More and more couples are choosing to go “paperless” when it comes to wedding invitations. According to a recent Joy survey, 30.4% of participants are only using electronic invitations. Meanwhile, 40.7% are using both paper and electronic invitations. That’s more than 70% of participants using online invitations in some way for their wedding.
Digital technology makes it easier for couples to plan the wedding of their dreams while addressing issues that modern couples often face. If you’re wondering if online wedding invitations are right for you, check out these six benefits for going digital.
It’s a cold hard fact: Except for your mom, guests throw out wedding invitations. Why waste hundreds of dollars or more on something that winds up in the trash?
Instead, you can put that money toward the wedding experience that guests will enjoy and remember such as drinks, dessert, or a great DJ. For any couple looking to save money, printed invitations can go on the chopping block.
Many couples are concerned about the environment. One way to help protect our planet while planning a wedding is to eliminate items that typically end up in a landfill.
Remember that an invitation suite might include a save-the-date, wedding invitation, wedding detail card, and RSVP card—that’s already four pieces of trash per household! So if you’re inviting 50, 100, or 200 or more households, the trash count adds up fast.
Paperless is an eco-friendly option. Online invites help reduce water production and CO2 production by saving trees. That’s something eco-conscious couples can feel good about.
Have you seen wedding checklists? Then you know the amount of detail that goes into planning a wedding.
While there are a lot of fun parts, the hassle of working with printed wedding invitations likely isn’t one of them. Namely:
Online invitations eliminate these stress- and headache-inducing problems.
Gathering guests’ RSVPs is like herding cats. It’s chaos. First, you need to get them to mail back the RSVP card even when you’ve included a self-addressed stamped envelope. Then, there’s often some information missing such as the number of guests or meal choices.
This is the kind of frustration you don’t need as you get closer to your wedding day. With an online RSVP, you can breathe easier knowing there’s a central spot for all of your RSVPs. It’s also easy to keep track of food allergies there.
Today’s wedding often has multiple events. It could be a small destination wedding with a large local reception later, a multiple-day celebration, or a traditional wedding with a rehearsal dinner the night before. However you’re structuring your wedding, you’ll likely have different events with different guest lists.
Thankfully, Joy’s online wedding invitations are designed for the modern couple. For example, you can ask questions only to select guests. This helps you privately manage the guestlist for a rehearsal dinner or bridal shower where not everyone is invited. You can also easily reach out to those guests who haven’t RSVP’d.
Couples who wish to connect with all of their guests will love Joy’s ability to send a broadcast email announcement. What an engaging way to ask for guests’ favorite songs that will get them on the dance floor! Couples can even send important weather or hotel updates days before the wedding, making online invites a helpful communication tool.
What’s your wedding style? Do you love the floral, classic, rustic, or metallic theme? Or, are you more drawn to a seasonal, modern, vintage, or cultural look?
Whatever your taste, an all-in-one online wedding planning tool like Joy lets you easily customize hundreds of design options. Your online wedding invitation and matching website will look professional, beautiful, unique, and consistent with the style of your wedding—without needing to pay a designer.
Plus, you can edit your design or choose a new one any time you wish. That’s a big benefit of online invitations as opposed to print invitations. Go ahead, change it up to your heart’s content.
Tip: If you’re having a formal or black-tie wedding, it may be better to send a paper invitation as the paper suggests a level of formality. Even with a paper invite, you can still create a wedding website with an online RSVP to effectively communicate wedding details and manage guest responses. That might be the best of both worlds.
Ready to take the next step? Browse our free paperless wedding invitations to see your design options. If you’re still on the fence, you can explore Joy’s beautiful selection of matching print invites and websites.
Invitation wording is fun and creative these days. We have an article on Modern Wedding Invitation Wording Examples you may want to read. You can also learn How To Use Joy’s Online Wedding Invitations for more handy tips.
Whether you want to support the planet or reduce stress, using online wedding invitations is a great option. This popular trend can help you plan your wedding with ease—and joy.
Whether you send traditional paper invitations or go paperless, you can easily collect RSVPs online.
Who says save-the-dates and wedding invitations have to be printed? Going paperless is a great way to save some money without sacrificing on style. In fact, digital wedding invitations can be as lovely as their physical counterparts. With the right approach and attention to detail, you can create all the panache of a traditional invitation—at a significantly lower cost and with a fraction of the work (say goodbye to post office drama!).
If you're worried that your digital wedding invitations won't have the same impact as a paper suite, don't be: Yes, your invites are your guests' introduction to your overarching design concept, but you absolutely can convey this vision digitally. The key is use all of those virtual design features to your advantage and create a digital suite that connects to in-real-life wedding details. Choosing a color palette, working in a signature pattern, or identifying a font that will carry over to physical day-of paper, signage, and décor are great ways to do just that.
Have you ultimately decided that digital wedding invitations are the right choice for you? You've come to the right place: Here, we'll explain their many advantages (they make RSVPs a breeze!) and walk you through how to send these e-vites successfully—plus, we're sharing several of our favorite online digital platforms to consider for your wedding, from Paperless Post to Riley & Gray.
