Paper Invitations vs. Evite

[pearlieq]

It just depends on the event.

I prefer Evites for casual events (non-milestone birthdays, bbq's, etc.) because all of the details are easily accessible and I can usually see who else is coming, etc.

Paper invitation are better for formal events. They feel more special. They're usually pretty. It would be a little lame to get an Evite to someone's wedding.

That being said, I HATE Facebook invites. They're not terribly user-friendly, for the host or the guest.

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

and we also had a couple of people try and add invitees (saying, "oh, I see you left off so-and-so, so I passed this on and invited her")!!

With Paperless Post, you can keep the invite list private.

How about 'I don't care the method, I'm just honoured to be thought of to be invited.

Sorry I am not voting as I'll go to either invited event if I can make it.

I use it all. Paper, evite, facebook, etc.

I don't get uptight over how somebody invites me to a function. I am just honored I am invited.

To not go because somebody doesn't do something the way you would do it (either electronically or by paper) is childish and and you are only hurting yourself by establishing a reputation and missing out on some good times.

And I didn't even know you could use facebook to invite people to things. I must be older than I thought!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Other...

I would rather have a "text message invite". That way I have it on my phone.

Now if it is wedding or something "formal" a paper invite is always better for me.

I don't tend to check my FB or emails everyday so I might miss your party or see the invite too late, which is why I would prefer a text message on my phone.

 

[Ceila]

Paper
If I get an evite, I won't attend.

Well, with an attitude like that, you may not be missed anyway.

I honestly can't believe how many people get their panties in a wad over what kind of invitation they get. Why do some people assume that an evite means that the guest list wasn't carefully considered? Or that there is no theme? Or that any random person can just show up? None of those are true, yet are used as rationalizations for disliking electronic invitations. Don't you just hate it when folks base their opinions on made-up facts? Sure, those things can happen, but it isn't limited to evites and it certainly isn't the case for all of them, either.

 

[Tara922c]

Paper
If I get an evite, I won't attend.

Evite to a wedding, tacky.

Evite to a casual BBQ for no particular reason other than to have a BBQ, perfectly acceptable.

 

[Robbi]

Well, with an attitude like that, you may not be missed anyway.

I honestly can't believe how many people get their panties in a wad over what kind of invitation they get. Why do some people assume that an evite means that the guest list wasn't carefully considered? Or that there is no theme? Or that any random person can just show up? None of those are true, yet are used as rationalizations for disliking electronic invitations. Don't you just hate it when folks base their opinions on made-up facts? Sure, those things can happen, but it isn't limited to evites and it certainly isn't the case for all of them, either.

And I can't believe that the OP asked for opinions about paper vs. evites, I gave mine and it upsets strangers.

 

[Jennasis]

"Tacky" NEVER figures into my decisions to attend.

I have been invited to a surprise party for a sibling...a party that has a $20 cover charge. I have to fly 500 miles to get to this party that I then have to PAY to even get in to, in addition to getting a gift. I wouldn't miss the party!

I just don't care about proper v. tacky. I really don't.

YMMV.

 

[Ceila]

And I can't believe that the OP asked for opinions about paper vs. evites, I gave mine and it upsets strangers.

Upset? Um, hardly. It wasn't your opinion that is odd, it's the fact that you care so little for your friends that, heaven forbid they send you an evite, you wouldn't grace them with your presence. It's the attitude, not the opinion, that people have reacted to. Luckily, my circle of friends doesn't have anyone so rigid in their "opinions."

 

[Robbi]

Upset? Um, hardly. It wasn't your opinion that is odd, it's the fact that you care so little for your friends that, heaven forbid they send you an evite, you wouldn't grace them with your presence. It's the attitude, not the opinion, that people have reacted to. Luckily, my circle of friends doesn't have anyone so rigid in their "opinions."

None of my friends use evite. We're all mid 50s and older and follow the traditional paper invitation route.
From having read here, I've realized that it's hard to judge people's attitudes just by their posts. Example: I thought you were upset and you weren't.

