Email Wedding Invitations – A Do or Don’t?

Many personal wedding website providers and software companies offer the opportunity to send email invitations to your wedding guests, but does that mean you should do it? No! I’m taking a stand on this and saying do NOT ever send your wedding invitations over email. I just don’t think proper etiquette allows it.

I understand that with budget concerns, this may sound like a good idea but it is not. Today, you can get nice looking wedding invitations at any of craft and super stores at a bargain price and get them printed cheaply at your local Kinko’s (or any other chain printer). There is really no reason why you can’t afford invitations.

Check out this ‘bargain’ solution to expensive wedding invitations – only $150! It claims to be a classy way to send out your wedding invitations – yea right! Is it really the ‘affordable’ solution to wedding invitations?

A wedding is a personal event which is why you invite your closest friends and family to attend but sending your wedding invitations over email is about impersonal as you can get. This is the same reason why etiquette demands you to hand write and snail mail thank you notes to guests after the wedding. Would you write a generic thank you and mass email it to all your guests? Noooo! You might as well just run up to city hall if you aren’t going to give the respect and consideration to your guests.

This discussion was recently raised over at patgalca’s myLot and here are some of the comments/questions raised:

• With no set addressee, who exactly is/isn’t invited?
• Could anyone forward the email to those not invited?
• What if the email had bounced?
• What if the email had been incorrect and the guest had never received it?

If you want to save money on postage, try using a postcard as your RSVP (USPS – only $0.26 each as compared to $0.41 each) or even allowing guests to RSVP by email – only if you know ALL guests have access to the internet. An email announcement to visit the wedding website is also a good idea to supplement the wedding invitation but I don’t think it should actually replace the wedding invitation.

If you use email as your delivery method for your wedding invitations, you will most likely turn off most guests and many may decide not to come because of it. In any case, email wedding invitation is a bad idea for everyone involved.

What are your thoughts?

Beautiful example of a destination “blog style” wedding website

Johnathan & Joanne’s wedding website is a beautiful example of a destination wedding website should look like. It is a ‘blog style’ wedding website which means the bride and groom posted updates to their website and guests could comment on them. St John weather, links and registry information was included on the side column of the website which provides essential information to guests. I love the “old world map” look and feel of the site and the beautiful script font used as the titles of the posts.

Featured Article: Romancing Technology With Your Own Wedding Website

Today’s featured article comes from L Hayes at EzineArticles.com. It’s a great article on the wonderful features available with having a wedding website.

Romancing Technology With Your Own Wedding Website

Technology has ushered in new traditions that complement the old in their modernity. In olden times, announcement of betrothal was a very important step for any family and for establishing the couple a special status. Similarly, wedding memories were preserved in photo albums and more recently in videos too. Nowadays, we use the internet. Here are a few tips on how to create your own wedding website.Then came along the reach of the internet into weddings when couples started to build websites to announce their weddings, having a wedding blog, and uploading pictures and information to share with their friends and loved ones as well as the world wide web.

Wedding websites are being launched every single day and they are a great way to spread the word and share your wedding memories. Many movie stars and celebrities are into it as are savvy couples who are jumping the bandwagon for a number of reasons besides just the thrill of it. With a wedding website you can add several features to your site like a blog which both of you constantly update to let people know the goings-on on a regular basis.

You can also add reception pictures and videos too. A single image says a thousand words. You can add background music to your site too to let your visitors listen to your favorite tunes while surfing your site. You can allow a person to RSVP your invites online. A single email is all that is needed.

If you have registered for gifts online, you can provide a link on your wedding website and not only can people see what you wish to receive but they can shop and send you the gifts online too! If you have a camera attached to your computer, you can upload your wedding ceremony as a live feed.

You can add many fun bits too – like a love meter to check the percentage of love, a poll, a guestbook and obviously a countdown to the days for your wedding. You can also add information for your out-of-town guests to tell them about the wedding venue as well as something about your city.

You can really stand out and make a lasting impression on people. You also have the ability to introduce yourself to distant relation that you may not know very well. It will not only make them comfortable at the actual event but also get a chance to know you and your future husband.

It is really easy and affordable even if you are using a professional builder to build your site for you. Look around for the people offering you the best price and be sure to compare it against their features. You can easily get many free templates and web sets to decorate your pages and all you need is a PC with an internet connection, a scanner to scan your photos or a webcam and some basic working knowledge of websites.

If you are a graphics pro, designing your invitation cards, thank you cards and any other printable items is very easy and for a fraction of the cost. You can have these to co-ordinate with the graphics used on your site so they look part of your signature theme as well as save you time and effort making any special graphics. Even your online web host could have many templates for making these easily and all you would need to do is add text to personalize them. You could also match these graphics with your wedding favors to really make your reception decor pop!

In conclusion, imagine sending out your paper wedding initiations with your self-designed graphics and with a link to your very own, personal website link. That is indeed a very thrilling option for you to consider seriously in this digital age.

How to decide on a wedding website provider

Once you know what you are wanting on your wedding website, it’s easy to decide on a wedding website provider. There are a few key factors that help you decide:

1) Budget

There are wedding website services that range from $0-$1,000+. So whatever your budget is, there is a wedding website service to provide the solution.

