Did you get engaged during the holidays? If so, then first of all – congratulations! Here’s hoping your engagement is as enjoyable as possible and that you’ve been blessed with a laid-back mother in law!
Whether you’re throwing a wedding for 250 people or a more intimate affair for close friends and family, there are many decisions to make; Destination wedding or hometown affair? Rustic country barn or extravagant banquet hall? Overwhelmed yet? Us too. Even the simplest weddings can be stressful to plan, and with so many moving parts something is bound to fall through the cracks. The only thing more important than picking the right groom, (or bride) is picking the right wedding website. But we’re here to help – we’ve broken down the pros and cons of the 3 biggest wedding websites out there, so whether you’re a Monica Gellar or a Phoebe Buffay, the right wedding website will ensure your Pinterest-perfect wedding!
Founded in 1996, The Knot has long been the bible of wedding planning. Their magazine has been in print longer than some brides have been alive, and their A+ BBB rating is second to none in the industry. On their website, you can do anything from browsing engagement rings from twenty-six designers, to creating a custom wedding website that incorporates your registry and RSVPs. Perhaps their most unique and valuable feature is their blog – complete with thirteen categories and thousands of sage wedding advice articles.Their RSVP system is unique in that you can ‘open it to the public,’ meaning that you don’t have to enter hundreds of guest names and emails, but rather include your websites URL on your invitation and your guests can register themselves within your website and enter their response. The Knot also includes resources to find your wedding dress, bridesmaids dresses, wedding bands, centerpieces… quite literally anything you could possibly need from A-Z. The Knot is for the bride who doesn’t know where to start and wants to keep it all in one place.
WeddingWire bought The Knot in 2018 and therefore offers all of the same online services but seems to exceed The Knot in a couple of key areas: its lists and reviews of local vendors, and ease of technological incorporation. Want to schedule all of your cake tastings and dress fittings in one app? WeddingWire is for you. While The Knot offers their advice & insights blog, WeddingWire connects you directly to local vendors in your area and shows you reviews from other couples who’ve used them. WeddingWire also offers a very detailed to-do list feature that automatically pulls all of the wedding details that you’ve planned through their site. The Knot does this too but in a much less detailed, more manual layout. WeddingWire’s budgeting feature seems to be more user-friendly than The Knot’s, with more options to customize your financial categories and even some color-coding options. WeddingWire also offers integration with an app called “WedSocial,” a photo-sharing app that collects and shares all photos and videos taken by you and your guests throughout the ceremony and reception. Wedding Wire is for the tech-savvy, type-A bride who wants everything to be as modern and organized as possible.
Zola’s online-registry services have been rated better than The Knot or Wedding Wire, probably because the website was founded in 2013 exclusively for the purposes of a digital wedding registry. While the registry is their main focus, Zola also offers a full product line of wedding-planning tools. Providing a full catalog with a variety of brands, you can find deals on housewares, furniture, electronics, and even honeymoon experiences and charity funds. What makes Zola so user-friendly is that its registry does not take you down a rabbit-hole of links to other sites like Macy’s and Bed Bath & Beyond – all of the product pages are embedded in their site. They also provide the option to gift-share if several guests wanted to go in on something together. Their other products include a website builder, paper invitations, RSVP services, vendors, and a to-do list tool. The final word seems to be this: if you already have a pretty concrete idea of the items you’d like to register for, go with WeddingWire or The Knot as these sites allow you to input links to specific items from their third-party sites. Zola is better for the bride who needs a plethora of basic household items, or the bride who wants to do something unorthodox with her registry.