Wedding Website - To Do and Not to Do

Putting a wedding website together is a common practice in todays electronic communication era.  With so many things that go into putting your wedding together it is an excellent opportunity to provide all the needed wedding details invited guests need like travel information, things to do for out of town travelers, wedding weekend itinerary and gift registry information and links.

I have helped clients put together their sites on many occasions but it was an initial consultation meeting with a potential client that made me realize that there should be some rules to what you include on your wedding website that prompted the writing of this post.

These tips may err on the side of caution, and it is unfortunate that this is the case, we tend to forget that making information easily accessible to your guests, also makes this information easily accessible to someone who may not have good intentions.

-Have a password protected website that requires approval for registration or a link to enter.

-Do, feel free to add photos of the two of you from your engagement session or other milestones throughout your relationship. 

- Do list your first names but I would recommend leaving off your last name. 

- Do include travel information, hotel options, destination points for out of town guests, etc.  

- Don't include your wedding date. You have already told them for whom and where, leave out the when. 

- Don't include personal addresses. If your wedding or an event around your wedding is at a private residence, don't include yours or anyone elses address.  One client wanted to include her fathers address as the location for the Sunday brunch following the wedding, leave information vauge enough that a stranger can't figure it out but the guests will. Something like; join us for brunch on Sunday at the Walters residence.

- If you include Honeymoon information don't make mention to how long you will be gone. Posts like: ...."10 Days of rest and relaxation with my new husband."  The wedding date and length of time your gone won't be hard for someone to figure out. 

- Do include registry location but the link should be to the main "look up" location for your registry, not the actual online listing.  Registry information is filed so you can look up by first and/or last name, if the link is directly to it, again, it won't be difficult for someone to figure out details about you.

Wedding websites can be a convenience unlike any other in delivering details to your guests, but remember to err on the side of caution. If you wouldn't tell the stranger in the car next to you on the highway every wedding detail, don't tell anyone else across the information highway.  

Be safe and happy planning!