Most couples launch their wedding website with a date, a venue, and an RSVP link. Then they spend the next four months answering the same questions by message. The website isn't the problem. The gaps in it are.
A wedding website has one job: to answer your guests' questions before they have to ask you. This is the full checklist of what to include on a wedding website, section by section, and why each one earns its place. If some of your guests are flying in from another country, there's a section for them too.
The wedding website checklist at a glance
- The essentials: date, time, venue, parking, dress code, RSVP, and a contact
- The order of events for the whole day
- Where to stay and how to get there
- Travel details for guests coming from abroad
- Your story
- An FAQ section
- Registry and gift details
- The extra pages worth adding
The essentials every guest needs
If any of these are missing, your guests will message you to ask. Put them where nobody has to search.
- The date and the ceremony start time, even though it's on the invitation. Guests lose invitations. They don't lose links.
- The full venue name and address, with a map link that opens on a phone, not just a street address
- Parking: where to drive in, where to leave the car, and whether there's a fee
- The dress code, with one line on what it means at your venue
- An RSVP form that works on a phone, with a clear deadline and a field for dietary requirements
- Who to contact: a way to reach the two of you before the wedding, and one person's number for the day itself, when you won't be answering your phone
Tip: put the RSVP link in three places: your invitation, your website's menu, and the end of every page. The easier it is to find, the fewer guests you'll need to chase.
The order of events
Give guests the whole day, not just the ceremony time. A clear order of events tells them when to arrive, what to wear for the weather, and when to book their ride home.
- Guest arrival time, typically 30 to 45 minutes before the ceremony
- Ceremony start time and roughly how long it runs
- Where and when drinks are served afterwards
- When the reception doors open
- Dinner
- The evening's highlights: speeches, first dance, and cutting the cake
- The last shuttle or lift home
If your celebration runs over more than one day, give each day its own programme: welcome drinks the night before, the wedding itself, a brunch the morning after. Guests who are travelling plan their whole trip around this page.
Where to stay and how to get there
If your venue is out of town, or most of your guests live somewhere else, this section isn't optional. Guests who know where to stay sort it out early and arrive calmer for it.
- 2 to 5 places to stay near the venue, at a few different price points
- The drive time from each one to the venue
- A rough price per room per night
- Any group rate you've arranged, with the booking code and the date it ends
- How to get to the venue: your own car, a shuttle, or a taxi
- Transfer options if the venue is remote
What to include on a destination wedding website
A wedding abroad changes the brief. Your guests aren't driving in for the afternoon. They're booking flights, taking leave, and landing somewhere they may never have been. A destination wedding website has to answer the travel questions as well as the wedding ones.
Add a travel page that covers these, written for someone arriving in the country for the first time.
Airports and getting there
Name the nearest international airport and, if there's a closer regional one, that too. Give the transfer time to the venue, and say whether guests should hire a car, book a shuttle, or wait for one you've arranged. If the country drives on the other side of the road, say so.
Visas and passports
Whether a guest needs a visa depends on the passport they hold, so there's no single answer to put on the page. Don't try to give one. Link to the official government website of the country you're marrying in, and ask guests to check the entry rules for their own passport before they book flights. It's worth reminding them to check when their passport expires, too. Keep it to a pointer, not advice: the official source is where the current rules live.
Currency and money
Tell guests the local currency, whether cards are taken almost everywhere or cash is handy for markets and tips, and roughly what a meal or a taxi costs. A line on local tipping customs saves a few awkward moments at the bar.
Time zone
Write every time on the site in local time, and say so once at the top of the order of events. If family at home will watch a livestream, give them the start time in their own time zone as well.
Plugs and adapters
Plug types differ from country to country. One line telling guests which adapter to pack saves someone a flat phone battery on the one day they want photos.
Weather and what to pack
Seasons don't travel with your guests. A December wedding in South Africa is a summer wedding, even for guests flying in from a northern winter. Tell guests what the weather is usually like at that time of year, how cool the evenings get, and anything they might not think to pack, like sun cream or a warm layer.
A wedding abroad is where a website does its hardest work. If you'd like the travel page written and designed for you, that's what our destination wedding websites are built for.
Your story
This is the page guests actually read, and the one most couples rush. A love story isn't a list of dates. It's how you met, the early moments, the parts your friends still tease you about, and the proposal. Written properly, it turns your wedding website from a notice board into something warm, personal, and worth keeping.
It gives whoever is making a speech something to work with. And years from now, it's the page you'll come back to.