Setting your budget is the first step. For the majority of couples, a free or cheap wedding website is the ideal solution for them. A template and “cookie-cutter” website will work for them. Other couples may want more of a custom solution, where a website designer creates a one-of-a-kind wedding website based on their wedding theme and personal requests. By setting your budget first, you can weed out the wedding website service providers that just aren’t what you had in mind.

2) Features

You name it, you can have it: wedding countdown, photo gallery, custom theme, flash intro, guestbook, password protected area, newsletter, RSVP, music, custom domain name, poll, and quizes – the possibilities are endless. By narrowing down what you want, need, and can afford – it will help you decide on a wedding website. For those couples who just want the basic pages, many times you can find a free solution. For couples wanting a more ‘feature-packed’ solution, it may cost you a little more $$$. This factor ties hand in hand with factor 1 – the budget.

3) Period of Time

If you plan on keeping your website for months or years, that is your choice. Some couples may want to convert their wedding website into a wedding memory website where guests can share their personal memories and photos from the wedding. Other couples may just want the wedding details on the website until the day of the wedding. This is a factor you will have to consider when choosing a wedding service provider. Most companies offer different options and packages for you to choose from that are dependent on the length of time your wedding website will be live.

There are many great wedding websites out there, these tips will help you decide which one is the right one for you.

A good example of a wedding website

Kenny & Hershy’s wedding website another good example. It’s a simple design with just the bare necessities but it works great as a wedding website! If you are thinking of designing your own wedding website, this is a great example to use for inspiration.

Top 3 Reasons to Have a Wedding Website

There are many reasons to have a wedding website but here I’ve outlined my top three. If these don’t convince you to have a wedding website, well, then don’t have one.

1) Save Money

Although some wedding website service providers do charge for your wedding website, you can save tremendously in printing and postage. Weddings today are getting extremely elaborate and sometimes you can end up with a booklet instead of an invitation. Save the money on your invitations by not including those bulky extra cards for directions, accommodations, schedule of events, etc… You can include one card with your wedding website address on it and forget about those extra includes since all the info is on your wedding website.

You can also save money on postage. Without all those extra cards in the invitation, it will weigh less, thus costing less postage. In our digital age, online RSVP is becoming an accepted practice. It make your life easier by getting the RSVP response information faster and in a more convenient method (automatically delivered to your email inbox. You don’t even have to worry about losing RSVP’s in the mail. It also makes life for the guest easier also by being a simple and convenient way to RSVP. No more waiting by the mailbox and worrying if people will remember to send the RSVP out.

2) Convey Sensitive Material

Most of the time you may have details you want to share with guest but it’s poor etiquette, such as your registry information. Typically, it’s up to the wedding party to share this info with guests. With a wedding website, it’s okay to post your registry and other information that may be too sensitive for the invitation. Perhaps your planning a destination wedding, you can add the address where you want gifts sent. Children, attire, parking, weather and any other special requests can easily be added to your wedding website so all the miscellaneous details are clear to guests and it’s not such a burden to you and your wedding party to spread the info.

3) Reduce Stress

A wedding website is the ideal way to free up your valuable time and energy. All your important information about your wedding day/week are posted on your wedding website. Friends and family can reference it anywhere in the world, translate it into any language, and view it at any time. Instead of calling you and your wedding party with questions, your guests can simply go to your wedding website to find all the information they need. Having all the information for the wedding in one central location is not only beneficial for you but also for your friends/family.

Beautiful example of a wedding website

John & Sara’s wedding website is so cute. I love the fonts, colors, and images used. Obviously the wedding is over and I’m sure they removed most of the info that was on there before but it’s still a beautiful design!

Wedding websites with too much information

Where do you draw the TMI line on your wedding website? Somewhere between cute and annoying.

We’ve established that wedding websites are great. We’ve also listed a lot of page ideas, but when is it just too much? Once you start adding content to your wedsite, it’s easy to get carried away. First you start off with the story of how he proposed. Then you add the story of your first date, then how you met – but let’s be real, nobody really cares what you had for dinner on your first date or what song was playing when you first locked eyes. It’s cute but keep those details just between you two.

Some guests may want to know who your bridesmaids and groomsmen are but we are not putting together a dating website, skip the eye color, height, and lifelong biography – just a picture, name and relation will do.

You may also want to skip any information you wouldn’t look into Grandma’s eyes and say. Wedding websites are still new to the wedding industry, so the rules for what is acceptable aren’t written in stone just yet. Just because your wedding website template asks for your first date story, don’t go blabbing that it was a one-night stand.

In some areas of your wedding website, details are important. Like adding that parking is limited or the wedding will be outdoors so bring appropriate attire. Be sure to ask yourself, are these details are important to ME or to my GUESTS?

In the end, keep in mind KISS and TMI. Keep it simple (short and sweet). Keep it brief and not too personal. Don’t write anything that you wouldn’t walk up to one of your guests at the wedding and tell them to their face.

A New Trend – Video intros for your wedding website!

What a cute idea for the homepage of your wedding website, a video intro for your guests!

Another great example of a wedding website

Chip & Joni’s wedding website is stunning. You should definitely check it out. I want to attend the wedding and I don’t even know these people. That right there, my reaction, is one of the major reasons why you should have a wedding website – creating the inviting ambiance to make people want to attend and share this beautiful day with you!