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| Do I Really Need a Wedding Website? |
January 3, 2003
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Many engaged couples are asking themselves this question as a very popular trend snowballs through the wedding industry. Before I got engaged I certainly wouldn't have considered getting a personal website to post personal information and pictures about myself, so the idea seemed bizarre to me too. Then, about a month after my fiancée proposed, I visited a friend's wedding website and realized it was more of a necessity as a means to distribute information, than about vanity at all.
As it turned out, our wedding website was one of the best parts about our wedding. The site allowed us to build a lot of momentum towards the big day. People felt a part of the planning and our families and friends who hadn't met John or myself got to learn more about us, which made a big difference on our wedding day.
We both have big families and had many people coming from out of town. The website allowed us to put all of the travel information (air, car, hotel) in one spot that everyone had access to. There was also tons of information about our city available on our site, which was great for people who had never been to Boston before.
We made sure to include a little card in our invitation that informed everyone that all information regarding the wedding such as details and maps of events would be posted on our website. This saved us many phone calls with questions about where and when each event was taking place. Our guests loved the RSVP feature, 75% of our guests replied on line ! People really seemed to prefer responding by email instead of snail mail. Once they were on the site, the online registry also made it very convenient for our guests to give us gifts that we actually wanted.
Due to my chronic shyness, I thought you had to be an exhibitionist to consider getting a website. The truth is, it gave many people who didn't know us, a great way to learn about each of us through our story, biographies and pictures. People seemed to really like the Poll and Quiz which we updated a few times before and after the wedding. We were able to stretch out our incredible wedding for a long time as people went to the site to see our pictures and send wonderful comments through the guest book for weeks after the wedding.
We couldn't believe how easy it was to create our site. It really was just filling in forms online. All the work was done for us, and the designs were just great. We also really appreciated that it did not cost a fortune and that we were able try it before we bought it before committing to what was a thoroughly enjoyable process from beginning to end.
As you can see the website was a huge success with our guests who came to the wedding, but it was equally gratifying for our friends and family around the world who couldn't make it. Witness my 94 year old grandmother who was actually able to take part in my wedding even though she couldn't leave her house. So in answer to the question posed in the title of this letter, this former sceptic highly recommends a wedding website for every engaged couple!
The preceding article was written by a client of virtuallymarried.com
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| Wedding Websites Are a Must! |
June 10, 2002
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The Internet has made planning a wedding a much easier process for young couples of the 21st century. It is a tremendous source of information for everything you could ever imagine related to the big day. One application that is becoming increasingly popular is a wedding website where all of the details of the wedding can be posted along with many other terrific features. There are many benefits to having a wedding website. There is a lot of information to disseminate, and by putting all of the information online; the couple eliminates the endless requests for information that typically occur when a wedding approaches.
Sallie Baldwin of Savannah Georgia, a recently engaged young woman, appreciated her wedding website for the information it provided for her guests. "I wanted a way for our family and friends to easily access information about events around the wedding. A lot of our family and friends don't live near us so it is a way for each other's families to get to know us as a couple immediately!" www.spangenberg.virtuallymarried.com
Most wedding websites allow people to RSVP online. Emily Riggs of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, another wedding website user had a very positive reaction from her guests regarding the RSVP function. "We were so pleased with the way it worked out, 85% of our RSVP's came via email - including two sets of grandparents!" Her guests also found another benefit. "Everybody was printing our "Our Story", Pictures and Bios so they could save them." www.emilyandjustin.virtuallymarried.com
A huge benefit of a wedding website is that the couple can have a link to their online registry. This allows guests to see what the couple has chosen and to make a contribution without leaving their home. Kirk Spangenberg of Charleston, South Carolina appreciated that feature the most. "My favorite part is the link to the registry. I want to make it as easy as possible for people to buy us the things we have picked out for our wedding!"
There are also fun things for the guests to see on some wedding websites, like photos, a countdown, a poll and quiz about the happy couple. Some sites have additional features such as a special page for out of town guests. This allows the couple to provide their guests with all kinds of information about their city, suggested accommodations, places to visit, restaurants, and shopping. Tiffany Duggin of Los Angeles, California appreciated this feature the most. "I wanted a way for our family and friends to learn about things to do and see in Philadelphia " (where the wedding is taking place). Our site had great links for restaurants, attractions, and lots of other great stuff in Philly. www.tiffanyandjason.virtuallymarried.com
Perhaps the greatest thing of all is that the couple can make everyone a part of the festivities, even those that could not attend the event. Lara Goldenberg of Montreal, Canada can attest to that. "We had a small wedding and could not invite as many friends and family as we wanted and many people who live far away could not make the trip. The website allowed everyone to be a part of our special day". www.laraandjohn.virtuallymarried.com
This article was written by Robert Hirscheimer of www.virtuallymarried.com
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