Your Wedding Website: What to Include

A wedding website is not optional for a destination wedding in France. It is the single place where your guests find everything they need to attend: flights, accommodation, directions, schedule, dress code, dietary forms, and the local context that turns a trip into an experience. Your printed invitation points here.

Your save-the-date links here. Every logistics question your guests would otherwise text you about gets answered here. Below are the essential pages, the information most couples forget, and the platforms that handle it well. For the full stationery picture from first announcement to final place card, see our complete invitations and stationery guide. For a broader view of every step involved, see planning your destination wedding in France from start to finish.

Key Takeaways

• A destination wedding website for France should include at minimum: travel page (airports, transfers), accommodation page (venue rooms, nearby hotels, booking codes), weekend schedule, RSVP form, and FAQ page.
• The travel page is the most visited. Include nearest airports with transfer times, car hire notes, train options from Paris, and driving directions from the airport with an embedded map.
• Based on destination weddings featured on French Wedding Style over 15 years, the pages couples most commonly forget are: dietary requirements form, local restaurant recommendations, and a "what to pack" note addressing weather and terrain.
• Password-protect the site or use an unlisted URL. Wedding websites with full names, dates, and venue addresses indexed by search engines create a security concern for destination events.

Why Is a Wedding Website Essential for a French Destination Wedding?

A wedding website replaces the 47 WhatsApp messages your guests would otherwise send you. Where is the nearest airport. How do we get from the airport to the venue. Where should we stay. What is the dress code. What time does Saturday start. Is there parking. Can we bring the children. Do we need euros. Every one of these questions has a clear, fixed answer. A website delivers those answers once, to everyone, in both languages if needed, at any hour, without requiring the couple to type the same response 30 times. For a French destination wedding specifically, the information gap is larger than for a local celebration. Your guests may never have visited the region. They may not speak French. They may not know that rural French venues are often 30 to 45 minutes from the nearest town, that Sunday buses do not run in much of the countryside, or that restaurants in small villages close between lunch and dinner. The website fills these gaps.

The website also serves as your RSVP hub. Digital RSVPs are faster, trackable, and allow you to collect meal choices and dietary requirements in one form. For a guest list spanning three or more countries, this is dramatically more efficient than physical response cards and international post. Your wedding planner can access the RSVP data directly to share with your traiteur and venue coordinator.

What Information Should Your Wedding Website Include?

Seven core pages cover the essentials. The first three (travel, accommodation, schedule) are the most visited and should be built first, ideally before your save-the-dates go out. 1. Travel page. Name the two nearest airports. Include transfer times by car. Note whether you are arranging group transfers (shuttle bus, minivan) or whether guests should hire cars. If the venue is reachable by TGV from Paris, include the station name and journey time. Add a Google Maps link to the venue and a note about GPS navigation in rural France: "Use the coordinates [X, Y] rather than the postal address, as GPS often routes to the wrong lane in the countryside." Couples marrying near Bordeaux or Nice benefit from airports with direct international routes. Those choosing the Dordogne or Normandy should list connecting options via Paris.

2. Accommodation page. List the venue's on-site rooms first (capacity, price per night, booking contact). Then list 3 to 5 nearby hotels and gîtes across different price points, with direct booking links and any group discount codes you have arranged. Include distance from each to the venue and estimated taxi cost. Note the check-in and check-out times. For rural venues where the nearest hotel is 20 minutes away, explicitly state this. Guests assume urban proximity unless told otherwise.

3. Weekend schedule. A day-by-day timeline. Friday: welcome drinks at 7pm, dress code casual. Saturday: ceremony at 4pm, dress code formal. Sunday: brunch at 10am, departure by noon. This tells guests how many nights to book and what to pack. Keep it simple. Guests do not need to know the DJ's set list. They need to know when to arrive, what to wear, and when it ends.

4. RSVP form. Digital, with fields for: attending yes/no, meal choice (if applicable), dietary requirements (free text), plus-one name (if invited), and arrival/departure dates. Set a clear deadline. Include a confirmation email on submission so guests know their response was received.

5. FAQ page. Answer the questions you know are coming. Is there parking at the venue. Are children invited. What is the weather like in [month] in [region]. Can we bring gifts, or is there a registry. What currency should we bring. Is there phone signal at the venue. Each answer: two to three sentences maximum.

6. Local guide. Restaurants, cafés, markets, and activities near the venue. Guests arriving a day early or staying after the wedding will explore. Three to five recommendations with Google Maps links and a note about reservation requirements (French restaurants often need booking, even casual ones) turns your website from a logistics tool into a travel guide.

7. Our story. Optional but appreciated. A short paragraph or timeline about the couple. This page is for guests who do not know both partners well. Keep it brief and genuine.

How Do You Handle Accommodation and Travel Information?

The travel and accommodation pages are the first thing guests visit and the pages they return to most often. Structure them for scannability, not narrative flow. Use headers, bullet points, and tables rather than dense paragraphs. A guest checking their phone at the airport does not want to read three paragraphs of prose to find the transfer time. One detail that destination couples overlook: taxi availability in rural France is limited. In towns of fewer than 5,000 people, there may be one or two taxi drivers serving the entire area, and they do not operate an app-based service. You must call ahead. Include this on your website. Better yet, arrange group transfers between the main accommodation hub and the venue so guests are not stranded. For couples choosing countryside wedding venues in France, transfer logistics are as important as the venue itself.

