Quick answer
A digital wedding invitation arrives by phone or email: an image, a PDF, a video or a link to your wedding website. Send it 3 months ahead (6 with guests abroad), one by one on WhatsApp, with the guest's name, the reply-by date and the link to RSVP. Give grandparents and padrinhos a paper one too.
- before the wedding: send the invitation (6 with guests abroad)
- 3 months
- before the wedding: send the invitation (6 with guests abroad)
- contacts at most in one WhatsApp broadcast list
- 256
- contacts at most in one WhatsApp broadcast list
- of people aged 65 to 74 in Portugal used the internet in 2025 (INE)
- 60.7%
- of people aged 65 to 74 in Portugal used the internet in 2025 (INE)
What is a digital wedding invitation?
A digital wedding invitation is one you send by phone or email instead of printing and handing it over. It says what a paper one says: who is marrying, when, where and when to reply by. What changes is how it travels and how guests answer: it arrives in seconds, and guests can RSVP with one tap if the invitation carries the right link.
There are four formats, and you can combine two:
- An image, as a JPG or PNG, which opens right inside the WhatsApp chat.
- A PDF, with one or more pages, which you can also print.
- A video, with music or your own photos.
- A link to your wedding website, with the schedule, the addresses and the RSVP in one place.
In Portugal, the obvious channel is WhatsApp: in 2025, it was the social network with the highest reach in the country. WhatsApp works with any country's number, so it reaches guests abroad too. Email is for people who don't use it, and paper for people who use neither.
How do you make a digital wedding invitation?
Do it in four steps: choose the format, write the text, make the design and test it on your own phone before sending. Write the text before the design, because the text decides how much space you need.
- 1
Choose the format
An image for the look of an invitation, the website link for the replies. The four formats are compared further down.
- 2
Write the text
Your names, the date and time, the place, the reply-by date and the link. The message builder in the next section puts them in that order. For the invitation wording itself, there are examples to copy in our guide to wedding invitation wording.
- 3
Make the design
Canva has invitation templates you can edit for free; some images cost money, the page itself says. If you'd rather order one, a Portuguese online shop charged €24.95 for a digital invitation in October 2026 (a sale price) and delivers it on WhatsApp once you approve the proof.
- 4
Test it before sending
Send the invitation to yourselves. Read it on a phone screen without zooming, tap the link and check it opens. Show it to an older relative: if they get the date and the place at first glance, it's ready.
If you also want to print a few, make one design and download it twice. Canva offers JPG, which keeps files small for phones, and PDF Print, at 300 dpi with bleed and crop marks. Any print shop can print that PDF, and the paper version matches the digital one.
How do you write the invitation message for WhatsApp?
Write a short message with the guest's name on the first line, then the date, the place, the reply-by date and the link. The invitation image can go first. The message is what carries the link, because a link drawn on an image can't be tapped.
Free tool
Write your invitation message
Your message
Hi Marta, we're getting married on 26 June 2027 in Sintra, and we'd love you to be there. Our website has the times, the addresses and the RSVP. Please let us know if you can come by 15 May: ana-e-rui.joinvows.com Love, Ana and Rui
With the name at the top, the message reads as personal, and it is: it goes to one person. Change the words as you like; what must stay is the reply-by date and the link. To pick the date, count 4 to 6 weeks before the wedding, as we explain in what RSVP means and how to get replies.
Image, PDF, video or website: which format should you choose?
For most weddings, the best combination is an image of the invitation plus a message with the website link. The image gives the look of an invitation and the link handles the replies. The table shows when each format works.
| Format | Works well when | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Image (JPG or PNG) | The invitation fits on one screen and you want it visible right in the chat | Small print that forces guests to zoom on a phone; a link on an image can't be tapped |
| The invitation has several pages (schedule, map) or will also be printed | It opens outside the chat, one tap more | |
| Video | You want music or your own photos | A heavy file for guests with weak signal; the most expensive format to order |
| Website link | You want replies, schedule, addresses and gifts in one place | The site must be live before you send; changing the address later breaks the link |
Prices for each format are in the paper section further down.
A website does one thing the other formats don't: it collects replies. An image or a PDF only informs. With the link, guests tap and RSVP straight away, for themselves and anyone coming with them, and the reply is saved in a list.
