The Merlyn Wedding | Merlyn Design Works

Building Our Dream Wedding Website: A Personal Journey

When Jodie and I started planning our wedding, we knew we wanted every detail to feel personal — including our website. As a developer, I’ve spent nearly a decade building websites for clients, but this one felt different. It wasn’t just a project; it was our wedding website — a digital space where our family and friends could share in the excitement, feel welcomed, and get all the information they needed for our big day.

But of course, being me, I couldn’t settle for a generic template. I wanted it to be more than just pretty pictures and dates. It needed to be functional, intuitive, and genuinely useful to our guests.

The Vision

At the core of this project was a simple goal: create a space where guests could effortlessly RSVP, choose their dinner options, share their plus-one details, and, most importantly, feel part of something special. But as I started mapping it out, I realized just how many layers there were to get this right.

Guest Access: Every guest needed a unique login — simple, secure, and easy to use.
RSVP Management: Dinner options, dietary requirements, plus-one management — all needed clear, separate fields.
A Digital Guestbook: Somewhere guests could leave heartfelt messages for us to read after the wedding.
Photo & Video Uploads: An easy way for everyone to share their memories from the day.
Design Aesthetic: It had to feel elegant, timeless, and cohesive with our wedding theme.

I wanted the website to feel as personal as a handwritten invitation while being as functional as any modern app.

The Tech Behind the Magic

I’ve always been passionate about choosing the right tools for the job, and this was no exception. Here’s what I landed on:

Astro: The front-end framework for building lightning-fast, modern websites.
Vercel: For smooth, scalable hosting with effortless deployments.
Supabase: To handle guest authentication and store all our guest data securely.
Cloudinary: For seamless photo and video uploads from our guests.

Each tool played a key role, but it wasn’t just about picking technologies — it was about making them work together seamlessly.

Building the Experience

Every guest receives a unique 4-digit code and uses their surname to log in. It’s simple but effective, and ensures that only our invited guests can access the private sections of the site.

2. RSVP & Dinner Choices

One of the trickiest things was managing dinner options, especially for plus ones. I set it up so each guest — including plus ones — could independently select their meal choices and note any dietary requirements. If the main guest preferred to handle their plus one’s options, they could do that too. Flexibility was key.

3. The Digital Guestbook

This was something Jodie and I were especially excited about. Guests can leave messages directly on the website, and we’ll have those to read and treasure after the wedding. No messy handwriting, no misplaced notes — just heartfelt words preserved digitally.

4. Photo & Video Uploads

We’ve all been to weddings where hundreds of amazing photos are scattered across different phones and social media platforms. I wanted to solve that. With Cloudinary integration, guests can upload their photos and videos directly to our website, creating a central digital album of memories.

5. The Design

For the aesthetic, we went with a soft, light theme — slightly off-white backgrounds, clean layouts, and a refined colour palette anchored by #37524A. It feels formal but warm, just like our wedding will be.

The Result

What started as an idea turned into something I’m genuinely proud of. The final website isn’t just functional — it’s ours. It feels personal, thoughtful, and aligned with the vibe we want our wedding to have.

Guests can log in easily without frustration.
RSVPs are smooth and organized.
Plus ones are managed effortlessly.
The guestbook feels special, not tacked on.
And the photo and video upload feature ensures we’ll have a beautiful digital archive of our day.

Reflections

I’ve built countless websites for clients, but building one for our wedding was a unique experience. Every feature I implemented felt meaningful because I knew it would impact people I care about. It wasn’t about impressing a client or meeting a deadline — it was about creating something that felt like us.

In the end, this website isn’t just a tool for managing logistics — it’s an extension of our wedding day itself. A place where guests can feel included, connected, and excited.

And honestly? I can’t wait to see the guestbook messages and photo uploads roll in.

If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve already explored the site a little — and I hope it made you smile.