Thoughts On E-Vites and Weddings
Why paper when digital is cheaper, faster and more eco-friendly? Read on.
Picture this: walking to your mailbox and pulling out a big pile of envelopes. Most of them are junk mail and sometimes you receive an odd catalogue that makes you wonder, "How did Kittens.com get my home address?" But then you come across a gem--an actual letter from a real person you know.
It's a satisfying feeling.
In our increasingly paperless world, there's something to be said about the heft and tradition of paper--especially when it comes to your wedding day.
Paper is no longer relegated to the mundane duties of informing you of an upcoming sale at your local drugstore or an overdue water bill. It has transcended into something that is appreciated for what it isn't: ephemeral.
Yes, nothing on the Internet dies. These words could be Googled and found 200 years from now by my great-great-grandchild, but will they be? Probably not. The ubiquity of digital is exactly what leads to its impermanence. The more there is out there, the harder it will be to sift and, before you know it, your Google Ranking goes from Page 1 to Page 6, which is basically the same thing as not existing.
Think about how your memories are collected now. They're collected in "albums" on Facebook or Flickr, or in email threads that span 20-30 back and forth messages. Imagine sitting with your grandchild years from now and saying, "Oh, my wedding day was beautiful, check out this e-vite."
Having a paper invitation provides you with tangible evidence of a memory, something you can refer to after years have passed. When what you've served or what you wore is no longer something you can immediately recall, that saved invitation will be an invaluable artifact.
There's a reason why people keep love letters for decades,obituaries from newspapers and years and years of paperback journals documenting their lives. There's something definitive about these tiny pieces of existence--the ink on paper cries out: remember this. This is irreplaceable, important and should not be forgotten.
Our generation is so obsessed with documentation; updating our status to inform our friends of our newest acquisitions and experiences, but in doing so we're just trivializing these moments. When everything is of equal importance, nothing is.
(invitation provided by dauphine press and thoughts from Colin Cowie and Karrell Roxas)
It's a satisfying feeling.
In our increasingly paperless world, there's something to be said about the heft and tradition of paper--especially when it comes to your wedding day.
Paper is no longer relegated to the mundane duties of informing you of an upcoming sale at your local drugstore or an overdue water bill. It has transcended into something that is appreciated for what it isn't: ephemeral.
Yes, nothing on the Internet dies. These words could be Googled and found 200 years from now by my great-great-grandchild, but will they be? Probably not. The ubiquity of digital is exactly what leads to its impermanence. The more there is out there, the harder it will be to sift and, before you know it, your Google Ranking goes from Page 1 to Page 6, which is basically the same thing as not existing.
Think about how your memories are collected now. They're collected in "albums" on Facebook or Flickr, or in email threads that span 20-30 back and forth messages. Imagine sitting with your grandchild years from now and saying, "Oh, my wedding day was beautiful, check out this e-vite."
Having a paper invitation provides you with tangible evidence of a memory, something you can refer to after years have passed. When what you've served or what you wore is no longer something you can immediately recall, that saved invitation will be an invaluable artifact.
There's a reason why people keep love letters for decades,
Our generation is so obsessed with documentation; updating our status to inform our friends of our newest acquisitions and experiences, but in doing so we're just trivializing these moments. When everything is of equal importance, nothing is.
(invitation provided by dauphine press and thoughts from Colin Cowie and Karrell Roxas)
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