Riley & Grey Review

Riley & Grey offers a sophisticated option for couples willing to pay extra for that luxury touch.
By Milo Cruz | Last Updated: December 19, 2017
Riley & Grey

Couples looking for a chic, sophisticated wedding website will find a lot to like in Riley & Grey. This website builder offers 40+ beautiful and easy-to-use design templates, tons of handy features like RSVP management, and the promise of extra conveniences like specially designed paper invitation layouts. Whether you’re going for a simple affair or an all-out fête for your big day, Riley & Grey has features that will help you pull off your plans with style.

Pros

  • Lots of stylish templates to choose from
  • Personalized mobile support and use of custom domains
  • Versatile, with everything from Instagram integration to support for country- or culture-specific traditions

Cons

  • Expensive compared to other popular wedding website builders

Pricing

Riley & Grey’s prices and subscription-based model spell higher costs than other website builders, but the bundled perks go beyond average offerings, too.

Riley & Grey offers accounts on a subscription basis. You can choose between a monthly or year-long payment plan, with either option giving you complete access to the website builder’s considerable array of features. Aside from those, Riley & Grey also includes, by default, the option to use a custom domain name, which usually costs extra at competing services.

Monthly:

  • $35/month
  • Website live for as many months as you’ve subscribed

Year-Long:

  • $240/year
  • Website live for a full year
  • Includes set of paper layout files

Annual Advantages

If you’ve already got plans and want your wedding website live for quite a while, the year-long plan offers a couple of nice extras alongside the total savings you’d get versus a monthly plan:

  • The guarantee that your site will be up for a year — no need to worry that it will get taken down if you forget a payment.
  • A complete set of layout files that match your chosen site design. No need to spend extra to line up your event collaterals with your digital designs: Riley & Grey provides matching templates for everything from the menu to the event program.

Still on the Fence?

Riley & Grey costs considerably more than many of its competitors, so some hesitation is understandable. Luckily, you can sign up and check out the site’s capabilities, free of charge. That includes the option to start building your website, with access to all of Riley & Grey’s features.

If you do decide to use the builder but don’t plan on launching your website just yet, you can pay a deposit of $35 to lock down your preferred domain name and design template. That fee gets credited to your account once you do get a subscription.

Referral Program

If you’ve got friends who are also planning to tie the knot soon, you can take advantage of Riley & Grey’s referral program to knock some dollars off your subscription fee. Each user gets a unique referral link; both you and the person you refer get a free month when they sign up or reserve a site through your link.

Simple and Clean

 

Riley & Grey lets you play around with its design templates without even signing up for an account (though you will need to provide your email). All your options are nested within three main modules in your navigation pane:

  • Wedding Website Builder: where you pick a template, choose site sections, alter designs and content, set up Instagram integration, etc.
  • Guest Management: add or remove guests, view RSVP responses, etc.
  • Account Settings: where you can register for a full account to save your changes, and later, manage options like subscription settings

The rest of the review will cover these features in more detail. If you’d like to jump in and figure things out yourself, though, Riley & Grey makes that easy with a straightforward navigation pane that you can always access from the left side of your screen.

Features

Riley & Grey’s extensive array of features includes convenient touches that nudge this website builder above other competitors.

Guest List Management

Riley & Grey’s guest management module comes in two modes: Simple and Advanced. Don’t be fooled by the “Advanced” option, though: it’s not that much harder to use. The main difference is that Advanced Mode lets you implement more customization per guest and exert more control over what information can be seen by whom. If a guest only confirmed for the ceremony itself but not the rehearsal dinner, for example, then they won’t see dinner details when they visit your wedding site for information.

Whichever mode you choose, you’ll be able to add guests in two ways:

  • CSV file import
  • Manual entry of guests

The interface has a quirk, though: to edit the design and content of forms like RSVPs, you’ll use the website builder module rather than the guest management one. It’s not a bad thing, but it might leave you a little lost at first. The trick is to view Riley & Grey’s Guest Management module as a central database of guest information, rather than the control center for all guest-related options.

