Many industries are slowly making the move to become more eco-friendly and the wedding industry will not be left behind. More often, couples are opting for digital wedding invitations (or wedding e-vites). Not only are digital invitations greener, they also come with other benefits such as being cost-effective and less time consuming. However, some might feel that a certain sentiment is lost by using a digital invitation.

To help you weigh up the options, here are some pros and cons of both digital and paper wedding invitations.

Digital

Pros:

– Saves Money 

Digital wedding invitations will save you money in a variety of ways. You’ll pay for the design once, and you’ll be able to use it as many times as you like. There will be no postage costs and no paper or envelope costs.  If your budget is tight, or if you’re not too fussy about wedding invitations, digital is the way to go.

– Eco-friendly 

No paper invites means that you’re saving trees! On top of that, the delivery of  paper invitations, to your guests, requires fuel. With digital invites, you’re ensuring that your wedding has a smaller carbon footprint.

– Easy to do 

You could find a professional graphic designer to create your invitation for you. All you need to do is give them some specifications and your wedding invitation will be ready in no time.

With the rise of online tools like Canva to make your life as easy as possible, it is even possible to find a website that has invitation templates for free. You could create an invitation completely on your own in a single sitting. Quick and easy!

– Saves time 

Not only does it save time on the designing front, but it also gets delivered within seconds. This means you’ll receive your RSVPs quicker too.

Cons:

– Some guests may not be tech savvy 

For the older guests, a digital invite may cause some issues. Some grandparents or aunts and uncles may not be sure how to RSVP or how to access the invitation at all. You wouldn’t want to risk them missing the special day! However, there are ways around this problem. You could opt to send only certain people paper invites.

– Invites may get lost in a spam folder 

While it is mostly unlikely, there is a chance that your invite may be detected as spam. Most people don’t check their spam folders, and this could mean that they miss your invitation completely.

– Designing it yourself can be risky 

Some of us are simply not artistically inclined. And that’s okay! But, if you’re designing your own wedding invitations you may want to be cautious. The internet is full of ideas, and most websites provide you with templates, but you could still end up with a design that is sub-par if you’re not careful.

It may sound as if digital invites are less distinctive, significant or memorable, but there are ways you can make it special!

Paper

Pros:

– May be easier to access 

There are several stores that carry printed wedding invitations. Finding these may be easier than finding a graphic designer.

– Comes with extra excitement 

Holding the invites in your hand, packaging them and sending them off can be an exciting activity to do with your partner or your family. It can feel like the real beginning of the wedding festivities.

– Makes for a great keepsake

You can keep the wedding invitation forever. Perhaps you want to frame it or put it in your wedding album. These are things you can’t do with a digital invite.

Cons:

– Can be quite costly 

Printing, paper, envelopes, decorations such as ribbons or glitter, and posting. If you add all of these up, it could add a large sum to your budget.

– Very time-consuming 

Creating the invites and packaging them already take a lot of time. Thereafter, you’ll have to wait for them to be delivered. This can take a long time, especially if your guests live far away. Additionally, it’ll increase the waiting period you’ll have for receiving responses.

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