 

[kwelch10377]

None of my friends use evite. We're all mid 50s and older and follow the traditional paper invitation route.
From having read here, I've realized that it's hard to judge people's attitudes just by their posts. Example: I thought you were upset and you weren't.

So I have a question, if one of your younger relatives (i.e. niece or nephew) who may not follow the traditional paper invitation route sent you an evite for say a BBQ or a non-milestone birthday, would you not go? (I'm not giving you a hard time, just curious)

 

[ShelsGoingToDisney]

I don't care what form the invitation comes in. What I want is the option to RSVP via email. I am hearing impaired so if you only give a phone number to RSVP then I have to rely on my DH to do that and he's not that reliable about that type of stuff! If you put down your email I will probably be the first to RSVP! I am a great RSVP'r as long as I can email!

 

[Hrhpd]

None of my friends use evite. We're all mid 50s and older and follow the traditional paper invitation route.
From having read here, I've realized that it's hard to judge people's attitudes just by their posts. Example: I thought you were upset and you weren't.

I am also in the 50's crowd. We are all tech savy, so use all combinations of invites.

We have a yearly block party pot luck - all evites. We used to send out paper invites to each house, but it was requested by the other old geezers that we are that we do it electronically so it is easier to track who is bringing what food. It makes it so much easier to organize.

Went to a beloved person's celebration of life last month - all done through evite.

Not once did I feel marginalized because we old geezers have stayed up with the times and use available technology.

Oh hell, my aunts and uncles - in their 70's - are planning a huge family reunion and 70th birthday party for the youngest sibling. They have set up a facebook event and sent out evites. The family is huge and they are literally in all corners of the world, so sending paper invites would have been crazy. And these people are sticklers for proper etiquette. They even break their bread before buttering it

So, don't blame your opinions on the generation. I would even venture to say that the majority of our generation do not share the same opinion that you do.

 

[Robbi]

So I have a question, if one of your younger relatives (i.e. niece or nephew) who may not follow the traditional paper invitation route sent you an evite for say a BBQ or a non-milestone birthday, would you not go? (I'm not giving you a hard time, just curious)

We pretty much all live in the same town and see each other frequently. Even the younger crew sends paper invites.

I am also in the 50's crowd. We are all tech savy, so use all combinations of invites.

We have a yearly block party pot luck - all evites. We used to send out paper invites to each house, but it was requested by the other old geezers that we are that we do it electronically so it is easier to track who is bringing what food. It makes it so much easier to organize.

Went to a beloved person's celebration of life last month - all done through evite.

Not once did I feel marginalized because we old geezers have stayed up with the times and use available technology.

Oh hell, my aunts and uncles - in their 70's - are planning a huge family reunion and 70th birthday party for the youngest sibling. They have set up a facebook event and sent out evites. The family is huge and they are literally in all corners of the world, so sending paper invites would have been crazy. And these people are sticklers for proper etiquette. They even break their bread before buttering it

So, don't blame your opinions on the generation. I would even venture to say that the majority of our generation do not share the same opinion that you do.

Since I repair computers, I think that I'm pretty tech savvy.

Even the younger generation send paper invitations. I know this because my sons have their own homes but sometimes we receive invitations at our house for them. All I can share is my experience and those of the close friends and family I see on a frequent basis. Maybe we just like to follow tradition. If your family, friends, etc like evite, I'm happy for you.

 

[dawnball]

Between four email accounts, I easily get 200 emails a day. I will lose your Evite in the shuffle if you send it weeks ahead of time. A paper one has never gotten lost. It either goes on the refrig or somewhere of note as well as being marked on a calendar (or two).

This is really a cultural/preference thing, I think. I get lots of email, but I keep up with it, so right now I have 5 emails in my inbox. When an invitation comes in, it sits in my inbox until we make a decision, I RSVP, put it on the correct (electronic) calendar and move it out of the inbox.

