Wedding Web sites, or 'wed sites,' gain popularity

BY RICHARD DALTON
richard.dalton@newsday.com

March 12, 2008

Melissa Gallo of Valley Stream enjoys telling the story of how she met her fiance -- but only so many times.

Taylor Smith of Lynbrook wanted to coordinate the planning of her wedding with her mother 900 miles away.

Khatija Lukmanji of Commack sought an easy way to arrange travel for her destination wedding in Riviera Maya, Mexico.

For those reasons and more, each bride turned to a wedding Web site, also called a "wed site."

The sites allow couples to post information about how they met, display photos, provide details on the wedding and track RSVPs. (Most still receive RSVPs by mail, though.)

Couples also can include registry information online, an etiquette no-no on the formal invitation. But they should list it on an inside page to avoid appearing "greedy and demanding," said Indiebride columnist Elise Mac Adam.

Wedding Web sites have been around at least a decade, but in recent years they have become more popular and more elaborate, experts said.

Gallo, 24, a pharmacist, said it's only natural to turn to the Internet to post information about her nuptials, including how she met her fiance.

"Everybody has everything that happens in their life there, whether it's having babies or they're getting married," she said.

Smith, 28, a teacher at a charter school in Brooklyn, said she turned to a Web site in part because she's so busy with work. Her mother has been entering RSVPs in the password-protected part of the couple's wedding site, allowing Smith to view responses anytime online.

Another benefit: the site answered guests' questions, Smith said.

"Nobody has called me to ask for anything," she said, echoing other couples who set up wedding Web sites. "I'm not stressed with a million different phone calls."

For a destination wedding, answering questions is essential. And destinationweddings.com made it easy, Lukmanji said. Their wedding specialist added all the information about the resort to the Web site and responded to e-mails, leaving Lukmanji worry-free.

"I was kept in the loop but not too involved, which is the whole point -- as stress free as possible," Lukmanji said.

For Lukmanji, the site was key to her destination wedding. Their wedding specialist added all the information about the resort to the site and responded to e-mails, leaving Lukmanji worry-free. "I was kept in the loop but not too involved, which is the whole point -- as stress-free as possible."

Some couples keep the sites up long after the wedding. Couples should ask their photographer in advance if they can post photos from the event.

Free wedding sites are available at theknot.com, wedding channel.com and lycos.com, which allows users to create Web sites for anything but found that wedding sites are among the most popular.

Another free option: The company that provides your Internet access. Verizon even offers a wedding template to its Internet customers.

Pay sites, such as Wedding tracker.com, Wedorama.com, and Weddingwindow.com, offer more features, such as vanity domain names and video. Nearlyweds.com even offers invitations that match the Web site. Pricing starts at about $60 for 12 months.

Custom-made Web sites start at $500.

Some guests include the Web site address on invitations. Advice columnist Miss Manners, though, is a bit more traditional. Guests may be notified of the Web address "in that most informal means of communication, the e-mail," she told one reader.

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