For the accommodation page, offer options at three price points: the venue's own rooms (premium, convenient, limited), a mid-range hotel within 15 minutes, and a budget gîte or Airbnb option. Include the booking deadline for any group rate. State clearly which rooms are allocated to the wedding party and which are available on a first-come basis. Couples who read our guide to guest accommodation at French wedding venues will already have this data from their venue contract.

What Are the Best Wedding Website Platforms?

The right platform depends on your priorities: design control, RSVP functionality, multilingual support, and whether you need password protection. As of 2026, four platforms stand out for destination weddings in France. Zola combines RSVP management, registry, and website building in one platform. Strong template selection. RSVP tracking is the best in class. Limited multilingual support (workaround: duplicate pages in French). Free tier covers most needs. Squarespace offers the best design control and supports custom domains. No built-in RSVP (use a Google Form or Typeform embed). Excellent for design-conscious couples who want full creative control. €12 to €18/month. Supports multilingual content natively through page duplication. WithJoy is purpose-built for weddings with strong RSVP, guest management, and travel tools. Free. Clean templates. Limited design customisation compared to Squarespace but faster to build. Supports meal choice collection within the RSVP flow.

Minted connects your website to printed stationery from the same platform, maintaining visual consistency between save-the-dates, invitations, and the website. Moderate design control. Good RSVP functionality. Best for couples who value a cohesive visual identity across print and digital.

Whichever platform you choose, ensure it allows password protection or unlisted access. A wedding website with your full names, date, and venue address should not be indexed by search engines. This is a security consideration for any event at a known property, and it is particularly relevant for couples marrying at exclusive-use venues where the address is the venue.

What Do Couples Forget to Include?

The dietary requirements form. This is the most commonly omitted page, and its absence creates problems for your traiteur. French caterers need final dietary counts 3 to 4 weeks before the wedding. If you discover two weeks out that six guests are vegetarian, three are gluten-free, and one requires kosher preparation, your caterer will charge a premium for the last-minute change, or decline the request entirely. Build a dietary form into your RSVP flow. Collect the information once. Share it with your caterer through your planner. Local restaurant recommendations. Guests arriving on Thursday or staying until Monday need somewhere to eat. French restaurants in small towns often require reservations, close on Mondays or Tuesdays, and do not serve dinner before 7:30pm. Three to five recommendations with addresses, cuisine type, price range, and a note about booking requirements transforms your guests' experience of the region. This is especially valuable near venues in Provence and the Loire Valley, where village restaurants are part of the charm but not always easy to find online.

Weather and terrain guidance. "The ceremony is outdoors on a gravel path. Block heels or flats recommended." "Average temperature in July in Provence is 30 to 35 degrees. Bring sunscreen and a hat for the vin d'honneur." "Evening temperatures drop to 18 degrees after sunset. A light wrap or jacket is useful." These notes are minor to write and major in impact. See how this couple brought this to life at Château Les Crostes in Provence.

A timeline of when information will be added. Guests visiting the website early (right after the save-the-date) may find half the pages still blank. Our guide to guest travel logistics to include on your destination wedding website explains the specifics. A simple note: "Accommodation details will be added by February. Full schedule available from April" manages expectations and prevents guests from assuming the information does not exist.

Related Articles

• Invitations and stationery for a French wedding: the complete guide
• French wedding invitation wording and etiquette
• Save-the-date timeline for a destination wedding in France
• Day-of stationery: menus, programs, and place cards
• Guest accommodation at French wedding venues
• Choosing a wedding planner in France
• Destination wedding venues in France
• Browse all wedding venues in France

Frequently Asked Questions

Should a destination wedding website be bilingual?

If your guest list includes French speakers, yes. The simplest approach is to duplicate each page with a French translation, accessible via a language toggle or separate navigation link. If your guest list is entirely English-speaking, a single-language site is fine. Include French terms where relevant (venue name, local place names, menu items) with brief English explanations.

When should the wedding website go live?

Before the save-the-dates are sent. At minimum, the travel page, accommodation page, and a placeholder schedule should be live. Guests will visit the URL within hours of receiving the save-the-date. A "coming soon" page wastes that initial interest. Build the core pages first, add detail over the following months, and note on the site when updates are expected.

Do we need a custom domain for the wedding website?

A custom domain (sarahandjames.com or sarahandjamesinprovence.com) looks cleaner on printed stationery than a platform subdomain (sarahandjames.zola.com). It costs €10 to €15 per year. If your save-the-dates and invitations will include the URL, the custom domain is worth the investment for readability alone. Most platforms allow custom domain connection with a one-time setup.

Should we include a gift registry on the website?

Include it, but not on the homepage and not in the save-the-date phase. A "Gifts" page linked from the navigation is appropriate once formal invitations are sent. For destination weddings, many couples request contributions toward the honeymoon or experiences rather than physical gifts, since guests are already spending on travel. Frame it graciously: "Your presence is the greatest gift. If you would like to contribute, we have set up a honeymoon fund." Never make it the first thing guests see.

How do we handle RSVP tracking for different events?

If your wedding includes separate events (welcome dinner Friday, ceremony and reception Saturday, brunch Sunday), your RSVP form should let guests indicate which events they will attend. Platforms like Zola and WithJoy support multi-event RSVPs natively. On Squarespace, use a Google Form with checkboxes for each event. This data feeds directly into your catering headcounts and seating plan.

Is it safe to put the venue address on the website?

Password-protect the site or use an unlisted URL (no search engine indexing). A full venue address, combined with the date and the knowledge that 80 to 150 people will be there with gifts, creates a security consideration. Most wedding website platforms offer password protection. Set a simple shared password and include it on your save-the-date or invitation.