To EVITE or not to e-vite

In my usual walk through blog world today, I found a topic brought up that I thought would be a useful one to talk to all of you about.

A bride wrote into Martha Stewart's blog, "The Bride's Guide" asking why we were still killing trees (in this time of super-greenness)? Why couldn't we send wedding invites via email? (See question and following commentary from their staff here)

You could almost hear their editors' freaking out like nails on a chalk board, and for good reason some might say. It's definitely a prominent topic today. How do you throw a green wedding or if you can't do one entirely, how do you throw a wedding with green aspects? The first thing many brides think is, well I can cut some of the stationery wastes--and hello, that's not hard when it's the one "paper" thing that's prominent at your wedding--invitations!

I've heard of brides turning RSVP cards into postcards, so as not to use an additional envelope, and brides not using an inner envelope at all, and even brides listing their website or email for RSVPs on the invitation instead of using RSVP cards at all. I think these are all wonderful ideas and great ways to save a tree.

But you've got to wonder, is getting rid of stationery altogether and sending an email just going too far? I would say yes, except for a few circumstances. Are the only people going to your wedding immediate friends and family you see everyday? Like a total of 10? Maybe ok. Can you only have a wedding on a $500 budget? Maybe ok. But in pretty much all other circumstances, you don't want your guests feeling like you emailed everyone in cyberspace an invite, just so that those who obviously would never come would send you a gift. Plus it's super impersonal and probably doesn't save a tree, because they print out the invite and stick it on their fridge to remember the date anyway.

However, there is a place (or event rather) where I would say to take advantage of websites like Evite.com and their many beautiful online invitations--every engagement party, bachelorette party, wedding shower, or other small wedding "party". People aren't expecting any special expensive invite for these! Most people planning these simply pick them up at a local party store for a few dollars. And you likely do have emails for anyone who's close enough to you to be attending. Oh, and it saves a tree, lol. I'm actually thinking of doing online invitations for our engagement party, well or at least telling our mothers to use them, because it's way easier, and well it's probably one of very few things I'm doing to save the world these days.

So e-vites, in my opinion (and no I'm not always right, so don't be offended if you disagree please), should not be used in place of your wedding invitation, but have their own rightful place in the wedding scheme of things at your other wedding events.