Alison Czinkota/Brides
Pros of Digital Wedding Invitations
1. You'll Save Time and Money
Physical wedding invitations can cost anywhere between $5,000 and $8,000 on average. Digital wedding invitations, on the other hand, typically cost no more than $100. Clearly, this can make a big difference for couples on a budget or those who would rather invest their money elsewhere (like, say, by hosting an open bar at the reception).
If you go digital, you'll also save a lot of time. Just imagine it: no envelopes to close, no stamps to secure, and no writing addresses in your best cursive until your hand cramps. The act of mailing out your wedding invitations can be incredibly time-consuming, and when you already have a wedding checklist a mile long, anything you can do to save time is amazing.
2. It's Environmentally Friendly
This is a big perk for couples throwing a green wedding. They can rest easy knowing their wedding invitations did not harm a single tree.
3. Your Designs Will Be Seamless
With digital wedding invitations, it's incredibly easy to make your save-the-dates, invitations, wedding website, and even thank-you cards all part of the same design suite. This leads to a more cohesive package from start to finish—something your guests will notice.
Incorporate your wedding colors and the overall theme of your event into the details of your digital wedding invitation—just as you would with a traditional invite.
4. RSVPs Are Easier for Everyone
With an online invitation service, RSVPs are so simple—for both the couple and their guests. Rather than having everyone fill out an RSVP card and mail it back, family and friends will be directed to your wedding website, where they can immediately check yes or no (and this means you have that information instantly, too).
Top Sites for Digital Wedding Invitations
If you're convinced that digital wedding invitations are the way to go, there are a few sites you should check out. The following online services are affordable, intuitive, and offer tons of templates.
Greenvelope
Whether you upload your own custom design or tailor one of Greenvelope's designer suites, the entire process is straightforward from start to finish. You'll find every style of design, from modern and chic to rustic and vintage. Whatever you choose, you're able to edit the background, the colors, and—of course—the text. You can even customize the digital envelope by adding a virtual liner in anything from glitter to gold.
Pricing: Costs begin at $19 (for up to 20 people) and includes RSVP tracking.
Evite
At one point or another, we've all received an Evite for a house party, bar mitzvah, or bridal shower, but did you know this platform also handles weddings? Simply import your contacts and voilà. Once sent, you will be notified as soon as guests RSVP or comment. In addition, you can schedule event reminders in the days leading up to your nuptials. You can also select an option that will ask your invited guests to email any photos they take during your big day.
With Evite Premium, you can further tailor your invitation by adding photos and embellishments or uploading your own custom designs with the "Design Your Own" option. Bonus: The invitation will also be sent in a digital envelope without advertisements.
Pricing: Premium invitations begin at $15.99 for 15 invitations. (You can also set up standard email invitations that do not include the ability to RSVP and have ads; some of these are free.)
Paperless Post
Paperless Post prides itself on being a "pretty and practical" solution for couples. With designs from Kate Spade New York, Rifle Paper Co., Oscar de la Renta, and Mr. Boddington's Studio, you're sure to fall in love with one of their beautiful invitation templates. Nothing catching your interest? Bring your vision to life by uploading your own design. Paperless Post will track delivery, collect RSVPs, and message guests, so you don't have to.
Pricing: Customers need to purchase "coins" from the site in order to pay for their purchases. Coins are sold in packages, starting at 25 coins for $12.
Bliss & Bone
Modern and sleek, Bliss & Bone's digital offerings are about as close to in-real-life paper as it gets, thanks to unique features like texture and shadowing—so you get a sense of what the invitation might really look and feel like if you were holding it in your hands. This is also the spot to go if you're a contemporary couple on the hunt for a modern digital wedding invitation; you'll fall in love with the company's straightforward sans serif fonts and neutral colorways.
As for how it works? The digital suites are sent via email, which drive to your personal wedding invitation event page; here, you'll collect RSVPs and be able to direct guests to your wedding website (which Bliss & Bone also hosts) for additional information, whether that's maps, hotel notes, or dress code reminders.
Pricing: Invites are priced per recipient and start at 90 cents a head.
Etsy
You might already know that Etsy offers downloadable templates for physical wedding invitations—but several of the site's vendors offer iterations for digital invites, as well. The process works similarly, though: You download an editable design, tweak the dates and the text, and then upload it to your digital wedding invitation platform of choice. It's the perfect pick if you're looking for something themed (there are lovely classic and rustic options) and quick; Etsy's digital wedding invitation templates are also extremely affordable.
Pricing: Prices vary per seller, but we've seen downloads for as low as $2. Don't forget, however, that you'll be paying again when you send out the design via a different digital wedding invitation provider.
Riley & Grey
While Riley & Grey specializes in creating unique, luxury wedding websites, the company also offers save-the-dates and wedding invitations (online or physical) that are part of the same design suite as your wedding website. Every season, they release a new collection of designs and have a large catalog of their previous work. You can also collaborate with them to create a one-of-a-kind design.
Pricing: Prices begin at $35 per month for site hosting, which will include a digital invitation design, and go up to $240 for an entire year of hosting.