Electronic Wedding Invites: Guide To Sending Etiquette

Planning a wedding can be stressful, and one of the most important aspects is making sure your guests receive their invitations. Electronic wedding invitations are a modern alternative to traditional paper invites, offering a seamless experience for your guests and an eco-friendly, cost-effective option for you. In this guide, we will explore the benefits of electronic wedding invitations and provide a step-by-step process for creating and sending them, as well as suggestions for online platforms to use.

Budget-friendly alternative

Digital wedding invitations are a great way to save money without sacrificing style. They can be as beautiful as their physical counterparts, and you can still create a traditional invitation feel with the right approach and attention to detail.

Digital invites are a much cheaper option, with physical invitations costing on average between $5,000 and $8,000, whereas digital invites rarely cost more than $100. This is a huge difference, especially for couples on a budget or those who would rather spend their money on other aspects of their wedding, like an open bar at the reception.

Digital invites also save a lot of time. There are no envelopes to close, no stamps to secure, and no addresses to write. This is incredibly useful when you have a long list of other wedding-related tasks to complete.

Design

You can still make your digital invitations unique and personalised. Choose a colour palette, a signature pattern, or a font that reflects your wedding theme and carry this over to the day's paper, signage, and décor.

There are many online services that offer affordable, intuitive templates, such as Greenvelope, Evite, Paperless Post, and Bliss & Bone. These sites offer a range of styles, from modern and chic to rustic and vintage, and you can edit the background, colours, and text to make the design your own.

You can also add virtual envelopes with liners, and some sites offer RSVP tracking, so you instantly know who is coming.

Other Options

If you want something more themed and quick, Etsy offers downloadable templates for digital invites with prices starting as low as $2.

For a more contemporary feel, consider Text My Wedding, a budget-friendly SMS-based solution for sending save-the-dates, invitations, and updates.

Final Thoughts

Digital wedding invitations are a great budget-friendly option, offering all the beauty of traditional invitations at a fraction of the cost. They save time, are environmentally friendly, and still provide a seamless, personalised experience for your guests.

Eco-friendly

Electronic wedding invitations are an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional paper invites. They reduce waste, save resources, and lower your carbon footprint. With digital invites, you eliminate the need for printing and mailing paper invitations, which requires paper and fuel for transportation.

Digital invitations are also a great option for couples on a budget. They are far more cost-effective than printed invites, which can cost anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand dollars. You can design your own electronic invitations or use templates, many of which are offered by the same designers who create printed wedding invites. These templates can be found on websites such as Paperless Post, Greenvelope, Evite, and Punchbowl.

If you're looking for a unique and innovative way to be eco-friendly, consider plantable seed paper invitations. This type of paper is biodegradable and contains wildflower seeds or herbs. After your wedding, your guests can plant the invitations and watch them grow into lovely flowers or herbs. Not only does this reduce waste, but it also gives your guests a lasting memory of your special day.

Another option for eco-friendly invitations is to use recycled paper. By opting for recycled paper, you help reduce the need for new paper production and minimize waste. Recycled paper invitations come in various colors, textures, and finishes, making it easy to find the perfect match for your wedding theme.

When choosing a company to create your electronic invitations, consider using one that overlooks its supply chain and has an eco-friendly process from start to finish. Opt for companies that use recycled paper and eco-friendly inks, and be sure to ask for electric proof of the materials used.

RSVP management

One of the biggest benefits of electronic wedding invitations is the ease of managing RSVPs. Digital invitations allow guests to respond in just a few clicks, and all the responses are stored in one place, making it simple to keep track of who has and hasn't replied.

Most digital invitation platforms offer RSVP tracking, and some even offer automated reminders for those who haven't responded. This saves you the time and effort of chasing down late RSVPs or worrying about whether your invitations got lost in the mail.

When creating your digital wedding invitation, be sure to include an RSVP date. Three to four weeks in advance of your wedding is a good deadline, and you can always send reminders as the date gets closer.

If you're using a platform that doesn't include RSVP tracking, you can create a simple Google Form or use another form-building software for guests to submit their responses.

To make the RSVP process even easier for your guests, you can include a link to the RSVP form in your digital invitation. This ensures a seamless experience for your guests and saves them the trouble of navigating to a separate website.

Another option is to use a platform that allows you to create a matching wedding website. This way, your guests can RSVP directly on the website, and you can manage all the responses in one place.

Some platforms also offer the ability to group your guests into categories, such as "colleagues", "close friends", or "extended family". This can make it easier to organise households with singles, couples, or families who are RSVPing together.

Additionally, digital invitations often allow you to create a custom form with additional questions beyond just acceptance or refusal. For example, you can ask about meal preferences, dietary restrictions, dance floor requests, or even marriage advice!

Design options

There are many design options available for digital wedding invitations. Couples can choose from a variety of platforms that offer customisable templates, or design their own from scratch.

For those who want a simple, cost-effective option, there are free platforms such as Evite, which offers a variety of free invitation options, most of which are in a banner format with customisable details and RSVP tracking. Punchbowl also offers a range of free, good-looking invitations that can be edited to suit your needs. Adobe Spark is another free platform that offers templates and a free invitation design platform that allows you to place graphics, text and type one step at a time.

For those who want a more premium option, Paperless Post offers a range of e-vite options, from simple and classic designs to invitations designed by wedding mainstays such as Vera Wang. Invitations vary in price, with free options, $6 e-vites and the cost increasing with customisation. Greenvelope is another premium option, with a huge selection of highly customisable e-vites. You can also work with a designer for an additional charge, and a portion of every sale is donated to the nonprofit Mountains to Sound.

For those who want a more personal touch, platforms like Canva make it easy to design online invites, with plenty of modern templates that can be personalised using different fonts, colour palettes and illustrations. Once the design is complete, the file can be downloaded and sent out to the guest list via email or text.

For those who want a cohesive look, it is possible to link digital invites to a custom wedding website. This is where you can include essential wedding information such as venue directions, gift registry links and dress codes.

Etiquette

Digital wedding invitations, also known as e-vites or paperless invitations, are a widely accepted modern alternative to traditional invites. However, there are still some etiquette guidelines to follow when sending online wedding invitations.

Firstly, ensure your digital invitations are addressed appropriately to your guests. For couples, include both names separated by "and". For formal events, include titles and surnames, while for more relaxed weddings, first names only are sufficient. For single guests, address them by name, and add "and guest" if they are invited to bring a plus one. If children are invited, list their names (usually from oldest to youngest) after their parents' names. If you are hosting a child-free wedding, simply address the parents.

When it comes to the content of your digital invitations, be sure to include a request for attendance, an RSVP date and method, and a link to your wedding website. Avoid including too much information in the initial invitation and instead, direct your guests to your wedding website for additional details such as accommodation options, dress code, and FAQs. It is considered impolite to include gift registry details on your invitations, so leave this information on your wedding website instead.

Another important aspect of digital invitation etiquette is timing. It is recommended to send save-the-dates around six months before your wedding (or 9-12 months for a destination wedding), followed by the official invitation around two to three months before the event. For destination weddings, send the invitation four to six months in advance. Set an RSVP deadline of around three to four weeks before the wedding, or six to eight weeks for a destination wedding.

Finally, consider your guests' preferences and accessibility. While digital invitations are great for tech-savvy couples and guests who regularly use email and electronic calendars, they may not be suitable for older attendees or those without internet access. In such cases, it is advisable to send a small number of paper invitations or communicate the wedding details via phone.

Frequently asked questions