Digital vs Printed Wedding Invitations

According to many online stationery retailers, digital invitations are socially acceptable and a great way to trim costs at your wedding. I see the allure for some couples; they can be convenient and less expensive. But are they the right choice for you? Online wedding websites will tell you they are. I consider this marketing propaganda. Let's take a closer look at a few reasons why you may regret this irreversible choice forever.

SETTING THE TONE

Sending a digital wedding invitation conveys the tone of extreme thriftiness and perceived tardiness on the part of the sender. That may sound a little harsh, but it is true. Is that the impression you wish to make for your wedding day? It also denies your family and friends a physical keepsake of your meaningful, beautiful, and ever-lasting union.

OUT OF SITE, OUT OF MIND

Just how many emails go into that dark hole of the universe, never to be seen again? The importance of your wedding day communication may end up like space trash circling the galaxy, gone forever. Even if the digital invitation does make it to your guests, the sentimentality is lost, and it becomes just another email among the thousands they receive. No matter how "casual" your wedding is, a digital invitation lowers the importance of your wedding down to an evite potluck party or email bill reminder. It is painfully true

SAVING THE ENVIRONMENT

Many couples wish to reduce their carbon footprint as the reason to forgo printed stationery. If preserving the environment is a priority for you, you can always ask for paper that is sustainably sourced and uses eco-friendly inks.

PROPAGANDA - DON'T FALL FOR IT!

Digital invitations are virtually free for online retailers to produce, and that is why they market them to you. They tell you a digital invitation is perfectly and socially acceptable because they do not have to produce a tangible product, which means they do it for pure profit. They do not care if you have a lasting memory to mark the most important day of your life.

MOST IMPORTANTLY - SENTIMENT

Think about your amazingly brilliant wedding day. You spent thousands of dollars on fragrant roses you will never smell again, on a scintillating dinner you will never taste again, on a dress you will never wear again, and on furniture you will never sit on again. Trust me when I tell you the year-old wedding cake you stored in the freezer for good luck tastes like s***. So what is left? Your darling spouse of course, wedding rings and your photos. Not much else- nothing tangible. And that is why you need a printed save the date and wedding invitation.

PRINTING WE WILL GO...

So now that we have decided you need printed stationery for your wedding, let's look at the two options available: a downloadable PDF you print yourself or professionally printed invitations from a Stationery Designer.

PDF PRINT YOURSELF

There are several things to consider when printing an invitation yourself. You will need to purchase a downloadable PDF file from an online vendor. The vendor will customize the art to your specifications and then give you a PDF print-ready file. Make sure you have the ability to cut straight lines. It is very easy to trim a stack of invitations off-center with a paper cutter. To be entirely accurate, you may have to use an x-acto knife, straight edge, and cutting matte to trim each invitation out individually. Unless you plunked down several thousand dollars for a high-quality laser printer, you may not achieve the quality of a professionally printed invitation. 

PDF PRINTED BY A LOCAL PRINT SHOP

If you are not feeling up to the task of printing and trimming your own invitations, you can take downloaded PDF files to a local print shop to print and trim for you. Be sure the Designer's file is in the correct format that the Printer can use. There are several different PDF format settings available, and every print shop likes to receive files in a certain way. They may also have different "bleed" specifications. Some Printers like 1/8" trim, other 1/4" trim. If the file does not comply with your Printer's specifications, they may send it back to you, and you will have to ask the online vendor to adjust the files to your Printer's needs. Your local Printer will be using a digital printing press. Digital printing is a higher quality xerox print and can print a bit shiny depending on the papers stock you choose. You will need to ask for test prints to make sure you are happy with the quality.

WORK WITH A PRO

Choosing to work with a Stationery Designer who sends you printed stationery is the easiest and most stress-free way to send invitations. Having a professional Stationer design and print your invitations may cost you a bit more money, but will look stunning and save you hours of hassle in the end. All you have to do is proof your beautiful designs and then open the box when they arrive. You can then focus on the other overwhelming bridal tasks at hand like whom to invite. 

Printing to me is so special- it's such a beautiful form of communication, and your wedding day should never be something that ends up in a junk mail folder or thrown in the recycling because it looks like a xerox. When you celebrate your Golden anniversary in 50 years, imagine pulling out your gorgeous invitations. The colors and tactile nature will remind you of that phenomenal day.

Gilded Swan Paperie only sells professionally printed custom wedding stationery. Invitations are inspected and carefully wrapped to ensure safe delivery. Our printing presses use vegetable oil-based inks and recycled papers from certified sustainable production systems so you can feel better about reducing your carbon footprint.

Custom Printed Wedding Stationery by Gilded Swan Paperie. Photo by @peterson.design.photo

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Beautiful Adornments... Luxury Folders

You are knee-deep in clicking, pinning and saving and what you find is that you have a bevy of beautiful wedding invitations that all start blending together. Pocket folders are a unique way to stand out from the crowd! Not only do they enclose all of your pieces in one neat little package, they are a sure-fire way to set a luxurious tone to your wedding. Most couples have several cards included with their invitations; reply cards, reply envelopes, details cards, maps, rehearsal invitations, brunch invitations, etc. The pocket folder is a great way to hold all of these items together. Even if you just have the standard invitation and reply card, it makes the set look so striking! They add magnitude and luxury to your suite and cost far less than say, letterpress invitations or gold foil embossed suites.