In joinVows
Your website as the digital invitation
On joinVows, your wedding website sits at an address with your names, such as ana-e-rui.joinvows.com. Guests open the link on their phone, with nothing to install and no account to create, and find the date, the times and the places with maps. To RSVP, they type their name and reply for everyone on their invitation. Once you publish, the Send on WhatsApp button opens the message with the link already written.
Create a free account
How to send the invitation on WhatsApp: one by one, broadcast list or group?
Send them one by one, with each guest's name. A broadcast list saves time, but it only reaches people who have saved your number. A group is no place to invite people: everyone sees everyone's reply.
One by one
- The message carries the guest's name and reads as a personal invitation.
- It doesn't depend on the guest having saved your number.
- It takes longer. Split it: each of you sends to your own family and friends.
Broadcast list
- Up to 256 contacts per list. Each one gets it as an individual message and replies only to you.
- Only people who have saved your number in their contacts receive it. The others get nothing.
- The text is the same for everyone, with no names.
- You can only create one in the phone app, not in WhatsApp for Windows, Mac or Web.
Group
- Everyone reads everyone's replies, including the no's.
- Everyone sees who else was invited.
- Useful later, for practical notes to a small group, such as the padrinhos.
Once it's sent, tick off who has received it on your wedding guest list. Anyone who hasn't replied by the deadline gets a reminder, also by message. On joinVows, that reminder is already written in each guest's details (WhatsApp reminders).
Digital or paper invitations: which should you choose?
For most guests, digital is enough and costs less. Paper still makes sense for grandparents, the padrinhos (the couple's sponsors, often also their witnesses) and anyone who doesn't message on their phone. You don't have to pick one: digital for most, paper for a few.
What an invitation costs in Portugal in 2026
Prices read on 20 October 2026. One digital file serves every guest.
Paper has gone up: in 2026, invitations and menus rose 10%. To save money, go digital for the invitations and the save the date.
| Factor | Digital | Paper |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | €0 to €150 for the design, for every guest | €200 to €800, plus stamps if posted |
| Time | Arrives in seconds | Printing, envelopes and delivery by hand or by post |
| Replies | The RSVP link is in the invitation itself | Needs a reply card, a phone call or a printed link |
| Changes | Fix it and send it again | Means printing again |
| Older guests | Anyone who doesn't use the internet won't get it | Readable without a phone, and it can be kept |
Costs from the section above. If you post them, also allow for delivery times.
Older guests are the reason to keep some paper. In 2025, only 60.7% of people aged 65 to 74 in Portugal used the internet, according to INE, the national statistics office. Four in ten did not. And many grandparents are older than that.
Portuguese etiquette says the same. You don't need to hand invitations over in person, except to special guests such as your grandparents and padrinhos. Hand them over in person to family and your most important guests too.
When should you send a digital wedding invitation?
Send the digital invitation 3 months before the wedding, as you would a paper one, and 6 months before if guests are travelling from abroad. Arriving in seconds doesn't change the timing: guests need the same time to book leave, flights and childcare.
6 months before
Save the date
A short message with your names, the date and the town. See what to put on a save the date.
3 months before
Digital invitation
6 months before with guests abroad. The paper invitations for grandparents and padrinhos go out at the same time.
1 week before the deadline
Reminder to anyone who hasn't replied
A short message, with the link, only to those still missing.
4 to 6 weeks before
RSVP deadline
The date you wrote on the invitation.
30 days before
Final number to the venue
Check this date in your contract.
3 weeks before
Seating plan
Only with guests who have confirmed.
The invitation and the save the date can go through the same channel. If you have a website, one link serves both: in the save the date, to keep the day free; in the invitation, to RSVP.
How do you keep a digital invitation private?
Send the invitation in private messages and don't post it on social media. A public invitation tells everyone where the party is and when your home will be empty. In June 2025, Portugal's police force, the PSP, advised people to "avoid publicising absences on social media in real time" (translated from Portuguese).
Before you press send
- Don't post the invitation with the date and place on Instagram, Facebook or anywhere open to everyone. Canva offers to post it to social media for you: for a wedding, skip that option.
- Put the guest's name in the message. A forwarded file doesn't say who it was for.
- Don't put your guests in one group: each of them sees who the others are and what they reply.
