A Techy Way to Save Money on Wedding Correspondence

The cost of traditional paper wedding information (save the dates, wedding invites, thank you’s, rehearsal dinner invites, etc.) can add up quickly. According to Woman Getting Married, the average couple spends $443 on their wedding invitations.

Ultimately the cost comes down to the number of people you’re inviting, the postage to mail them out (square invitations need additional postage!) if return printing and postage are needed (for RSVP cards), and the quality of the printed material.  Then you have to figure in the time needed to put it all together.

There are many reasons to consider going digital for your wedding.  Some couples do it for convenience and time savings.  Others do it for environmental purposes or cost savings.  One often-overlooked benefit is to enhance their guests’ experience.  Your guests will always have their cell phones on them, but most will not hold onto your paper information.  An extra bonus to going digital is it gives you a great way to communicate new details if anything changes last minute.

So how do couples go digital?

In this example, we will use a service called WedTexts. WedTexts enables couples to effortlessly communicate with their wedding guests via pre-scheduled text messages…think of it as push notifications for your wedding with no app to download for your wedding guests.

Digital invite checklist:

for the environmentally conscious couple

• Gather your invitees’ cell phone numbers as you build your guest list.
• Add your invitees’ cell phone numbers to your WedTexts account.
• Send your invitees a quick “Save the Date” message:

“He finally did it!  We’re engaged, and you’re invited to the wedding! Save the date – November 11th in New York City!!”

• Collect RSVPs by sending your invitees a link to your wedding website:

“We are in shock, 59 days until the wedding!  Holy smokes the time has gone by!  Please RSVP ASAP, as we need to get a headcount for the different events, including the big day!  www.yourweddingwebsite.com”

Schedule all your helpful reminders for your wedding weekend:

1. Welcome Party
2. Rehearsal
3. Rehearsal Dinner
4. Bus Schedule
5. Ceremony
6. Reception
7. Morning After Brunch

Typically takes 30 minutes and costs less than $300.  No postage or wasted paper required, and it covers every type of wedding communication.  If plans change, all of your guests are one text away.

Hybrid: digital + traditional invite checklist:

for the couple who doesn’t want to ditch paper entirely

1. Collect your guests’ cell phone numbers as you’re building your guest list.
2. Add your invitees’ cell phone numbers to your WedTexts account.
3. Text your invitees a link to collect their mailing addresses via WedTexts.
4. Mail your beautiful Save The Dates.
5. Mail your traditional paper invitation without the RSVP card (include a link to your wedding website to request invitees to RSVP online).
6. Send your invitees that haven’t RSVP’d a reminder WedTexts to RSVP online by sending them a link to your wedding website. Here’s an example:

“FYI – the last day to RSVP to our wedding is 2 weeks away! Take a second to RSVP online at www.ourweddingwebsite.com by Saturday, Oct 7, 2017. Thank you in advance!”

Schedule all your helpful reminders for your wedding weekend:

• Welcome Party
• Rehearsal
• Rehearsal Dinner
• Bus Schedule
• Ceremony
• Reception
• Morning After Brunch

Going digital and scheduling texts usually adds 30 minutes and an additional cost to your paper invite planning.  But you save money on the RSVP return cards and there is no need to print paper wedding weekend itineraries.  So depending on what type of paper invitations you choose, it’s still often a more cost-effective option.