Some of these are a little extra important for my couples, since Upstate New York is often considered a destination wedding location and many couples have guests driving in from New York City, but the reality is almost every wedding will include out of town guests so considering their needs from the start is a decision you won’t regret.

Logistics: Wedding Date and Location

It seems obvious, sure, but on your wedding website, you basically want to recap all of the information on your wedding invitation. While your guests will likely attach your wedding invitation to their fridge as something to look forward to, your wedding website is what they will actually be looking at when they book the trip to your wedding venue or request the time off with their boss. 

When you start designing your wedding website, this is some of the most important information you include so make sure it’s clear and easy to find on your wedding website. I know you want a place to show off your engagement photos or website design skills, and I want that for you too, but you don’t want to choose aesthetics over clarity – at least not yet. 

If you’re concerned about privacy and don’t want to include your wedding date, time or location for whatever reason, I recommend adding a password to your wedding website over just not listing it all together. Ultimately you need to do what you’re comfortable with but trust me when I say that your guests are going to be looking for this information!

 

 

Travel Information: Getting to Your Wedding

Again, I might be a little biased since most of my couples have a majority of their guests coming from out of town, but I’m guessing that you have at least a few guests traveling to celebrate with you too. 

First, if you have a room block, include any and all information about that on your website. Do they to specify to get the lowest rate? Is there a deadline to book their rooms to get the reduced rate? Is there a limited number of rooms? Include everything. Most of my couples are well-traveled so I always like to remind them that just because your travel comfort is high, it doesn’t mean the same is true for your guests. 

Depending on your wedding location you may also want to include popular driving routes or the closest airport. Do you recommend renting a car or is public transportation sufficient? 

Weekend Itinerary

Your guests want to celebrate your wedding, but they may also want to make the most of their weekend by checking out nearby tourist attractions, trying local restaurants, etc. Therefore, make sure to outline all of the wedding festivities they're invited to in addition to the wedding.

You want guests to have a loose itinerary so they can make sure to plan their lives accordingly. After all, it’s your wedding day and it’s easy to forget your guests might have other plans too. The earlier they know and can plan to be included in other activities the more likely they will! Nobody wants to book a restaurant reservation during your welcome dinner or plan their flight home for the Sunday morning after before finding out you have an afternoon BBQ for everyone!

Contact Info for Follow-Up Questions

Yes, your guests will likely have contact information for one or both of you but it doesn’t hurt to include it here. Maybe your partner’s aunt will want to contact you with a surprise for her niece or nephew. Maybe your partner is being less responsive or informative with the wedding details and Grandma wants to hear from you. I recommend including contact information. If you have a preferred way they ask wedding-related questions, share that too!

Also, if you have a wedding planner, feel free to include their information, too! Of course, make sure you check with them if that’s okay, but that’s an included service for all my couples at Verve because – let’s be honest – I’m going to know the answer more likely than they will. 

Kids or No Kids?

No matter how clear you make your wedding invitations, there are still people who are going to assume their children are invited. I know there are a lot of templates out there on what to say if children aren’t invited, but clear is more important than cute in this case! I recommend including something along the lines of “this will be an adults-only celebration”. Make it CLEAR.

More than making it clear, I recommend either offering child care during the wedding or including a list of recommended options. This can include local babysitters or if there is something your hotel provides. You might want to include this in the loose itinerary of the weekend too, so it’s clear if it’s only the wedding which children are not invited or if they should make arrangements for the other wedding festivities as well. 

Keep in mind, not including children may result in a lower attendance to your wedding and extra festivities, but this is YOUR wedding day and your choice to make! At the end of the day, your job is to make it clear and try to be helpful by providing resources that your guests can use as a starting place. It’s okay to leave the rest up to them!

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Helpful Information for First-Timers to Your Destination

This is where you may want to include things that aren’t all wedding related. If you’re getting married in Upstate New York, for example, you may want to include “must-see” list of things for guests to make the most of their trip. Include tourist attractions, fun places to go hiking, wineries and breweries, your favorite coffee shop, etc.

Also, don't forget to include travel logistics. The closest airport, whether or not they should rent a car or can easily catch an Uber, etc.! Are there speed traps you want to warn guests about? Is parking expensive? Many places don’t take cash? Let them know ahead of time so they can prepare!

Also, you may have been to your wedding venue several times but your guests haven't. So try to see it through their eyes. Is parking readily available or will you be providing a shuttle? Does Google Maps tell them it takes 15 minutes to get there but you know it takes more like 20-25? When it comes to your wedding venue, your guests don’t know what they don’t know so they won’t know the right questions to ask. 

 

 

Conclusion: 6 Important Details to Include On Your Wedding Website