Wondering how to share your wedding website with guests? Explore etiquette tips for how to share your wedding website on an invitation.
You wrote your “how we met” story, uploaded your beautiful engagement photos, and created your wedding registry. This can only mean one thing: you completed your wedding website. Congrats! Crafting a wedding website that communicates all the important details about your wedding day is no easy task. Now that you hit publish, you’re probably wondering when and how you should share your brand-spanking-new site with your wedding guests.
While it can be tempting to post a link to your wedding website on your social media accounts right away, we strongly advise against it. Sharing your wedding details with all of your web-based followers and friends often leads to confusion about who is and isn’t invited to your big day. Instead, modern etiquette suggests that you share your website with your guests via your wedding invitation (and save the dates, if applicable). For more information on how to include your wedding website on your invitation, keep reading.
Just getting started? Check out our step-by-step guide on how to make a wedding website.
Including a link on your invitation is the easiest and most common way to share your website with your guests. Traditionally, the wedding invitation suite includes a few different enclosure cards to relay critical information to guests. While that’s still an option, many modern couples have opted to forego multiple enclosure cards and instead direct guests to their website to learn need-to-know wedding details, such as hotel recommendations and registry information. In addition to communication wedding details, the wedding website may be included on the invitation for the following reasons:
1. To Collect RSVPs Online — Many couples choose to collect online RSVPs rather than have their guests fill out paper response cards. That’s because sites like Zola make it easy to gather RSVPs through your wedding website and manage the guest list with real-time updates and easy-to-use tracking tools.
2. To Share Registry Information — In the past, registry etiquette dictated that the registry only be shared by word of mouth. The digital age has rendered that rule outdated, and it’s now considered standard to share where you’re registered on your wedding website. Including your website URL on your invite makes it easy for guests to find your registry without hassle.
Now that we’ve covered why to share your wedding website on your invitations, let’s talk about how to include your wedding website on your invitation without sacrificing aesthetic appeal or committing an etiquette faux pas.
In general, when sending out the formal wedding invitation, guests appreciate having the wedding website information all in one place. Wedding etiquette insists that you don’t include your website on the invitation directly, but if you do choose to share it on the formal invitation, add the website to the bottom of the invitation. Wedding save the dates and enclosure cards are also a great place to share your wedding website with guests. You can do this by either:
Let's explore these different options for how you can share your wedding website on your invitation.
Although your wedding save the dates are sent out in advance of your invitations, they’re still a part of your invitation suite and the most popular choice for sharing the wedding website URL with guests as quickly as possible.
Where: If you make your save the dates using a pre-made design online, then the template will guide you on where exactly you should list your wedding website link. It varies by design, but in most cases, it’s listed on the back of the save the date or at the bottom of the front side. If you’re working with an invitation designer or making your own, where you place the URL is up to your personal preference. If you opt for a QR code, placing it on the back of your save-the-date would be ideal.
When: Send save the dates 4-6 months before your wedding date.
Although some wedding experts believe it’s bad decorum to include your wedding website on your invitation, we’re of the opinion that it’s okay if you’re collecting RSVPS through your site in lieu of response cards. Just keep in mind that unless the link serves a purpose other than broadcasting where guests can buy you gifts, that it may be considered poor etiquette to share your wedding website on your invitation.
Where: At the bottom of your invitation. Some wording examples:
If you opt to add a QR code instead, adding it to the back of the invite is best.
When: Send invitations 6-8 weeks before the wedding date.
Your other option is to include your wedding website URL on an enclosure card (an additional piece of your invitation suite used to communicate additional details to your guests). While there are many types of enclosure cards, these three are used to point guests to your website: