The 20 Websites You Can't Plan Your Wedding Without

For sharing all the need-to-know details with your guests—especially as things are changing on what may feel like a day-to-day basis—a wedding website and a custom app (or both) are essential. Your wedding website should, first and foremost, be a source of information for your loved ones, focusing on travel details, important dates and times, and the attire of each of your upcoming events. The site should reflect your personal style, the look and feel of the wedding, and include links to your registry should anyone want to get a head start on shopping for a gift.

When it comes to easy-to-use online resources, Riley & Grey is a go-to for not-so-basic brides. A BAZAAR Bride contributor and platform for discerning, design-forward couples, the site offers customizable wedding websites designed by cutting-edge creatives. The Riley & Grey team consider themselves experts on “non-wedding-y weddings,” looking to interior design, fashion, and the art world for aesthetic inspiration. This website pulls double duty, serving as a unique source of inspiration on Instagram and a practical resource for crafting wedding websites that are far from the status quo.

If you're looking to create a website on a tool you know and love, Squarespace, the commonplace website creator, now has a section just for weddings. The templates are straightforward and elevated due to their minimalistic approach to displaying photography, information, and interactive elements.

Though there are countless online resources for creating a wedding website, very few offer the ability to cap off your personalized site with a custom app. Appy Couple assists in creating your own unique app that walks your guests through your wedding weekend (and any changes as they occur) seamlessly. If you’re after a more “smart” solution for organizing guest travel, hotels, attire, and activities, Appy Couple's interactivity is sure to limit the amount of questions, emails, and calls you get from confused guests in the lead-up to your wedding weekend.

Crafting a wedding registry was once a lengthy process involving multiple visits to different department stores and guilt for requesting pricey or one-of-a-kind products from your loved ones. Zola, an all-in-one registry, has simplified this process with one, easy-to-use platform. From furniture to decorative objet, gift cards to honeymoon funds, and the ability to add items from anywhere on the Internet, Zola is the one-stop shop for all things registry. The site also offers free wedding websites, stationery, guest list organizers, and tools to track your gifts, your RSVPs. Don't want all of your gifts to ship and arrive ASAP? Zola also offers the ability to schedule the delivery of all your gifts.

If you're looking for gifts or home decor elements that are unique and above and beyond a standard registry selection, head to Collecto. This is not just a chic site; it's a fashion-forward housewares destination and highly curated wedding registry platform that provides access to the world’s finest and most distinctive decor designers. Here, you can shop emerging and established brands from around the world and tap the site's bespoke concierge service to guide you through the registry selection process and all the options to personalize your pieces. There will undoubtedly be things you still need to register for, but this is where you'll find all the finishing touches you can't live without, and that you'll use to level up your home decor in chic and unexpected ways.

Wedding planners who offer truly high-touch experiences will offer site visits, location scouting, and negotiate with your preferred destinations. We suggest you let the pros do what they do best, but it doesn't hurt to do your due diligence before embarking on the best place to host your guests.

The Venue Report, a collection of hotels, venues, restaurants, and unique spaces across the globe, curates by destination and style to help you find your dream wedding venue from the comfort of the couch. If you're after a chic barn on the West Coast? Check. A boutique hotel down south? It's got options. This venue-first resource provides all the details for venue hunting at home—from price ranges to intel on any and all additional fees, insurance requirements, capacity, curfews, and more. You can even save your favorites and get in touch with the venues directly to inquire, although we suggest you leave that to your planner.

And when it comes to browsing venues and finding event professionals simultaneously, PartySlate connects people planning events to leading event venues and professionals in a seamless way. The site allows users to search by location and view real wedding galleries to help you find the right venue and get a feel for the vendors who have worked there before.

Curating your wedding day tabletop is no longer just about scouring the rental options available at your venue or via your catering company. Now, thanks to companies like Casa de Perrin, The Coveted Co., and Borrowed Blu, you can rent and shop inspirational dishware, cutlery, and vessels from the comfort of your couch.

Skip the Pinterest planning—with resources like Maison de Carine's design boards you can create tablescape ideas to then show your planner, designer, and florist. While scrolling through images of real weddings are great for inspiration, these online destinations are tactical, tangible ways to curate the items you love and source them in quantities to cater to your guest count.

Finding your wedding vendors, especially at a time when you're sheltered in place, can be a challenge. Though introductory Zoom calls are incredibly informative and give you a real sense of who you're considering working with, we encourage you to get to know the experts—and use industry insider resources to do it.

Keep an eye out for collectives that showcase the industry's best and organize talents in one, easy-to-reference place. Through a discerning vetting process, the just-launched Ethos West Collective is curating a collection of super-talents to form a hub of esteemed Black wedding professionals—from planners and photographers to cake makers and beyond. Ethos West, founded by Lea Stafford, Chanda Daniels, and Erica Estrada, is aimed at highlighting the best of the best. Their roster of talents, all of whom champion inclusivity in the industry, are slowly being announced on the collective's Instagram feed and will be organized on-site in the coming months.

Scouring our lists of the best planners, photographers, videographers, event designers, and florists is always a good idea, but once you've landed on a short list, getting to know the people behind those businesses is key. The Wedding Biz, hosted by Andy Kushner, features in-depth interviews with event industry thought leaders. While the podcast is designed by an industry vet for the industry, it's another way to get to hear the voices and stories of luxury creatives you're considering working with for a year (or more) of planning.

Thanks to the talented flower pros at Putnam & Putnam, our latest obsession is the Putnam Flower Channel, where users—from couples to creatives—can digitally design their own arrangements and decor. With more than 500 popular floral varieties to choose from, upload a photo of your venue as a backdrop to see how your favorite flowers will look in the environment. Once you've joined the flower channel community, you can even share your designs with other designers and discuss style, eco-friendly and sustainable practices, and get feedback on your favorites.

This tool is a game-changer for planning remotely while in social isolation—not to mention, it's fun to play with. Once you get started, you'll get access to Putnam & Putnam tutorials to work with flowers from home too.

When it comes to all the wanderlust required to plan the ultimate honeymoon, look to digital resources from luxury travel companies to start the ideation and planning process. While you'll likely be aiming to travel next year, getting inspired and in touch with the experts will ensure you're planning safely and with possible restrictions in mind.

If you're looking to plan a destination wedding with a complex itinerary, Embark Beyond specializes in group event travel and experiences. While your planner will want to take the lead for ideas and top-level organization, Embark Beyond can score you some of the best deals on the market and curate unique experiences for you and your guests. Currently, the Embark Beyond team is focused on offering canceled honeymoon solutions via a newly introduced Minimoon Collection for couples whose weddings and honeymoons were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the initiative, the brand is encouraging couples to book a honeymoon with them for 2021 or beyond, and they've negotiated a free night stay for anyone booking at 50+ properties worldwide. Between now and then, use those savings to offset the cost of a local mini moon to mark the milestone of anyone choosing to wed in civil or small ceremony before a larger wedding and honeymoon in 2021.

Trip planner Black Tomato delivers high-touch experiences around the world via inspiring itineraries and access to the globe's up-and-coming, exclusive, and remote destinations. Cofounder Tom Marchant, a regular BAZAAR contributor, has his finger on the pulse of travel trends and the world's best in hotels, restaurants, destinations, and experiences. Search destinations and experiences on their site based on when you want to travel and how you want to feel. You can also browse countries and example itineraries to get inspired for your own bespoke honeymoon. Once you're ready to get the ball rolling, tap them for a dedicated travel expert, who will work with you to create a one-of-a-kind trip.