Tips / June 4, 2026

Building Your Wedding Website: A Photographer’s Recommendations

Your wedding website is the single most underrated planning tool you have. Done right, it answers 90% of guest questions before they get asked, saves your inbox from the same questions repeated 60 times, and sets the tone for the day. Done wrong, it’s a Pinterest-style overload that guests skim and ignore. Here’s the photographer’s perspective on what to build, what to skip, and what platform to use.

What a Wedding Website Is For

Your wedding website is a logistics document with photos. Its job is to answer:

  • When and where is the wedding (date, time, addresses)?
  • What should I wear?
  • Where should I stay?
  • What’s the schedule for the weekend?
  • How do I RSVP?
  • Are kids invited?
  • Where’s the registry (if you have one)?

If your website doesn’t answer those questions in under 30 seconds of scrolling, you’ve over-designed it.

The Pages You Actually Need

1. Home

A photo of you both, your names, the date, the location. That’s it. Don’t bury your wedding date below three scrolls of “our story.” Guests need to know they’re on the right website immediately.

2. Schedule

Day-by-day schedule of the wedding weekend. Welcome party, ceremony, reception, brunch. Times, addresses, dress codes for each event. Most guests reference this multiple times.

3. Travel & Accommodations

Nearest airports, your hotel room block(s) with the booking code, alternative hotels nearby, parking information, rental car notes. Especially important for destination weddings — Pensacola guests will need to know about PNS vs. MOB vs. VPS airports.

4. Things to Do

Restaurant recommendations, sightseeing, beach activities. Save your phone — guests will ask anyway, but the website handles 80%.

5. RSVP

Online RSVP form. Required field for meal selection, dietary restrictions, song requests if you want them. Set the RSVP deadline 60–75 days before the wedding (early enough to give caterer/venue final headcount).

6. Registry

Links to your registries. Most couples use 2–3: a traditional store (Crate & Barrel, Target), a honeymoon fund (Honeyfund, Zola), and sometimes a cash-funded specific item (e.g., “house down payment fund”).

7. FAQ

The most overlooked, most important page. See below.

The FAQ Page That Saves Your Sanity

Anything you’ve answered more than twice via text, put on the FAQ. Standard questions:

  • Is there a dress code?
  • Are children welcome?
  • Can I bring a plus-one?
  • Will the ceremony be indoors or outdoors?
  • What’s the rain plan?
  • Is there parking at the venue?
  • Is there a shuttle?
  • What time should I arrive?
  • Is the ceremony followed immediately by the reception?
  • What’s the cell service like at the venue?
  • Can I take photos during the ceremony?

That last one matters a lot, by the way. If you want an unplugged ceremony (no guest phones), say so on the website AND on a sign at the entrance. Your photographer will thank you.

Pages You Don’t Need

  • “Our story” with 2,000 words and 30 photos. A short paragraph or skip entirely. Nobody reads it.
  • Wedding party bios. Cute, optional. Most guests skim past.
  • A countdown timer. Stress-inducing for no value.
  • Quizzes (“how well do you know the couple?”). No.
  • A guest book on the website. Guests don’t use them. Save the energy.

Platforms to Use

Zola (free)

The default for most couples now. Free, integrated with their registry, decent template selection, mobile-friendly. RSVP and guest tracking included. Some couples find the templates feel similar to every other wedding.

The Knot / WeddingWire (free)

Older, larger, more templates. Similar feature set to Zola. Same caveat on template uniqueness.

Withjoy (free)

Newer, cleaner design aesthetic, growing fast. Excellent if you care about how the website looks.

Squarespace / Custom domain ($16–$40/month)

For couples who want a fully custom site at their own domain (e.g., joyceandkylewedding.com). More work to build, more flexibility. Best if you’re comfortable with web design or you have a friend who is.

What to Use Your Engagement Photos For

Your engagement session gives you a deep supply of usable photos. Build the website around them:

  • Hero image: One landscape-orientation photo of the two of you. Wide aspect ratio works best.
  • About page or schedule page header: A second, more candid photo.
  • Save the date: Print one of the engagement photos.
  • Background images on subpages: Subtle, low-contrast crops that won’t compete with text.

Don’t put 30 engagement photos in a “gallery” — pick 3–5, use them well.

When to Launch It

Build the basic site 4–6 months before the wedding. Send the URL with the save-the-date. Update with detailed information 60–90 days out, after RSVPs come in. Keep it live for at least 6 months after the wedding so guests can find logistical details and (eventually) shared photo galleries.

The Photo Question

Some couples add a post-wedding page where guests can download or view the wedding gallery. We provide our couples with a Pixieset client gallery they can embed or link from their website. Worth doing — it gives guests a single, easy place to grab the photos they want without 60 of them DMing you for “the one with us and the parents.”

Need a Hand?

If you’ve booked us as your photographer, we’ll send you our shareable gallery link and a recommended FAQ template for unplugged ceremonies. Get in touch if you want to talk through your specific setup. The wedding website is one of those small details that pays back tenfold if you spend an extra 2 hours on it.