Paperless Post: Beautiful Customizable Online Invitations for Every Occasion

Service Review

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I know things have been pretty quiet around here lately but I am very much alive folks. A quick trip back home kept me away from blogging for a few weeks.

So if you don’t know this already, I express myself best through words. I believe that I am more a writer than a talker (many who know me well may disagree since the latter classification matches my extrovert personality). But I’d say I am able to convey much more through writing than speaking and that is where I am most at ease. If you are wondering where I am going with this, today's post is all about expression and communication. 

I was recently contacted my Paperless Post, an e-commerce company based in New York City that focuses on design-driven online and printed stationery. Paperless Post partners with leading fashion designers including Kate Spade New York, Jonathan Adler and Oscar de la Renta. The company kindly credited my account with coins to try the Paperless Post service in exchange for a review on my blog.

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Let me start by saying that I was (and probably always will be) a fan of snail mail. I still have treasured stacks of hand-written letters, birthday and holiday greeting cards from my exchanges with friends and cousins during my teenage years and early adult life. Even for my own wedding, the invitation card that I distributed to my closest friends, colleagues and teachers was carefully hand-written in my signature cursive style. I am a huge fan of the old fashioned approach.

But ever since the internet took control of our lives, this tradition is slowly fading away. It isn’t really surprising. Let’s get real - in today’s fast-paced and busy world, time is a precious commodity. Sending traditional print cards requires multiple steps from selecting and buying the card from the local store to writing  a personal note, buying a stamp and then delivering it via mailbox or post office. The whole shebang takes time and money, not to mention effort.

Online cards on the other hand come at a fraction of the cost (or sometimes even free), saves on paper, are easily accessible, can be personalized, only requires an internet connection and can be sent to anyone, anywhere in an instant.

I’ll admit – as a mom of young girls, I receive a fair amount of birthday invitations. A few of them printed invitation cards and most others, digital cards (mainly sent through WhatsApp). It has happened a few times that I have misplaced the printed invites and spent a considerable chunk of time turning the house upside-down in order to find them. Digital cards on the other hand are easy to recover - all I have to do is whip out my phone and quickly re-confirm the date and time. Although printed cards do look and feel beautiful and convey a more personal touch, not too many people look back on the days of tedious envelope folding and stamp sticking with fondness.

The original artwork at Paperless Post is created by a collaborative group of artists, designers and letterers. Every year, over a thousand unique invitations and cards are designed in their in-house studio.

Using this platform, you can design & create your own invitations using an impressive selection of designs for birthdays, weddings, holidays, celebrations, parties, announcements and more.

I was pleasantly surprised to see their collection of Diwali cards. The elegant technologies and expressive designs beautifully capture the sentiment behind the invitation.

The website has an intuitive, user-friendly interface. You can fully customize the cards to suit your style and preferences. In certain card designs, you can add a photo of your choice. You can choose the backdrop, alter the lettering, change the appearance of the text by formatting (alignment, letter size, letter spacing), typefaces and color, insert motif & logo, choose an envelope as well as stamp and postmark. After you finish customizing, you have reply card options. Then it is just a matter of entering event details and add guests. 

Flyer is meant to be a more lightweight invitation, for events like a casual get-together or a low-key birthday as opposed to a formal event. In the case of flyer, you can choose gif backgrounds, add gif texts and even add your own gif stickers along with customizing information on your invitation regarding the event details.

You can plan and manage your party with online tools like:

• Immediate RSVP tracking
• Track responses and manage guest list
• Follow up and update guests with smart tools
• Communicate with guests through private and group messaging

I got creative and played around with the designs for a few days. I have a couple of favourites for Diwali, new year, save the date and birthday invitations for my twins 5th birthday in November. I also sent my brother-in-law a birthday card 😊

Check out Rifle Paper Co. for Paperless Post, a creative collaboration that instantly became a best-seller. I am not surprised because the whimsical and charming collection of flora and fauna quickly became my favourite too.

For designer wedding collections, I'd recommend Oscar de la Renta for the elegant designs.

For birthdays, Kate Spade New York has some fun and playful designs

And here are some from Meri Meri which I think are super cute.

Also check out designs from Sugar Paper, The Indigo Bunting, Jonathan Adler, Mr Boddington's Studio and more.

There are many designs that are free (if sent without any premium options). I'd say the price is pretty reasonable. You would need anywhere from 0-13 coins per card per guest depending on what options you choose. Keep in mind that if you buy more coins, the cost per coin drops significantly.

My verdict:

A traditionalist at heart, I still do prefer printed invitations and cards but among the online invitation services I've seen so far, Paperless Post with its broad range of categories and classy designs is definitely a cut above the rest.

With Paperless Post, you can customize online cards, invitations, and flyers that reflect your personal style - for important life occasions as well as meaningful events. You get beautiful designs at affordable prices along with the ease of sharing and tracking which shows that communication can be personal, well-designed  and effective regardless of the medium. I'd say that is pretty much a win-win situation overall.

Try it!

Check out Paperless Post on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. 

Cheers,

Megha

Disclaimer: I was given coins to use the service for the purpose of this review. I have not been paid to write a positive review. All opinions are 100% my own.