Pocket folders come scored for ease of folding and a vertical or horizontal pocket of your choice. When you receive your folders, you just need double-stick tape or Glue Dotz from the craft store to adhere your invitation to the back panel. All of your other items just sit in the pocket.

Getting creative with securing the folders is the fun part! I routinely scour Etsy, eBay and flea markets for vintage ribbon, brass stampings, and antique jewelry to adorn the folders. And they do not have to match! You can get as unique with each guest as you like. If you do not have the time or inclination to search out for these items, I can always design a round or square hangtag that you tie with a ribbon as well. You might not be able to design or print your own wedding invitations, but you can surely tap into your creative side and have fun customizing them!

Shimmery black pocket folders with a gold foil Gatsby invitation

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Anatomy of a Reply Card

The who, what, when, where and why of wedding invitation response cards. I get more questions regarding reply cards than any other. Reply cards are also known as RSVP cards. To begin with, RSVP stands for répondez s’il vous plaît. In French, “please respond”. You must have some way to let your guests tell you that they are, or are not attending your wedding.

We never put response requests ON our formal invitations. No matter how small your budget, it is never done. Printing this on the formal invitation gives one the impression of extreme thriftiness on the part of the sender and is frankly, just too casual. Email, phone numbers and websites on the formal invitation look cluttered. You only get married once, we hope, so let’s at least have some decorum and put these details on another card.

The reply card will have the following:

Reply by date:

Traditionally, invitations go out two months prior to your wedding. Your reply by date should be three-four weeks before your wedding.

Formal: The favor of a reply is requested by the tenth of June

Informal: Kindly reply by June 10th

M________________________

What is this M in front of the name line? I get this question all the time and it saddens me that this tradition is going by the wayside. Lately, I have replaced M with guest(s) as couples do not care to embrace this tradition today. M in front of the line is for Mr., Mrs., Ms., or Miss. Historically, this is traditional proper protocol.

Reply envelopes:

You must include them with your response card and either handwrite or have your Stationer print your return address on the front. Self-mailable postcards are informal but still do the trick if you forgo a proper response envelope.

Stamps:

You must place a stamp on the self-mailable reply card or on the reply card envelope. It is bad form to ask your guests to pay for the response to your wedding.

Meal Choices:

Many couples like to include meal choices on their reply card so that their caterer can better prepare for the wedding day. This is entirely up to you. A major reason couples send out their invitations late is that they wait and wait for the caterer to sort out the meal choices. Caterers do not care about invitation deadlines and the stress this causes the Stationer (me) and the couples (you) is tantamount. If you must put meal choices on your response cards, then go with the bare minimum: meat, fish, vegetarian.

Mailable response card vs an online reply, which is best for you? It depends. If you are having a very formal black tie wedding, something in a grand home, country club or ballroom, you would want a proper mail-in reply card. Below are the pro’s and cons of each side of the argument:

Online Reply Card Pros

• You will receive responses sooner

• Since you do not need an envelope, you will save environmentally and in your wallet

• Easier for some guests

Online Reply Card Cons

• Out of site, out of mind; spend more time tracking down responses from guests who simply forgot

• Too casual for formal weddings

• Older guests may have a hard time navigating the web

• How do you indicate how many are invited with just a link? You will have to have numerous conversations or a way to indicate online what the guest limit is. You may not want everyone to bring a "plus one".

• You must have a shortened url. It is difficult for older guests or guests on mobile devices to type something like this in order to reply: theknot.com/us/courtney-hanley-&-stephen-shaunessey-get-married-2020

QR Codes

• Insanely ugly and detract from the invitation design

• Are difficult for many guests, particularly the elderly

• If I did not stress this enough above, they are really unattractive

Mail-in Reply Cards Pros

• A physical card that requires action is more reliable for getting responses

• It’s classier

• Every day you receive a response in the mail is like getting a letter from a friend. When do you ever receive letters these days? Many guests take the time to write a little handwritten note on your reply cards. You can even add a few lines on your card for this. I kept all of mine and tied them with a pretty ribbon.

Mail-in Reply Cards Cons

The added cost of the stamp and envelopes

Not as environmentally friendly

With the advent of technology, we seem to lose little pieces of traditions every day. It would be a shame for weddings to go fully digital. When you look back on your 50th wedding anniversary, what will you have besides your love and photos? Paper will be there. Texts, wedding websites and email confirmations will all be long gone after your wedding day. Let’s ditch the traditions that are not so important to us. Tossing the garter can go, bridesmaids don’t always have to wear the same dress and we really do not have to throw rice. As a self-proclaimed paper and etiquette collector, I admit the online reply is becoming more and more popular. Let’s just make sure we keep it OFF of the invitation and ON a separate card, no matter what you decide to do.

A traditional reply card

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