How many hours have you spent licking and sticking envelopes, or writing out names on invitations? It’s a tiresome task that no one truly loves, and at the end of the day, are all those paper cuts really worth the effort? Thankfully, with the world now glued to phones and laptops on a daily basis, it's just as easy to contact people digitally as it is through the post. This is where the paperless invitation becomes a lifesaver.
There are a whole host of benefits when it comes to sending out online invites over printed invitations. First up is money: no more forking out for pretty-coloured card, hundreds of envelopes or the actual cost of sending them by mail. Plus, with a literal click of a button, your invites will land in your guests' inboxes immediately – no more waiting days for them to hopefully arrive in their intended locations. Speaking of waiting - guests can also respond with a click! The full cycle from sending, to receiving, to getting an RSVP could take weeks but paperless invites can cut it down to minutes, meaning you can get started on further event planning right away. The bonuses just keep coming. We’re all human and its easy to make mistakes; with a paperless invite, changes can be made quickly and easily. Not only does this make the event more fluid for you as an organiser, but it also makes your guests feel confident with the event and its details.
Paperless invites aren’t just beneficial to you, the event planner and organiser; they’re also much more environmentally friendly. With no physical footprint, these invites reduce the use of paper, ink and road miles used in the postal system. So, what we’re saying is: paperless invites are the new fairy godmother of event planning, and with a simple bibbity, bobbity, boo, your guests will be RSVP-ing in no time.
Paperless Post
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What: Receptions, openings, fundraisers and gatherings – Paperless Post has an invite for every occasion. The content team is made up of artists, designers, and letterers, who create original artwork for online invitations that deliver a sophisticated voice. Paperless Post collaborates with designers and lifestyle brands to create distinctive designs that are sure to suit any event you may be planning. Simply filter invites by occasion, select a template, and then customise the design with all the relevant information. Easy peasy.
Ideal for: corporate events, announcements, holiday cards, birthdays, weddings and parties
Key functions: RSVP tracking, instant communication with guests, customisation
Evite
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What: With the slogan ‘life’s better together’, Evite prides itself on its wide range of paperless invitations that are suitable for every occasion, from simple birthday invites, to business meetings, down to more unusual events like Oktoberfest or derby days. The website allows you to select a template from thousands of professionally-designed invites, or upload and create your own; then simply add your event details and send them with a click. They don’t just specialise in email invitations either, with the option to send your paperless invite via text or social media.
Ideal for: corporate events, celebrations, birthdays, weddings, holidays, sports, announcements
Key functions: RSVP tracking, event reminders, gift ideas, eGift cards, Bitcoin gifting, text invites
Eventbrite
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What: Eventbrite is a great tool for finding and creating events, with plenty of resources available for planners to get the party in full swing! Rather than designing specific invites, this platform serves as a central hub for your guests to RSVP on your own personal event page. Launch a free RSVP website and get the word out to your guests by a paperless invitation with RSVP links to your event website. This link enables a swift response from your guests and directs them to all the information they need. Your Eventbrite page allows you to easily promote your event, send follow-up emails, and keep your event details up-to-date.
Ideal for: corporate events, conferences, festivals, classes, workshops and concerts
Key functions: RSVP tracking, event promotion, planning resources
Greenvelope
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What: The in-house design team at Greenvelope works with a community of stationers, illustrators, calligraphers, graphic artists, and painters from around the world to create exclusive, contemporary designs for every style. Different packages, dependent on the size of your guest list, range in price but still ring in fairly cheap. Get started by selecting a design, personalising the colours and details and importing a guest list. Greenvelope removes all the stress of planning with its messaging service that enables check-ins and updates with guests as well as survey questions to collect information on food selections or music.
Ideal for: corporate events, weddings, birthdays, announcements, family/friend gatherings
Key functions: customisation, messaging service, RSVP tracking, guest surveys, daily updates and auto reminders
RSVPify
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What: From invite, to RSVP, to showtime; RSVPify makes organising large scale events a piece of cake. Start with a template and customise it to reflect your branding with different layouts, custom questions for collecting guest’s decisions, and the option to add secondary events to your page. Go live in minutes and easily track RSVP’s with a visible traffic-light system showing your invitees responses. As far as paperless invitations with RSVP tracking goes, this one is really efficient - plus, there's a seating chart maker to take away the stress of seating plans.
Ideal for: large corporate events, small corporate events, non-profit organisations, holiday events, birthdays, weddings and private parties
Key functions: email invitations, secondary events, event website security, guest data collection, seating chart maker, customisation, RSVP tracking
Punchbowl
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What: Online invitations with Punchbowl can be sent via email or text, appearing on your guests' phones within minutes of you setting up your event. Pick a design, customise the details and then head to your guests page to import the contact details of all your invitees. Send off your paperless invitations with RSVP links attached as well as a message and all the event details your guests will need. All it takes is three easy steps to get your guests in-the-know; plus, it’s free!
Ideal for: birthdays, children’s events, announcements, religious ceremonies, corporate events, weddings
Key functions: RSVP tracking, text or email invites, customisation
Purpletrail
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What: Purpletrail lets you browse a gallery of free online invitations, and provides paperless invitations with RSVP tracking so you can monitor who is joining you for your event. The website is easy to use and the design centre gives you the ability to customise the templates to reflect a unique style or branding, while still communicating all the important event details. Set up a RSVP website and invite guests via a URL link or digital invite via email, text or social media. Hey presto, your event is well under way.
Ideal for: birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, announcements, religious ceremonies, corporate events
Key functions: RSVP tracking, text, email or social media invites, customisation.
Papier
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What: Known for their pretty stationary and unique cards, Papier now give you the option of sending invites to your guests’ inboxes rather than through the letterbox. Aimed at wedding planning, simply sign in to the website and start putting in the details of your special day. Every RSVP received from your guests is automatically uploaded to your page, minimising the stress of manually organising the event. From save the date cards, to official invites, to messaging guests for menu choices and dancefloor requests, Papier’s digital organising tools will take you from proposal to honeymoon with ease.
Ideal for: weddings, announcements
Key functions: RSVP tracking, guest surveys and instant messaging
Etsy
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What: If you’d prefer to give your business to small independents, head to Etsy for your paperless invitations. You’ll have to personally search for invitation templates on the site, but there are still plenty of unique, original designs to choose from. Each shop may have slightly different formats for inputting your event’s information, but they are still easy to customise with some also offering digital RSVP features. Plus, with so many independent designers selling their templates, your invite is sure to look entirely unique and different to anything your guests have seen before.
Ideal for: small corporate events, birthdays, weddings, announcements
Key functions: customisation, some RSVP tracking options
So, you've decided on a date, a venue and who your inviting, but what else is left to do before you put on the event of the season? Use our party planning checklist to arrange a party that will get your guests talking in all the right ways!