With the digital age in full swing, many young couples who are planning to get married may begin to consider digital wedding invitations. These are invitations that are sent via email to tell people to save the date as well as the details of the wedding with an official invitation. But are digital wedding invitations something that is frowned upon when it comes to wedding etiquette?
Digital wedding invitations are a great way to save money for those couples who are on a budget. If you have a friend that can design great looking save the date and wedding invitations for a low cost or even free, you’ll save even more money. Going paperless is also a great way to stay eco-friendly and leading wedding experts agree that paperless is deemed acceptable given today’s hold on technology.
However, there are some etiquette rules that still need to be followed when going paperless. Perhaps the most important is to still make sure that what you send to your closest friends and family is styled the way you want and is representative of you and your fiancée. A digital wedding invitation isn’t considered an invite to a private Facebook page, either. Many couples may have one for the wedding, but it should not be used as the ‘official invitation’. Instead, use the Facebook page to share registry details, talk about activities and gain inspiration such as whether you should choose 36” wedding sparklers or opt for shorter ones, and share preparation photos if you want to have a page.
Another thing to consider when you’re thinking about choosing digital wedding invitations is the people who may not use technology as much; such as the older generation. Couples should stick to one medium only instead of struggling through trying to figure out who would want a digital invitation and who would want a physical one, so couples can always make a list first and see what their better option would be.
Finally, there is the option to send a “Save the Date” digitally and have the real invitations come in the mail. That way, when people receive the “Save the Date”, they can send you their current mailing address for the invitations. This is a really great way to compromise between sending paper invitation or digital invitations, and if you don’t get a response then you know that a paper invite is the way to go.
In another 10 years, almost everyone will be using digital invitations almost exclusively. The cost of mailing paper invitations combined with the simplicity and speed of sending them digitally will eventually trump the tradition, but we’ll need to wait until everyone is using technology as part of their daily lives; something that just isn’t true quite yet. Until then, your best option is to send a combination of paper and digital invitations to ensure that everyone receives an invitation to your wedding; especially your grandparents.