You can export your guest details as a handy CSV file–great for passing on to wedding planners, caterers, etc., and for keeping paper references available on the day itself.

Invite and RSVP Management

 

Riley & Grey lets you send digital invitations, as well as beautiful stationery versions if you sign up for a year-long plan. You can customize the content of your RSVP form in the website builder, with a number of pre-made sections (from food choices to song suggestions) that you can include, plus the option to add custom sections if you want. If you’re working in Advanced Mode, you can also specify limits for +1s, toggle event visibility for specific guests, and so on.

The RSVP form instantly syncs with your Guest List Manager, so you won’t have to worry about compiling your guests’ responses. Even better, Riley & Grey breaks down guest responses for each event, including food counts. Do you need to see how many people are going to the rehearsal dinner? How about the ceremony and the reception? The RSVP collection module shows you all of that automatically.

Wedding Website

Riley & Grey gives you 40+ design templates to choose from. There’s enough variety here to suit whatever style you want for your wedding, and the choices change as Riley & Grey’s designers update them for each season.

Riley & Grey includes several pre-configured sections like Event Schedules, Travel and Accommodations, and so on. You can also create your own custom sections. Information syncs across sections, so you won’t have to input the same information twice; all the events you list in your wedding schedule, for example, will be reflected automatically in your RSVP form.

As with many wedding website builders, you often can’t rearrange the elements on each page of your site. However, you can change details like the content, colors, and photos. Depending on your chosen theme, you might also have layout options for certain sections: one, two, or three columns for your couple information page, for example.

Plus A Little Extra

Privacy

If you’d rather not have your wedding website available for all the internet to stumble upon, you have a few options. Riley & Grey lets you prompt visitors for a password before allowing them access to your site; in Advanced Mode, guests will first need to confirm their inclusion on your list by providing their email address. You can also choose whether or not your website will appear on search engines, as well as which sections of your site will be visible to specific guests.

Mobile Site

Riley & Grey automatically creates mobile-optimized versions of your website so that guests can browse it on the go. You don’t need to do any additional work, and you can preview the mobile site from the builder interface to be sure that it displays properly on phone- or tablet-sized screens.

Instagram Integration

If you’d like to ask guests to help you build a gorgeous wedding gallery on the fly, you can use Instagram with Riley & Grey. All you need to do is provide the hashtags that you and your guests will be using for the event, and Riley & Grey will compile results into a real-time feed displayed in your chosen style/layout.

Paper Invites

If you’re not quite committed to an all-digital affair, Riley & Grey can also help you out with custom paper designs. You can get everything from invitations to envelope liners and menus, all done in styles that match your wedding website.

Ease of Use

Riley & Grey’s interface is easy to navigate, though it does have some quirks that could be confusing when you start.

Riley & Grey places all your controls within a single navigation pane anchored to the left side of your screen. It’ll be easy getting to all the modules you want, though the placement of certain settings can leave you a bit lost at first. As mentioned earlier, for example, RSVP form edits are made under the website builder module, which might puzzle those who expect to see it under guest management.

As for the design templates, you can switch designs as often as you’d like without losing your custom content or having to pay any extra fees.

Hosting and Domains

Riley & Grey lets you use your own custom domain, free of charge.

You don’t need to pay extra to use a custom domain, which is a big plus on Riley & Grey’s part.

Customer Support

All Riley & Grey subscribers get dedicated customer support.

Riley & Grey gives all its subscribers what it calls “White Glove Customer Service”: guaranteed quick responses, step-by-step guidance, and even some freedom to request unique customizations to truly make their wedding websites their own.

Riley & Grey Review – Conclusion

Riley & Grey is a great option for couples willing to pay extra for that luxe touch. You get an excellent spread of features, stylish design templates, and even advanced options like custom domain use, all bundled into your subscription plan. The fees can seem pretty high, especially compared to many other wedding website builders, but Riley & Grey certainly works to ensure that you’re getting your money’s worth.