Saying “I Do” to Digital

The top platforms and tools for creating the perfect online wedding experience 

Wedding websites have become as much a part of the business of getting married as booking the church, finding a venue for the reception, and picking the cake. In fact, according to a survey conducted by The Knot, almost 90% of newlyweds create a wedding website when they become engaged.

Every wedding website boasts its own area of specialization, and a recent review of sites turned up the eight best. They each have pros and cons, but whatever the couple’s needs or interests, there is a site that meets them. Factors that were considered in compiling the list include pricing, planning tools, invitation options, levels of customization, the availability of custom domains, and adaptability to mobile apps.

Best Overall: Joy

Joy’s polished design themes and free planning tools make it a top choice among wedding websites. It offers hundreds of templates in a wide variety of fully customizable styles, and advanced CSS tools mean that the range of options for detailed modifications is almost endless.

Joy also offers an impressive suite of organizational services. Couples can match their save-the-dates invitations to their theme, in both print and digital formats. Websites can include Q&A and FAQ sections, regularly updated schedules, and travel-related information for guests. The RSVP tracking system is seamless and automatically updates guest information, which can be modified as needed. Linking with registry is straightforward, and the couple’s wish list of items is easily organized by category.

Another standout feature is the ability to collaborate on every detail without the need to share passwords.

Best for Wedding Planning: The Knot

The Knot also includes an extensive suite of wedding planning tools, such as customizable templates, including exclusive designs by wedding maven Vera Wang. They also offer custom domains for a small fee, but what sets The Knot apart is its comprehensive planning tools, which include a budget manager, interactive checklist, RSVP system, registry, and vendor marketplace.

The seamless wedding planning tools are easy to use on a desktop or a convenient companion app. The budget manager tracks expenses and includes tips for extra assistance. The interactive checklist is customizable and easily updated and modified, and the RSVP system simplifies guest management by importing contacts from a list or spreadsheet. The vendor marketplace makes tracking gift purchases and communicating with vendors easy, and the site is an excellent choice for those planning a large wedding.

Best for Matching Invitations: Minted

Primarily known for high-quality invitations, Minted also features an intuitive wedding website builder that is seamlessly matched to the couple’s theme, including all wedding stationery, such as invitations, save-the-date cards, and thank-you notes. The website building process is straightforward and even includes a style quiz to help couples find the perfect theme, with discounted matching stationery.

Minted also provides a guest manager tool that gathers information from the couple’s contact list, sends emails, and gathers addresses for invitations. For a small fee, a couple can receive a custom URL and add extra site pages, ideal for photo galleries and videos. They also offer a complimentary 30-minute appointment with a concierge, or a more in-depth consultation for $49.

Best Wedding Registry: Zola.com

Zola began as a registry site that has expanded to include wedding websites, invitations, and planning tools. Zola is free, but custom domains are $15. A wide variety of themes can be customized even further with more than 600 options that include color, text, and layout, allowing for extensive personalization of the wedding website. Zola’s planning tools also include a guest list manager, invitation maker, and vendor marketplace.

What really sets them apart, though, is its extensive registry. Zola partners with over 1000 brands, including KitchenAid, Le Creuset, Crate & Barrel, Sonos, Lenox, Yeti, and more, and the site registry is easy and convenient to use. It is especially user-friendly for guests, as the products selected do not link out to external sites with purchase. Zola also offers the ability to control when registry gifts are shipped or convert them to credit. There is a small fee for cash gifts, but guests can save 20% on remaining registry items after the wedding. 

Best for RSVPs: Riley & Grey

Riley & Grey offer similar suites of website design options, but unlike most other sites, their services include a unique and highly personalized RSVP, guest information, and tracking system for $35 a month or $240 for the year. Their guest management system includes a lighthearted questionnaire that makes gathering necessary information a pleasant and engaging activity. Guests can indicate food choices, make song recommendations, and identify plus ones.

Guest access to events can be customized, and additional guest-focused options include personalized restaurant, bar, and shopping recommendations. Riley & Grey’s wedding websites are mobile-friendly, eliminating the need for guests to download an app to access any information about the event.

Best Design Options: Bliss & Bone

Bliss & Bone offers a robust and luxurious experience that prioritizes aesthetics. Through a standard plan of $15 per month or a premium plan for $21, couples have access to a wide range of elegant templates. Tech-savvy users can bypass predesigned templates and build their own from scratch. Either option allows for customization through the addition of the couple’s own photos, graphics, videos, and artwork. Another standout feature is the creation of custom logos or monograms that can be included throughout, including the wedding website, invitations, save-the-dates, and more.

Though not as robust as others, Bliss & Bone does offer a selection of tools to simplify wedding planning, including an RSVP tool for managing and tracking guest information that allows events, meal choices, dietary requirements, custom questions, and contact forms. They also provide foreign language support, password protection, and email analytics. Those services are not free, but Bliss & Bone offers a seven-day trial period to experiment with those options.

Best for Multilingual Weddings: WedSites

WedSites makes the process of building a website and creating invitations seamless for multilingual weddings. Their free offerings include hosting a wedding website and access to design templates, but the more expensive and exclusive features are available only through two paid options – a $99 standard plan that includes a guest list database and RSVP tracking, and a $199 pro plan that includes most of their services.

The pro plan includes planning tools such as a checklist, budget calculator, seating chart builder, and vendor payment reminders. However, its most outstanding feature is making translating a website easy with user-friendly navigation tools. While building a site, users can switch languages with a simple click, and languages can be assigned to specific guests and translated into digital invitations and RSVPs. There is also no limit to the number of languages available for translation.

Best Online Tools: WeddingWire

WeddingWire has extensive planning tools to help couples build a website. It’s free, though custom domains are available for $24. While they offer custom templates that can be modified to coordinate with theme, colors, and personal tastes, they cannot be matched to invitations or other stationery.

Other tech tools unique to WeddingWire include an interactive checklist that creates all schedules for any wedding-related event, and a guest list manager imports contacts and updates RSVPs as reservations are made or canceled. It even synchronizes the list to a floor plan to create seating charts, and staying within budget is easy through a tool that estimates category costs based on the couple’s budget, tracking services as they are engaged and paid for. Though information around accommodations, travel, and local activities must be added manually, WeddingWire does include options for arranging discounted hotel rates for guests.

Something for Everyone

LGBTWeddings.com offers a comprehensive platform for LGBTQ+ couples to plan their weddings. The site features a wide range of resources, including vendor directories, planning tools, and inspiration for themes and venues. It also provides access to real wedding stories, planning articles, and a podcast tailored to the LGBTQ+ community. Additionally, users can find vendor recommendations for all 50 states, ensuring a personalized and inclusive wedding planning experience.

Black Bride is a platform dedicated to celebrating and supporting women of color. It offers a wealth of resources including inspirational real weddings, planning advice, style guides, and vendor directories. The site features articles on wedding fashion, beauty, and lifestyle, alongside showcasing love stories and providing tools for planning and budgeting. Black Bride aims to empower brides of color by providing culturally relevant content and connecting them with a community of like-minded individuals.

Kansas City Engaged is your local resource for wedding planning in KC. With over 23 years of experience in connecting engaged couples to local wedding professionals, Kansas City Engaged is the place to go for all things local! KC engaged has all the info for local wedding shows, vendors, wedding professionals, venues and more! Their website says their goal has always been to connect engaged couples to the right vendors to fit their unique style, personality, budget, and wedding planning needs, and are proud to support professionals from all over the Kansas City metro area and beyond including surrounding cities in Kansas & Missouri.