- On a website, choose to let only people on your list reply. That way, a forwarded link brings no replies from people you didn't invite.
- Settle on the website address before you send. If you change it later, the old link stops working.
On joinVows, couples' websites don't appear on Google: only people who receive the link can open them. In the RSVP settings, you can choose to let only people on your list reply (share your site with guests).
FAQ
How do I make a free digital invitation for WhatsApp?
Pick an invitation template in Canva, which you can edit for free, add your names, the date and the place, and download it as a JPG. On WhatsApp, send the image to each guest, followed by a message with their name, the reply-by date and the RSVP link. The tool in this guide writes that message for you.
Where can I make wedding invitations online for free and print them?
In Canva, for example: the editor and many templates are free, and some images cost money. To print, download the design as a PDF Print file, at 300 dpi with bleed and crop marks, and take it to a print shop. Use the same design as a JPG to send by phone, so the paper and digital versions match.
Is it rude to send a wedding invitation on WhatsApp?
No, as long as the message is personal, with the guest's name, and not the same text sent to everyone. Portuguese etiquette only asks for hand delivery for a few: it isn't needed, except for special guests such as grandparents and padrinhos. Give those guests a paper invitation, in person.
How much does a digital wedding invitation cost?
It can cost nothing if you make it in Canva with a free template. In October 2026, Portuguese online shops charged €24.95 for a digital invitation (sale price), €100 for an interactive PDF and €150 for a video. On paper, invitations and stationery cost €200 to €800 for a mid-sized wedding.
Can I send wedding invitations by email?
Yes, especially to guests who don't use WhatsApp. Some couples were already sending their invitations by email in 2018. Send one email per guest, with their name at the top, the image or PDF attached and the RSVP link. Don't put every address in the same field, or each guest will see everyone else's email.
Does a digital invitation replace the save the date?
No. The save the date goes out about 6 months before and only asks guests to keep the day free. The invitation goes out 3 months before, with the place, the times and the reply-by date. Both can be digital and go through the same channel. If you have a wedding website, one link serves both.
What is the best app for making wedding invitations?
It depends on what you need the invitation to do. For the design, an editor such as Canva makes images, PDFs and videos. To collect replies, you need a wedding website or a form with a link. What matters most is the content: names, date, place, reply-by date and link, in text that reads on a phone without zooming.
Written by
Ielga OliveiraIelga Oliveira is part of the joinVows founding team. joinVows is the Portuguese wedding website platform that keeps the guest list, RSVPs, gifts and seating in one place.
Ielga writes the blog's guides from the questions couples ask us. Every price, deadline and legal rule has its source listed at the end of the article, with the date it was checked.
Sources · 14 checked for this guide
- WhatsApp Help Center: How to use broadcast listschecked 20 October 2026
- WhatsApp Help Center: About broadcast limitschecked 20 October 2026
- Pordata: Individuals aged 16 and over who use a computer and the internet, by age group (INE data)checked 20 October 2026
- Notícias ao Minuto: Facebook voltou a ser a rede social com maior notoriedade em Portugal (Marktest study)checked 20 October 2026
- casamentos.pt: Tudo o que precisam de saber sobre a entrega dos convites (delivering invitations)checked 20 October 2026
- e-konomista: Etiqueta de casamento (wedding etiquette)checked 20 October 2026
- Loja da Noiva: Quanto custa um casamento em Portugal? Contas de 2026 (wedding costs in 2026)checked 20 October 2026
- HR Portugal: Dizer sim está mais caro (wedding service prices in 2026, Fixando data)checked 20 October 2026
- Laser Madeira: Convites digitais personalizados (digital invitations)checked 20 October 2026
- Miminhos Rita Catita: Convite casamento digital interativo (interactive digital invitation)checked 20 October 2026
- Miminhos Rita Catita: Convite casamento digital vídeo (video invitation)checked 20 October 2026
- Canva: Cria fantásticos convites de casamento no Canva (wedding invitations)checked 20 October 2026
- Canva: Choose the right download file type for your Canva designchecked 20 October 2026
- Diário de Notícias: Furtos em residências estão a diminuir, mas PSP deixa dez mandamentos para um verão seguro (PSP home security advice)checked 20 October 2026
