Comments on: Digital invites suit up for black-tie affairs

Electronic invitations have long been the domain of clip art and impromptu backyard pool parties. But with improved options and more focus on eco-consciousness, that's changing.

[benjaminstraight]

Wow. 2nd life?

[CNETCOMMENTS]

Personally, I wouldn't send electronic invitations for a wedding. However, the Internet has it's advantages. Some might shy from a online party, but I used a sight to bring about 25 people together -- all from outside the states -- to surprise my wife on her birthday via www.usurprise.com. Enjoyed the article and appreciate opportunity to post.

[CNETCOMMENTS]

Personally, I wouldn't use e-invites for a wedding; however, the Internet can be an efficient way to bring people together. I found www.usurprise.com and gathered about 25 people from outside the states to virtually surprise my wife and she loved it. Enjoyed this article and thanks for opportunity to post.

[benoddo]

My son was married recently, and never did we consider using e-invites. There are still too many relatives and friends without access to e-mail. (most are too old to learn to use e-mail). So if we needed to print invitations just for the Luddites in our clan, it would have been more costly than printing them for all invitees.

[Net Minder]

Come on, the word "invite" is a verb, not a noun. You don't send someone an "invite", you send them an "invitation"!

Anyway, for the most important events in life, digital is gauche. Plus, plenty of people like to keep them as a memento. Digital doesn't lend itself to that. But I think that the RSVP to it is fine being digital or even via voicemail. I don't even know where the nearest snail-mailbox is to my house. I virtually never mail anything now.

Let's face it though, Great-Grandma needs an invitation too, and in our family's case she doesn't have an e-mail address. I could see her still with us 10 to 15 years from now because she's in terrific health. Most families will have to deal with that in the long run.

[thatcherm]

A friend of mine had a mixed solution: he sent out paper invitations that included the URL of his wedding Web site, where attendees found an RSVP form. A little less paper, a little easier to organize the guest list. Of course, he knew everyone who was invited had an Internet connection.

[dbalestier]

Weddings are not about the invitation, they are about the people who attend and the experience they share. Print invitations are a waste of money and are eco-unfriendly. I'd much rather have more guests and longer band sets than conform to traditions that to many are irrelevant.

Manners experts should know that how one receives the invitation is not reflective of one's manners, the recipient is happy to have been included. Thank you cards are a whole other story.

There are plenty of wedding specific sites that present a classy, custom e-invitation and website for details of the day. www.weddingwindows.com

-Green Bride To Be

[Cowboyinbrla]

With all due respect, that's horse-pucky.

If someone thinks a thank-you note must be in paper form, but feels entitled to send out invitations electronically, then she's not a "green" bride-to-be, she's a lazy, self-centered bride-to-be who thinks the day's all about her convenience (the invitations) and her pleasure (the thank-yous). I'm not surprised this poster would rather have "more guests and longer band sets", even though her guests might find a huge crowd and endless renditions of "I will always love you" off-putting and tedious. After all, it's not about pleasing the guests she's invited to an event, is it? It's about showing off how many people you can drag a gift out of and how long you can stay the center of attention at the reception dances.

Eco-friendly? I get maybe one wedding invitation a year; nobody I know gets more than one a month. I get five to ten pieces of junk mail every day - THAT'S where the eco-friendly should come in.

It's not about "traditions that to many are irrelevant." Frankly, I don't care whether you consider the traditions irrelevant or not. Traditions are there because they are the way a society shows its values. A paper invitation shows your guests that you value their company and want them to share in your happiness, enough that you'll go to the trouble of a paper invitation (and it need not be expensive: the most formal wedding invitation of all is hand-written, not engraved or printed). An e-mail, no matter how you dress it up, sends a message that you value your time and your comfort.

[Bride magazine]

Digital e-vitations can be beautiful and easy to manage, however I think if you are going for an e-vitation it is best to consider your recipient. Some recipients will be thrilled that they don't have to 'file' the invitation on the fridge, others will wonder what the heck to do wiht an e invite!

[DvdInvitations]

While it has taken a while for digital invitations to gain popularity because of concern about email, dvd players and tradition, the level of personal detail from start to finish of even the most elaborate event is sending brides and other party planners looking for something new. Digital or DVD Invitations should not be an after thought for a "late" planner. Adding, pictures, video and music to a written invitation just opens up the senses leaving guests emotionally charged 6 weeks before the big event. In-fact, invitations are about the wedding. They are the first thing the guests will see often introducing one of the couple for the first time. They should set the tone - but at this point in time, because we are in transition, they should include the written invitation as well.