Don't write your story as a bullet-point timeline. Write it the way you'd tell it to a friend over dinner. If writing isn't your thing, this is where having it done for you makes the biggest difference: at WedlySite, we write it for you, from one real conversation.
The FAQ section
Every question you answer on the page is one you won't get at 10pm. A good wedding website FAQ covers the questions you already know are coming:
- Are children welcome? If yes, from what age. If not, say so warmly and clearly.
- Can guests bring a plus-one, or just the people named on the invitation?
- Can guests take photos during the ceremony, or is it unplugged?
- What's the plan if the weather turns, especially for an outdoor ceremony?
- Is there a shuttle or transport home?
- How do guests tell you about dietary requirements?
- Is there a registry, and where do guests find it?
Each answer is one less message to reply to while you're planning. If guests are travelling in, add the travel questions too, or link the FAQ to your travel page.
Registry and gifts
Put the registry in the main menu, not at the bottom of a page. If you'd prefer cash, say it simply and warmly. If you have a list, link straight to it.
- A clear registry link in the main menu
- A short note on what you'd love, if you have a preference: cash, specific items, or experiences
- Honeymoon fund details, if you have one
If many of your guests are travelling far to be there, a line saying their being there is gift enough is a kind touch. A clear gift page saves awkward questions at the wedding, and seven of the same salad bowl.
The pages worth adding
These aren't essentials. They're what turn a useful website into one guests enjoy, and one you'll keep.
Things to do nearby
Most valuable when guests are coming from out of town. A short list of places to eat, things to do, and a few favourite spots of your own turns a wedding weekend into a trip your guests remember.
Countdown
A live countdown to the wedding. It's a small touch that makes the site feel alive rather than like a static notice.
Photo gallery
Your engagement photos, or a few favourites from over the years. Guests feel closer to your story when they can see it.
Wedding party
Introduce the people standing with you on the day. Guests arrive already knowing a few faces, and it adds warmth before anyone has met.
What couples most often leave out
After building custom wedding websites for couples, these are the details we see missing most, and the ones couples wish they'd added sooner.
Exact parking instructions
"There's parking" isn't enough. Say which gate to use, where the parking is, whether it's secure, and whether there's an attendant or a fee. It matters most at country venues and estates, where the turn-off is easy to miss after dark.
What the dress code means at your venue
"Cocktail" and "smart casual" mean different things to different guests, and different things in different countries. Add one line of real guidance: "The ceremony is on the lawn, so leave the stilettos at home." "It's a coastal venue, so bring a layer for the evening." Small details like these are the ones guests thank you for.
Anything after the reception
A late-night gathering, a brunch the next morning, a beach day. If it's happening, guests want to know, and travelling guests will plan their flights around it. Don't leave it to word of mouth on the day.
One link that answers everything
A complete wedding website saves your guests time, and it saves you more. No repeat questions, no chasing RSVPs and dietary requirements, no explaining the venue directions one more time. The couples who launch something half-finished are the ones still answering messages the night before the wedding.
If you're still deciding whether to build it yourself or have it built, our free vs custom wedding website guide lays out both sides. To see what a finished one looks like, browse our work.
WedlySite builds custom wedding websites and digital invitations for couples everywhere, including couples marrying in South Africa. You talk. We write, design, and build. You share one link. The Whole Story is $497, and every add-on is on our pricing page, with a quote calculator that builds your exact total.
Your website should answer everything before anyone has to ask. That's the point.
Quick answers
What should you put on a wedding website?
Start with the essentials: the date and ceremony time, the venue address with a map link, parking, the dress code, an RSVP form with a deadline and dietary requirements, and a way to reach you. Then add the order of events, where to stay, your story, an FAQ section, and your registry.
What should a destination wedding website include?
Everything a local wedding website has, plus a travel page: the nearest airports and transfer times, places to stay, the local currency, the time zone, which plug adapter to pack, and the weather at that time of year. For visas, link guests to the official government website and ask them to check the rules for their own passport.
What questions should a wedding website FAQ answer?
The ones you know are coming: whether children are welcome, whether guests can bring a plus-one, the photo policy for the ceremony, the plan if the weather turns, transport home, dietary requirements, and where to find the registry.
Should you put your wedding website on the save the date?
Yes, if the site is live. The save the date is the first thing guests receive, and the link lets them find the stay and travel details early. That matters most when guests are flying in. Your invitation can then link to the same site for the RSVP.
How do you write the story for a wedding website?
Tell it as a story, not a timeline: how you met, the early moments, and the proposal, in the voice you'd use with a friend. Keep it short enough to read on a phone. If writing isn't your thing, WedlySite writes it for you from one call.
