and having found it a useful tool for keeping friends and family informed, extend it to include anything that may happen to them in the future e.g. children, accomplishments, moving abroad etc.
With the growing popularity of destination weddings, having a personal wedding website is perfect. All travel information can then be listed, including maps and local hotels if needed, which saves guests having to do their own research. A website also enables you to provide information about the area, giving guests a chance to get excited about the location as well as your upcoming nuptials!
Decorating the website using your chosen colors, theme and style for the wedding day will help to set the scene in advance of the main event. A number of the better wedding website companies offer a choice of templates which help make setting up your personal wedding pages as easy as possible, ensuring that you don’t have to be an employee of Bill Gates to get great looking results!
Another valuable tool to the newlyweds-to-be are business cards. What better and easier way is there to share your wedding website address than by simply handing your friends and family your card with your website address and other pertinent information - maybe with a Save the Date reminder of the big day! Rather than having to arm everyone with pen and paper - give them a few business cards and when they run into the cousin that you don't see as often, they have an easy way of passing along the information as well. My business cards can be personalized for your occassion by color or theme.
