So you’ve booked your destination wedding and you’re ready give all your guests the info they need to make a decision about accepting your invitation. One of the best ways to do this these days is with a wedding website. But what do you publish exactly? Here are a few ideas.
Once most of your bigger wedding decisions (like date, destination, venue and theme) have been made, and before you send out your save-the-dates (click here for a sample), it’s a good idea to create a wedding website.
Two excellent sources for creating a free wedding website are: MomentVille.com and WeddingAnnouncer.com.
You can then share this link on your save-the-dates. Don’t worry if you don’t have all the details for your site yet; remember: you want to give your guests as much notice of the date as possible so they can start arranging their plans. As long as your site is up and running, you can always publish, “More details to follow.”
Your wedding website is an online resource for your guests so that those who are serious about attending can log on and see frequently updated details about your wedding as they become available. The information you’ll share on your website should be geared towards helping your guests make a decision to attend and help them plan for the trip.
What to Include on Your Wedding Website
Here’s a list of what we suggest you publish on your website:
- The Destination. What’s so great about the destination you chose for your wedding? Make sure to include its local colour: history, customs and interesting facts about the culture and cuisine. All of this will help get your guests psyched for the journey! Try linking to the tourist board website as it’s most likely a resource that contains a lot of this information.
- Travel Info. Let guests know the travel documentation they’ll need, currency info, where to exchange money while in the destination, travel options to and from the hotel and airport or if you’ve arranged this for them, links and/or contact info for travel options while in the destination, and anything else you can think of that will help them be prepared and get around. They might also like to know the time zone difference between their hometowns and the destination, and the cheapest options they have if they’d like phone home during the wedding week.
- The Hotel. There are so many benefits to your guests booking together as a group and staying at the hotel where you’ll get married. Not only do you get group rates but if you all book together, the hotel is less likely to send members of a group to alternate lodgings if they should happen to overbook. (You might share this link to our page on group booking advantages.) Plus, almost all of our couples have commented how convenient it was having everyone at the same hotel for outings and dinners, and having the peace of mind knowing everyone will show up to the ceremony on time.
- Local Hotel Options. It’s always helpful for guests to have options, especially if they decided last minute because of extenuating circumstances.
- The Weather. How will your guests know what to pack if they don’t know the typical weather conditions for your destination of choice at the time of year when your wedding will be held?
- Local Sites & Activities. Do a little research and include a list of sights and things-to-do in the area that your guests can choose to do on their own while in the destination.
- Scheduled Activities. Many couples organize a few activities for the group so guests have a chance to do something fun with the couple outside wedding-related functions. Use links to descriptions of these outings so guests can get excited about joining the group!
- Dress Code. There’ll be various wedding events and guests will appreciate having an idea of what to pack for each. Include the dress code for the ceremony, reception, special dinners, restaurant dress codes, etc. To help them even more with their packing tasks, share our blog posts: Helpful Packing List for Ladies and Helpful Packing List for Men (scroll down to the bottom).
- How to Book. Make it super easy for guests to book with the group once they’ve made a decision. Include the price with deposit amounts and the date of final payment. If you’re working with a destination wedding specialist, they’ll provide you with this information to share. Also worth sharing is information on travel insurance, send them to our blog post, “The Most Important Travel Tip Ever” and let them know they can obtain travel insurance with your destination wedding specialist.
- Your Destination Wedding Specialist’s Contact Info. You’re going to be very busy from now until the wedding. One of the benefits of working with a destination wedding specialist is that you can ask your guests to contact your Cyber Maid of Honour if they have any questions about the travel and accommodation aspects of your wedding. If you choose Weddings By Oceans, add a link to our contact us page.
These 10 sections will get you started but you may discover more as you continue your planning. Make sure to update your website regularly. To help keep your stress levels down, try scheduling a small block of time every week for this task and keep a list with you titled, “website additions” so you can add to it as ideas come to you.
Have you any ideas that will help your guests choose to attend your destination wedding that we haven’t covered in this post?
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