WASHINGTON – Almost everyone loves being invited to a good party, but not everyone likes the way that invitation is extended.
With the exception of weddings and religious milestones, most event invitations arrive in an email inbox.
Now, a push toward paper invitations is coming from an unexpected source.
Evite, which has revolutionized the way people send and receive invitations, is turning back technological time by offering hard copy invitations to supplement its free e-cards.
Party hosts who design digital cards on Evite also can send a printed invitation to the people on their guest lists, at a cost of $2 per invite.
WTOP asked people near the Tenleytown Metro station their thoughts on online and hard copy invites.
“Some people like printed invitations,” says Teresa. “They can carry them around. They pay more attention to things that come in the mail versus emails.”
“Sometimes it helps to have a physical piece of paper to put up on your fridge,” says Jessica Pavlick.
Karen Kelin likes the portability of printed invitations.
“If you have to go someplace, you have the invitation with you,” Kelin says.
Evite says events, such as weddings and baby showers, may merit producing an invitation as a keepsake.
But many we spoke with said “no thanks” to the idea of a paper invitation.
“I’ve got two kids and there’s a birthday party every week, and it’s all done over Evite,” says Joe McDonald.
A man who identified himself as Lee, agreed.
“Paper invites get lost, get thrown away, get mischaracterized as junk mail,” said Lee.
The president of Evite, Hans Woolley tells Mashable that Netflix hopes its green and white envelopes will evoke similar feelings to when Netflix movies arrived in red envelopes.
“When you got a [Netflix] DVD in the mail you were excited. It stood out amongst all the other mail items that you had. We’re hoping to capture a very similar sentiment,” Woolley says.
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