CHAPTER SIX
Make Your Wedding Website Sing . . . or Rhyme
A wedding website is a great way to share helpful details about your wedding day, including directions to your venue, information about pre- and post-wedding parties, important phone numbers, dress code suggestions and links to your registry. It also lets you introduce important players, share the story of your union, post photos of your engagement, and help invitees “meet” or reconnect with each other, all of which will heighten anticipation for the actual day and help your most timid guests feel comfortable. Use creative language to make the most of your website. Here’s how:
Your Homepage
Your homepage is a little like the entry hall of your reception venue—it helps guests transition out of their daily lives into your wedding event, and it sets the tone for the rest of the party. Use creative language to make your homepage speak for you.
WELCOME GUESTS WITH WINNING WORDS
When guests log on to your website, greet them with a photo and welcome message using a poem or quote that expresses some aspect of your union. Classic girl-and-boy-next-door romance? Use a traditional poem of friendship and love, such as this line from the Song of Solomon: “This is my beloved and this is my friend” (PARTNERSHIP, FRIENDSHIP AND COMPANIONSHIP).
Maybe he proposed in Paris and your wedding will have a certain French je ne sais quoi. Make a slideshow of photos from the trip on your homepage and include a poem or lyric from your favorite French poet or chanteuse.
Sample Wedding Homepage
Sara & Drew Our Wedding Date: May 7, 2012
Welcome, and thanks for checking out our wedding website! If you’ve arrived here, you probably know Sara Stylehound or Drew Darling. We’re in love. We met at a party in New York City in December, and got engaged in Paris in June. We’re excited to get married this spring. We’ll be filling in more details about the event, so keep checking back for information. To quote Edith Piaf, the Songbird of Paris...
Quand il me prend dans ses bras,
Il me parle tout bas,
Je vois la vie en rose.
OR, IN ENGLISH:
When he takes me in his arms,
He speaks so low it charms
I see la vie en rose.
INCLUDE LYRICS . . . AND THE TUNE
When you post lyrics, include the actual music or a link to YouTube of a music video or a classic performance, such as Edith Piaf belting out her love. Or create your own music video. Nothing taps the emotions like music, and a wedding website lets you share your favorite tunes with your favorite people.
Additional Pages
As with any website, your wedding website can have as many options on the navigation bar and as many pages as you need to get your message across. Use creative language to help each section stand out.
CREATE A PERSONALIZED WHO’S WHO PAGE
When guests click on the “Who’s Who” button on the navigation bar, they arrive at a landing page with a photo of each member of the wedding party and other VIPs in your life. Include a quote or quip about each person to add humor and emotion—and to help guests get to know your VIPs better.
INVITE YOUR COMMUNITY TO CHAT . . . IN VERSE
Create a “Community Forum Poem Page” and ask attendees to leave their favorite poem about love, marriage, friendship or weddings. Guests can comment on each other’s selections, share stories and even “compete” to offer up the best quote or quip. Creating a community forum around poetry is a great way to break the ice for guests before they’ve even had that first drink.
COCREATE WORDS OF LOVE
Your community forum could also be a place for guests to compose a poem together. Get them started by making up the first line and asking guests to add on, or using a line from an existing poem. You could also offer multiple “first lines” from the stanzas of a classic sonnet, and let invitees choose where to add.
Ask a friend to be the “guest editor” and let her start the poem. Use a simple rhyming structure for ease. Your editor can tweet updates to your wedding website followers about great new additions. A prize to the winner—such as a book of poetry or dinner for two at a nice restaurant—is a great way to up the enthusiasm.
Sample Poem-in-Progress
Your guest editor posts the line:
Matt and Jan are so in love . . .
Your friends might add:
They go together like a hand in a glove.
If your friends get stuck, your guest editor can add another line, then tweet to your guests to see who can add the best next line.
You could tell from the moment they met ...
A wedding in their future was a good bet.
More Social Media
You can use the web and mobile devices to keep guests in the loop about your wedding plans. But check with guests before including them on group blasts and include an “unsubscribe” option on any recurring communications to make sure everyone on your list is as excited to receive your news as you are to share it.
TWEET THE LOVE
Invite attendees to sign up for your Twitter feed, and tweet biweekly poems of love or humorous sayings . . . or at least the first 140 characters. The Twitter feed will encourage guests to log on to your wedding website to read the rest of the poem or story.
POST UPDATES
Use Twitter or an email to let guests know when you’ve posted updates on your website. Add a new line of poetry or prose that relates to the update or further sets the tone for your event.
Sample Update Post
All guests are invited to welcome cocktails and toasts after dinner on Friday evening. The ceremony will take place on the beach in Montauk on Saturday afternoon. (Location coming soon—don’t stress!) Reception to follow.
How much do I love thee?
Go ask the deep sea
How many rare gems
In its coral caves be.
(DEVOTION)
CREATE A NUPTIAL NEWSLETTER
Create a monthly nuptial newsletter with information about your wedding plans or about the venue, links to other weddings in the news, and updates about members of your wedding party or guests. Include a poem in each newsletter to spread the love to all your readers.