Why we built this

I'm Josh. My wife and I got married recently, and both of the things we have built since came out of that.

The first was Newlyweds Gallery, which came from a problem Chrystal had after the day: she wanted to share her favourite photographs with the people who were there, and quietly leave out the ones she would rather nobody saw. Nothing did that, so I built her something that would.

NearlyWeds is the other half of the same year — everything that happens before the day rather than after it. We had already been through the guest list that lives in three different spreadsheets, the replies that arrive by text and get forgotten, and the dietary requirements that somebody has to chase twice. None of it was hard. It was just scattered, and it stayed scattered because the tools that fix it are mostly American, mostly expensive, and mostly paid for by taking a cut of something else you were buying anyway.

So this is the version we wanted: one place for the website, the guest list, the RSVPs, the seating plan, the budget and the invitations, built for a British wedding — with a register office, a registrar and the notice you have to give — rather than translated from an American one.

It is free, and that is not a trial. There is no card to enter and nothing held back behind a paid tier. It costs us very little to run, we would rather have the couples, and we do not sell your guest list to anybody or take a commission on your suppliers or a cut of your gift list.

NearlyWeds is a trading name of Digital Galleries Ltd, the same company behind Newlyweds Gallery. The registered details are in our terms and privacy notice, and if you want to ask us something directly, we would rather you did.