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I'm a technology geek and my partner still has a pre-2010 phone if that gives you any idea of our technology interests. I think it would be great to send our invitations via email and he's worried that it's still not that common and people will be thrown off. Is it okay to email my wedding invites? – Luis
The time to hem and haw about whether it's okay to email wedding invitations is over. It's totally okay! Couples are aiming for more eco-friendly wedding choices and even your older relatives are probably rocking smartphones or at least have internet access. The benefits of digital invitations are huge and you don't have to feel bad taking advantage of them.
Here are seven reasons why online wedding invitations are awesome…
You'll save money if you email wedding invitations
On stamps (for both the card and the return card!), on the paper itself (it can get pricey), and on re-sending invitations when you inevitably get an address or three wrong. Some emailed invitation services are free and others are an inexpensive alternative that provide extra services like tracking and RSVP collection.
You'll reduce your wedding footprint
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Eco-friendly weddings are more and more common, especially as we get more dire predictions on our climate state. Weddings can be especially wasteful with lots of opportunities for one-use items, loads of uneaten food, and lots of decor that gets tossed. Invitations, save-the dates, and other stationery don't have to contribute to it.
Email invites are accessible for your vision impaired guests
Accessibility is an important factor to consider when you're planning your wedding — you want all your guests of all abilities to feel welcome! This in mind, many email wedding invitation services are designed to be accessible for vision-impaired guests.
Our pals at Greenvelope ensure that all the text built into their email invitations is coded to be read out loud by a screen-reader… can your paper invitation do that? For the words in the graphics designs for the e-card design, they have a feature that allows you to provide alt-text to describe the card and write out the text that is on the card, so a screen reader can pick it up. (For more info about Greenvelope's email invitation accessibility, click here.)
Email wedding invitations give you better tracking and RSVPs
Digital invitation services offer benefits that just aren't available in a paper envelope. You can often add music, maps, calendar links, photos, gift registries, hotel information, and more. Your emailed invitation can lead your guests directly to a fully customizable wedding website if you want.
You can track who has seen the invitation, who has RSVPed, what they want to eat, and all without having to rely on them snail-mailing back an envelope on time. It's a digital age, folks, and tracking down paper RSVPs feels like something from another time.
Easier updates if things change
If you end up changing a time, a hotel block, or venue, having to call or email everyone to update the info is a huge hassle. If you opt for a service that provides a wedding website or online portal of information, you can easily update it for everyone to see.
Much harder to lose
Losing a wedding invitation? Easily done. I've probably done it recently. But an email is harder to lose. A quick search in your email, or checking your bookmarks for the site — much easier.
Email wedding invitations can be just as gorgeous
We recently scoped out some designs on Greenvelope and were pretty blown away by how much they looked like an actual invitation. Whatever service you choose will usually have lovely designs, though I will say I was partial to the paper invitation-like presentation.
There's really no right or wrong answer when it comes to how you end up inviting your guests to your wedding. If you're a stationery nerd, paper invites might be a top priority for you and that's kick-ass. But for those of you who are worried about offending grandma with an email, I think you're in the clear. Digital invites can be just as classy and fun as paper ones, so find a service you like and run with it.
Go browse the email wedding invitation designs from Greenvelope and test out how they work for you!
About the Author: Catherine Clark
Catherine Clark loiters at her local library, makes art, watches movies en masse, plays video and tabletop games, poorly cooks healthy things, cuddles with her feline fur babies, and blogs at BijouxandBits.com.
We compromised by emailing save the dates (and asking people to respond with their address for the invitations), mailed invitations, but had people RSVP online, or by calling. It worked out really well! We made the invitations ourselves, which saved some money, too.
One of my friends just did this and I thought it was the best of both worlds. Most efficient for getting people’s information, disseminating information, and just staying on top of things. As a guest I appreciated how simple it was.
We used Greenvelope after my husband’s cousin used it for her wedding, I looooved it! My favourite parts were how I could completely design and customise it which was really fun, and that we starting getting RSVPs within 2 minutes.
We just used gmail’s mass email function, we set up a specific email address for the wedding. No complaints from guests… I thought it gave us a lot more flexibility and guests felt better informed – in fact one of our guests said it was the best-organised wedding she’d ever been to!
We’re going a step further and making a Facebook event! The only ones who don’t use it are very close, so there’s no problem informing them.
I guess I’ll put a “YES THIS IS THE ACTUAL WEDDING INVITATION” in case people don’t take it seriously, haha. I’m assuming some will be shocked, but I don’t want to spend the time, effort, money and paper – and most people will probably just throw away all the paper, so why have any?