Can you send save the dates by text, email or WhatsApp?

Is a save the date by message acceptable?

It is. The save the date carries one piece of news, the date, and the invitation that follows is where the formal part happens. Bridebook's UK guide to wedding invitations, last updated on 16 September 2026, says digital invitations are fast becoming the norm, though for many couples nothing beats a paper invitation. Its advice on saving money on stationery, updated on 13 July 2026, suggests considering paperless for save the dates in particular, under the heading "Go paperless".

If an older relative would rather have a card, post them one. If you haven't yet decided whether to send save the dates at all, start with do you need save the dates.

Should you use WhatsApp, a text or an email?

Use WhatsApp for most guests, a text for anyone who isn't on it, and email for colleagues and anyone you'd never normally message, where a text from you out of the blue would feel odd. Ofcom's Online Nation report, published on 10 December 2025, found 90% of adults use WhatsApp, so most of your guests will be on it.

What should the message say?

Write a line or two of your own above the link, in the way you'd normally talk to that person, and send it from your own number or email address. One message to each guest or household reads better than the same one sent to everyone at once, especially when the list mixes family, friends and work. Posting it in a big family or friends group is quicker, but everyone in that group will see it, so check nobody's in there you aren't inviting.

If the link is a Save Our Date page, the chat shows a picture of your card and guests open it in their browser with no app to install. With The Letter you can make a separate link for each guest, so the envelope arrives on screen with their name on it. How to send the link on each app is on sending a save the date.

Who should still get one in the post?

Anyone who isn't online, and anyone you know would rather hold a card. Ofcom's Technology Tracker for 2024 found the share of people without internet access had fallen from 13% to 5% over five years. Ofcom also finds age is still a good guide to who's offline, more so for people over 85 than for those aged 65 to 84. It's still worth asking rather than assuming.

From your edit page you can print the same card for nothing extra, four cards to an A4 sheet that fit a C6 envelope, or as small cards with a QR code that opens the page. The formal invitation is a separate piece and can still go on paper to everyone, and save the date or invitation explains what belongs on each.

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