1. Finding the “perfect” wedding website builder — spoiler: it didn’t exist!

I started by looking for a platform that could keep the same URL and layout while serving content in Portuguese, Polish, and English. I signed up for several popular builders, tested their free plans, and quickly realised most came with frustrating trade-offs — from limited design control to taking a cut of your gift registry.

So, I ran a competitive comparison across 6 dimensions to see which (if any) could deliver:

• Language – Can it support all the languages I need, and let me manually translate for a better cultural fit?

• Registry – What’s the cost? Are gifts flexible or locked to fixed amounts?

• Guest Management – Can it handle RSVPs with automated confirmations and mailing list integrations?

• Travel Setup – Is there space to easily share travel tips, hotel codes, and other must-knows?

• Communication – Can guests find and share info quickly, or connect with hosts easily?

• Design & Customisation – Can I tailor the look, layout, and pages to match the wedding’s visual identity?

What have I got? No platform scored high enough to meet all needs — so I decided to build my own.

Investigating the idea with real guests and cultural reality checks

Before jumping into design, I floated the idea of a digital invitation and website to a few guests (sample).

The reactions:

• Brazilians were all in — they’re used to online RSVPs and digital event hubs.

• Polish guests, on the other hand, were less familiar with it, preferring paper invites and personal follow-ups. That insight pushed me to dig deeper into the cultural, language, and usability challenges ahead in secondary research.

Guests weren’t just a single audience, they came from different age groups and cultural backgrounds, each with unique pain points, needs, and motivations and fears. So, I created separate personas to reflect these differences and mapped out their journeys more precisely. The result was a clearer picture of behaviours and expectations, making it easier to design an experience that truly fit each type of guest.

Here’s what stood out based on secondary research and user feedback:

• Product adoption – Online RSVPs are rare in Poland, and digital adoption scores are among the lowest in Europe. Some guests might need extra hand-holding to get on board.

• Updates & reminders – Brazilians thrive on Instagram and WhatsApp, while Polish guests are more likely to use Facebook Messenger. Any communication plan had to reflect both habits.

• Language options – Automatic translation wasn’t going to cut it. Brazilians needed Portuguese, and older Polish guests needed Polish, even if most spoke English.

• Gift-giving – In a destination wedding, cash gifts make the most sense. Multi-currency, commission-free options were essential to make giving easy for guests and cost-free for the hosts.

These early conversations and research gave me the green light — and the roadmap — to design something culturally aware, guest-friendly, and genuinely useful.

2. Mapping the wedding guest experience

International guests don’t just need a simple wedding website. They need a smooth, culturally aware journey from the invite to “It was remarkable your wedding” by checking the pictures after the event. So, I mapped out every key touchpoint to see where extra care was needed. The result became the backbone of an information system that tied it all together — with the website as the central hub.

3. Designing the multi-management system

To keep both guests and suppliers on the same page, I mapped out exactly who needed what — from guest details for vendors to travel info for attendees. This visual system became my blueprint for managing the entire end-to-end experience, making a long-distance wedding feel a lot closer and easier to plan.

With the big picture in place, I mapped out the site to prioritise what guests needed most — from RSVPs and travel tips to gift details — keeping it simple, clear, and easy to navigate.

Aligning design with development for a faster launch

With a direct collaboration with developers we map their skills, constraints, and availability against the project’s needs.

So, together we set realistic goals, removing roadblocks, and agreeing on a plan that would keep the build smooth despite limited hours and no budget. These were some of the agreement:

1. Framework & hosting – Build in React for maintainability, deploy on Vercel for speed.

2. Structure – Modular component setup for easier maintenance and quicker iterations.

3. UI framework – Adapt MUI components to save time, customising only where needed.

4. Mobile-first approach – Prioritise 390px and 1024px breakpoints, skip tablet-specific layouts to focus on core devices.

5. Lightweight load – No skeleton screens needed; site loads quickly without them.

6. Simple, accessible assets – Use Google Fonts and Material Symbols for easy implementation.

7. Engagement boosts – Embed Google Maps, Weather Widget, and YouTube videos to make the site more useful and dynamic for guests.

This alignment meant fewer back-and-forths, clear ownership of tasks, and a development process that stayed lean without sacrificing the experience.

Bringing the brand to life

I teamed up with a graphic designer to craft a consistent visual identity — from the monogram to colours and typography that would work both online and offline. Later, I adapted the palette for better accessibility using Adobe Color, keeping contrast in check while allowing some flexibility for the audience’s needs.

Building with components in mind

Keeping it consistent, accessible and code-friendly.

• I leaned on outlined stacks — some interactive, some static, some in carousels — so developers could easily replicate the code and keep the style consistent.

• For content-heavy sections, I went with a blog-like layout, reusing the same text structure to speed up styling and make pages feel familiar.

• And for info that didn’t need to be in-your-face, like FAQs, I used accordions at key points to keep things clean but still easy to find.

• I kept usability front and centre, designing with the thumb zone in mind for easy mobile navigation and using grids to keep screens tidy, clear, and effortless to browse.

Making it developer-friendly

I kept the design as easy as possible to implement with the available resources:

• wireframes with comments, prototypes showing key interactions, and

• a detailed Google Doc with rules, extra info, and translations in Portuguese, Polish, English, and Spanish.

• All photos and illustrations were neatly stored in Google Drive, ready for devs to grab and go.

Curious to see it in action?

Go ahead, click through — no RSVP required!

4. When an idea meets the MVP

Design dreams vs. dev reality

My idea for a playful slider with stop points turned out to be tricky to build and ate into our already limited hours.

We swapped it for a simpler, familiar stack-and-modal setup to keep deadlines on track.

Forms that didn’t quite fit

Using JotForm with LiteMessage streamlined guest management, the styling was clunky, some users missed the submission feedback, and Safari users occasionally couldn’t see the “submit” button.

A few post-launch fixes solved the worst of it.

When “clickable” isn’t clickable

Outlined stacks without interaction looked too much like those with interaction, causing dead clicks on mobile.

Priorities: Not critical for a temporary site, so we left it as is.

Minor rage clicks & tech quirks

Some menu-closing issues and odd horizontal scrolling popped up in recordings.

Logged and handed over to devs for fixes.

Lost in Translation & RSVP hidden

• “Q&A” became “FAQ” for Brazilian guests, and “RSVP” became “Confirm attendance” for a better understanding.

• Vertical menu scrolling buried the RSVP link. We tightened content spacing and tweaked link placement for better visibility.

Carousel fatigue

• Dress code content was buried in the mobile carousel and there was demand for this information, so we bumped it to the second position and left less critical info for later.

• Desktop was also changed to its grid layout for better visibility on the viewport.

5. Wrapping it up:

happy guests and proud devs!

• Guest feedback was glowing — the site looked great, was easy to use, and answered most questions before they were even asked.

• Polish guests adopted it surprisingly well, Brazilians… skimmed a bit more due to content strategy issues (too much reading).

• International guests still had some travel queries, but design wasn’t the blocker.

For me, the real win was leading and collaborating with the devs. Staying empathetic, flexible, and ready to jump in when needed kept things moving — even when the senior dev had to cut hours near the end. We still launched on time, and the team finished proud of what we built together.