When you are organising your wedding there will be many many things you need to think about and one of the first things is how you want to create your invites.
I have explored both digital and physical avenues within my own wedding. The original date (before COVID got in the way), I designed and printed physical invitations which I LOVED, however when we had to postpone and send new invites, I could not afford, nor did I have the time for another round of those.
There are many options now, all kinds of designs, however I wanted to compare the pros and cons of digital invitations VS physical.
Let’s start with the pros!
Eco-Friendly:
Digital invites are just that, they are completely digital sent out usually via email and do not need any printing or postage. Less paper, less people throwing them out and less carbon footprint.
Also with no need to ship these e-vites out, you don’t have to worry about your loved ones not receiving them in the post (although it is worth getting them to check their spam)
This is a great option if you are staying aware of sustainability within your wedding.
Easy to design:
There are many websites and tools online that you can use to create beautiful designs yourself. This can help cut down costs of hiring a stationery designer and can be set up quickly if you need to get your invites sent out.
I used a website called ‘say I do’ for my digital wedding invitations, using a template that suited the style and theme of my wedding.
Less expensive:
A lot of wedding websites are free to use or there may be a small fee in creating a design. However this will be a major discount in comparison to producing printed invitations.
If you are on a budget this is a great way of inviting your favourite people!
Online RSVPs:
Most wedding websites, like ‘Say I Do’ will have the ability to collect RSVPs directly from the e-vite to their website. This is a life saver when it comes to keeping your wedding admin in one place and being able to export when you need to confirm with your venue.
Now for the cons…
Not able to hold the memory:
There is something special about opening a wedding invitation. Looking at the details that have gone into it, the feel of the paper and the finishes that have been added.
I don’t know about you but this is the type of thing that would go inside my memory box, for years to come. You wouldn’t get this opportunity with a digital type.
Also on the day of your wedding your photographer may want to take photos of the stationery. These flatlays can be a beautiful photo to keep to summarise the day.
Not everyone may have access:
It’s very easy to forget now that not everyone has access to email or may be comfortable with receiving emails.
If your wedding party includes a group of people that are in this category you may find it more complicated to use the option of digital.
Less Traditional:
It is true that digital e-vites are less traditional and this might be a part of your wedding you do not want to compromise on.
There is something very special about receiving an invite in the post and the feel and excitement it brings to you.
Not unique:
If you are using a well known website or platform to create your invites using a template, you are likely creating a design that others have used before. Of course there is nothing wrong with this, you personlise it how you like.
However when you work with a stationery artist, you are sure to get a truly bespoke design that will be sure to wow your guests.
So which would I chose?
I absolutely love my printed invites, the vellum band that wrapped the pieces together with hand lettered envelopes that went with them. However it was a true labor of love and cost a small part of the wedding budget. Also it became a huge admin task to capture the RSVPs in a new gmail account.
I am glad I chose to move forward with the digital option for out new date, it was so much quicker to update our guests and I love the capabilities to be able to complete all admin tasks in one place.
I think if I was to be starting again, I would definitely consider the digital option as it is a much more efficient way of getting a huge part of your wedding underway.