Courtesy of I Just Said Yes
Digital or electronic wedding invitations; is this going to be the new trend for brides? The use of personal electronics and social media is rapidly increasing with smart phones, tablets and laptops, all streaming to Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, Google + (maybe) and MySpace (maybe just a few old aunts and uncles). It is uncommon these days to find many people, from young to old, that have not been actively participating in a social network or at the very least have an email address.
Let’s explore the idea of digital wedding invitations. There are pro’s and con’s to everything so let’s take a look at both.
Pro’s:
You will probably save time and money. Invitation and postage costs can be outrageous and the time it takes to hand-write addresses are extreme without help.
All those things you used to photocopy and insert in traditional invitations (maps, hotel information) can be included, even by providing links.
You can be as creative as you want instead of just picking an invitation style and color of ink.
You may just save a tree or two.
Con’s:
Are you the traditionalist type of person and wants to send out the elegant wedding invitation? There really is no substitute for a beautiful paper invitation.
Is it important for you and grandma to keep this invitation in a scrapbook to remember? May sound silly, but are you really going to sit down with your daughters 10 or 20 years from now and pull out your memories on your iPhone?
What about compiling the email list. You need to find out everyone’s email address and that may be a daunting task in itself. As you start to compile your list you are faced with some guests who do not have email or even a computer? What do you do then?
There is no doubt, an e-invitation would be spectacular! You can personalize your own on-line wedding invitation with music, pictures or video and give your itinerary for the day. How impressive would it be to Google map the church, reception hall and hotels? Provide links to the reception hall and maybe a link to Trip advisor for the hotels. Create a wedding email account to manage RSVP’s just as if you were mailing out a paper invitation.
Ultimately, it is your decision on what type of invitation you want to provide. As this digital idea may seem a little strange at first, I think times are a changing and it will become very popular in the years to come and more accepted.
