Planning a wedding is no easy feat, but it often pales in comparison to actually paying for it! To help you save some cash in the early stages, we’ve put together this list of 100% free online wedding resources.
We know you’ve got a lot on your mind as a bride- or groom-to-be, so let’s get straight to the good stuff!
There’s a lot out there on the internet in terms of free wedding tools. To make them a little easier to sort through, we’re categorizing them into two basic lists:
Pros and cons, you might be wondering?
The first list is super-easy and has all of the wedding basics covered, since weddings are ALL these companies do. (Keep in mind that the most useful or advanced features may be locked into paid plans, though.)
The second list, on the other hand, may require some tinkering on your end but likely has more robust features as well. You’ll just have to spend a little more time figuring out how the tools work and how you can incorporate them into your own wedding planning process.
Our advice? Scan through both lists and then mix and match whatever works for your style of organizing, sorting, and to-do list-ing. They’re all pretty awesome (and did we mention free?), so you really can’t go wrong!
When you think of online wedding resources, you probably think of The Knot—which is exactly the type of free wedding planning tool that this first list covers. These resources are 100% designed for weddings, and they usually offer features like these:
If you’re prioritizing quick and easy, these resources are probably your best bet.
The Knot is the OG of online wedding tools, and to be honest, it still deserves its high ranking on this list! In addition to the wedding website builder and invitation/RSVP options, couples rave about these specific features:
Joy is similar to The Knot in that it provides an all-in-one place for you to plan your wedding, create your wedding website, send invitations, and more. Joy also offers an app to help keep everything in one place.
So why go with Joy over another online wedding resource? A few brides and grooms have pointed out several unique advantages of Joy’s free plan, including:
Zola is another totally-raved-about free wedding planning tool, offering wedding websites, a guest list manager, and wedding planning checklists. You can also opt for additional paid products such as print invitations and save-the-dates or an account on Zola’s gift registry.
In fact, Zola’s gift registry is probably what’s most appreciated about this resource, although it’s not available for free. Compared to similar products out there, brides and grooms love the flexibility of the gift registry:
WeddingWire is another popular free wedding resource, although we’d say it’s more of a planning tool first and a website builder second. Its primary purpose is to connect brides and grooms with wedding vendors—like venues, DJs, caterers, photographers… You name it, and you can likely find it on WeddingWire.
However, they do still offer a bunch of free wedding resources similar to The Knot or Joy:
There’s also an active wedding forum where you can talk to other brides and grooms, share recommendations, and get advice.
If you aren’t planning to use a wedding website builder that offers everything in one place—or if you’re using a free version that’s too restricted for your needs—then you’ll definitely want to take a look at the other tools below!
Once you start using different tools for different aspects of wedding planning, you’ll want—scratch that, you’ll NEED—a central place to keep track of what’s being done where. So why not head into another sphere that’s also packed with high-pressure deadlines, multiple vendors, and strict budgets?
You got it. We’re talking about work!
Although these project management tools are business-focused in nature, that just means that they’re terrific for handling the level of detail required to plan a wedding. Some awesome free options include:
Weddings can be every bit as complex as a major startup launch, and there are hundreds of project management tools out there—most of which have free plans or at lease free trials. Why not use them to plan your wedding?
These website builders are not dedicated to weddings, though many of them do offer some specific templates and resources for creating a free wedding website:
General website builders will likely have more design flexibility and built-in features available than a wedding-specific tool like The Knot or Zola.
Tip: Most website builders (including The Knot) won’t let you use a custom domain unless you purchase a paid plan. But you can use a URL shortener like bit.ly to create a custom URL to print on your wedding mail-outs! At least then you won’t have ourawesomewedding.freeweddingwebsites.com forever enshrined on your wedding stationary.
These gift registry sites aren’t necessarily wedding-specific, but they’re raved about by many brides and grooms around the world:
If you’ve got an eye for design (or don’t mind using a pre-designed template with minimal changes), there are a ton of free online resources available to help you create the various mail-outs you’ll need: save-the-dates, wedding invitations, and thank you notes.
Even paid design platforms—including the industry gold standard Adobe Creative Cloud—usually offer free trial periods, which you can take advantage of if you time things well.
Here are some free design tools and platforms to try:
Keep in mind that if you plan to send physical copies of your invitations or save-the-dates, you’ll probably have to pay something for the printing. It’s next to impossible to get anything more than samples printed for free unless you’ve got a print shop owner in the family.
Whether you choose an all-in-one wedding resource or something more mix-and-match, there are tons of options available to help plan your wedding online for free. The best way to find out which tools will work best for you would be to give them a shot! You won’t lose anything except a few hours of your time—and it’s well worth it to find a wedding planning tool that’ll keep your sanity in check as the big day approaches.
Try to enjoy the process, and if you’re starting to feel overwhelmed or disorganized, check out another tool on this list. Soon enough, you’ll find your own magic formula of free and easy.
Tweet
Pin
Share
