Guide
The honest answer is that they do different jobs. Paper is the invitation; the website is everything after it. Most UK couples now use both, and this page explains the split.
| Wedding website | Paper | |
|---|---|---|
| The invitation moment | A link can't sit on a mantelpiece. Nothing digital matches a printed invitation arriving in the post. | This is paper's job, and it does it better. Keep the invitation on paper if it matters to you. |
| RSVPs | Guests reply from their phone in under a minute, with meal choices attached. You see live totals and chase only the people who haven't answered. | Reply cards need stamps, a return address, legible handwriting and a spreadsheet at your end. Replies trickle in for months. |
| Information that changes | Timings, parking, taxi numbers and accommodation get edited once and every guest sees the update. | Printed details are frozen the day they're posted. Any change means a round of messages anyway. |
| Directions and maps | A tappable map, the postcode for the satnav, and the nearest station, all on the page guests already have open. | A printed map insert, retyped into a phone on the morning of the wedding. |
| Photos | A shared album guests upload to during and after the day. | Not something paper attempts. |
| Cost | Free for a small wedding; a one-off payment for larger ones. | Printing, envelopes, postage both ways, and reprints if anything changes. |
Send a paper invitation (or save-the-date) with a QR code on it. The paper does the ceremony of inviting; the QR code lands guests on a page with the RSVP, the schedule, the map, the gift list and, later, the shared photo album.
You keep the keepsake and lose the reply cards, the chasing and the reprints. Guests get one place to check details on the day instead of hunting for an invitation that’s still on the fridge at home.
For the QR side of this, our guide to setting up a wedding QR code covers printing it on table cards and inserts.