These days, more and more couples are asking: “Are paperless (email) wedding invitations an appropriate option for my celebration?” Now I am a little biased, but I think online wedding invitations are a smart, savvy and sophisticated choice. My husband and I sent email wedding invitations for our own wedding in 2007 (supplemented with a handful of paper invitations for our older relatives). Our guests loved them and they made wedding planning SO much easier for us.

Based on my own experience, plus feedback from couples who are using Glö to send their save the dates and invites online, here are some of the key reasons why paperless can be a great option:

1) Done well, they can be beautiful and sophisticated

Today’s paperless invitations are a far cry from the eVites we’re used to seeing for more casual events. A sophisticated paperless invitation will essentially “look and feel” exactly like a paper invitation (e.g. arrive in an envelope and open to reveal the invitation) and will feel incredibly special and appropriate for such an important celebration.

2) They save time and stress

Let’s face it – you are busy! It’s not like work, your social life, or other activities and obligations simply dissolve because you’re planning a wedding. Think about the time it takes to address envelopes and stuff them (not to mention sticking stamps) and your head can start to spin. I also found that it was WAY easier to collect my guests’ email addresses, as opposed to their snail mail addresses. I had most of the emails to begin with, and I haven’t collected mailing addresses in a book since my summer camp days.

3) They save trees

Now I don’t know exactly how many trees it takes for all the world’s couples to get married each year, but between wedding cards, envelopes, RSVP cards, RSVP envelopes, and anything else stuffed inside envelopes – It’s a lot! Yikes!

4) They save your budget

No matter what size the budget, I find that couples are always thinking about where they’d like to spend more and where they’d like to spend a little less. The postage alone for 150 invitations and RSVP reply cards costs around AUS $180. That’s in addition to the cost of the save the dates, invitations, reply cards and envelopes. These days, many couples are deciding that they would rather have that budget go towards food, wine and music instead.

5) They offer instant RSVP Gratification

The thing we loved the most about sending wedding invites and collecting RSVPs online was that we could instantly see who had opened them and who had RSVPd. It was like having signed delivery and instant courier service all in one! The night we sent our invitations, we stayed up until 3am refreshing the page and giggling with happiness at each ‘YES!’ response.

6) They are convenient for your guests

One thing I hear over and over from couples is how much their guests have loved receiving email invitations and RSVPing online. With email wedding invitations and a wedding website, guests have all the information they need at their fingertips and can easily RSVP for themselves and anyone else in their party. Plus they can access the information at any time on a computer or smart phone, or they can decide whether to print anything out and stick it on the wall or carry it with them.

7) They offer flexibility

The best part about online invitations is that they are totally flexible to fit your celebration and needs. Want to send email invitations to your friends and family and paper invitations to your relatives? – you can totally do it. Want to send out a last minute reminder to everyone the week before your celebration? – yep, that’s also easy to do. Decided to start the ceremony 30 minutes early even though invitations have already gone out? – not a problem. Today’s wedding celebrations can be complex to plan with numerous events and geographically dispersed guests. Going online means you’ll have more control and flexibility, resulting in much less stress.

Email wedding invitations aren’t right for every couple, but they definitely make a statement. They say, “we’re modern, smart and savvy, and we care about making our wedding fun and easy for our guests to attend.”

I am constantly amazed at how each of our couples’ personalities shine through in their email wedding invitations and wedding website designs. For some inspiration – check out the Real Glö-bie posts on glo-bride.com

Images by Glö

Ms Gingham says: I remember a friend calling me the day after she had posted all her wedding invitations, stressed out because it was raining and she was convinced it would ruin them! Food for thought.

About Taryn: Taryn is the founder of Glö, which offers uber-personalized email wedding invitations and save the dates, wedding websites and online RSVPs.  Follow Taryn on Twitter @GloWedding.