Paper goes on my fridge or front door to die. We had an event invitation on our fridge for awhile, pending a final decision. Everything lined up, we went to RSVP - and we'd already booked a conflict on the calendar. With an electronic invitation, we wouldn't have missed it. With an electronic invitation, the barrier to RSVPing is lower, too. Click yes or no. Or reply "We'd love to come, see you then!" and go on.

It is so much easier to ignore pertinent information when we are inundated with electronic information.

In my experience, that depends on how the electronic information is handled and displayed, actually. Some evite-style invitations can be really confusingly laid out. But so can printed ones.

Printed to me stands out and means more to me than electronic. It tells me that someone took time and effort out to hand address and place a stamp on their envelope. It makes me feel good inside to think they thought of me while doing it.

I have paper invitations right now for my daughter's birthday party. They're provided by the martial arts school, and I hate them. They're glossy, so I can't run them through my printer (although I might try!) So I have to hand-write each one. My hand cramps and spasms if I try to write more than one at a time. There's no way I'm going to hand-write the address on the envelopes, too.

Evites can just be copy and pasted to 20 and just does not feel that special.

If I did a paper invitation, it would be a mail merge. A very attractive mail merge, with script fonts that mimic handwriting well, but there's no more interaction on my part than an evite. Would that change how special you found them?

 

[ckay87]

Hey I don't care, I'm just happy to be invited! I don't understand how inviting someone electronically is less personal? Someone thought of you and addressed you personally. They simply used your email address rather than your street address .

If I sit here and type "Hey SPECIFIC.USERNAME, You are a real jerk," does that sound personal? I'm doing it electronically.

 

[okeydokey]

None of my friends use evite. We're all mid 50s and older and follow the traditional paper invitation route.
From having read here, I've realized that it's hard to judge people's attitudes just by their posts. Example: I thought you were upset and you weren't.

Ah, so you have never actually blown off an event that used evite, because you have never received an evite. I think you implied that you were in the habit of not going to any party where a paper invitation was not sent. It made you sound stuck up and inflexible, where in fact it was just a hypothetical to you.

One day you may be invited electronically to a birthday or graduation party and then you may really have to choose whether to attend or not based on how you were invited.

 

[lovemygoofy]

I'm just easy going and happy to receive invites. I don't care if people call, text, email, evite or send me something carved with date and time.

I actually don't like paper invites anymore because I don't like clutter. I admire wedding invitations for about 30 seconds and think "what should I do with it now?"

I love how some people are so anti evite because it's impersonal. The formal invitations we get during the year aren't even addressed by the sender. That invitations are farmed out to someone that can do the scrolly writing thing. Is that any less impersonal when it comes from a third party?

I got an evite last week from an 80 year old retired miltary person. He takes great pride that he is "up on the hip and trip" as he calls it. I don't care how he invites me somewhere as long as he still thinks to invite us.

 

[clori]

I recently received an einvite to a bar mitzvah. I was confused at first because the mother had mentioned ordering invitations. What really confused me though was I did not know who was invited -me, me and dh, or me, dh, and 1 or both girls. The next day I was hand delivered a written invitation. The outer envelope said the xxx family so I knew who was invited. It had a RSVP card and envelope without a stamp. The RSVP card said to RSVP via the einvite. I did not mind either type of invitation but it was the first time receiving an einvite to a formal event so I will admit being surprised.

 

[Hoodie]

I prefer evite. I don't have to worry about losing the invite this way

This made me laugh because I ALWAYS lose evite invitations. They end up buried in my inbox so I'm always calling the host to confirm time, place, etc.

I like paper because it immediately goes on the fridge so I can pull it off the day of to confirm time and directions (if needed).

 

[msjprincess]

We pretty much all live in the same town and see each other frequently. Even the younger crew sends paper invites.



Since I repair computers, I think that I'm pretty tech savvy.

Even the younger generation send paper invitations. I know this because my sons have their own homes but sometimes we receive invitations at our house for them. All I can share is my experience and those of the close friends and family I see on a frequent basis. Maybe we just like to follow tradition. If your family, friends, etc like evite, I'm happy for you.

So who is it that is sending you evites?