How to Send Digital Wedding Invitations in the UK — Day & Evening Guest Guide
If you're planning a British wedding, you know the tradition: your ceremony and wedding breakfast guests receive a "day invitation," while additional guests invited only for the evening reception get an "evening invitation." It's a time-honoured way to manage both intimate ceremony moments and a larger celebration.
The challenge? Managing these two separate guest lists, two different RSVPs, and two different digital invitations can feel complicated. This guide walks you through how to send digital invitations the UK way — respecting tradition while embracing modern tools.
For more inspiration, explore How to Design Your Wedding Invitations on Canva.
We'll compare the digital invitation options available in the UK and show you how to handle the day/evening split elegantly.
For more inspiration, explore this guide to what should be included in a wedding invitation.
Understanding UK Wedding Invitations
Before we talk tools, let's clarify what makes British wedding invitations unique.
For more inspiration, explore Catholic Wedding Invitation.
Day Invitation
Issued to guests invited for the ceremony and/or wedding breakfast (the formal daytime reception).
Traditionally includes:
- Ceremony time and location
- Reception (breakfast) location and time
- Dress code (usually formal: morning dress, lounge suit, or formal daywear)
- RSVP deadline
- Dietary requirements question
Evening Invitation
Issued to additional guests invited for the evening reception only (typically from 7 or 8 PM onwards).
Traditionally includes:
- Evening reception time and location
- Different dress code (often black tie or cocktail, less formal than day)
- Lighter refreshments (often just drinks and canapés, not a full meal)
- Usually a shorter RSVP lead time
The key difference: day guests see your commitment to your partner; evening guests celebrate with you but don't experience the ceremony or formal meal.
Many couples also send a separate invitation to the rehearsal dinner (if there is one) — another layer to manage.
Option 1: Papier (Design Only)
The reality: Papier is beautiful for physical invites, but offers no digital solution.
Pros:
- Stunning printed designs with UK aesthetic
- Includes evening invitation options specifically for British weddings
- High-quality paper and printing
- Customizable wording for different invitation types
- Trustworthy, established brand
Cons:
- Print-only — doesn't solve the digital problem
- Guests must receive physical post (slow, expensive, paper waste)
- No RSVP tracking built in — you still need a separate system
- You're paying for printing when digital would be faster
- No way to send reminders or updates to guests digitally
- Doesn't work if you want eco-friendly or instant delivery
Cost: £1–£3 per invite, plus £50+ for design
Best for: Couples wanting beautiful printed invites (often sent alongside digital RSVPs)
Option 2: Paperless Post (Aesthetically Pleasing, Pricey)
The reality: Paperless Post offers gorgeous digital invitations with UK templates, but it's expensive and doesn't excel at complex guest management.
Pros:
- Beautiful, design-forward digital invitations
- Good selection of UK and formal designs
- Tracks who's opened your invite
- Guests can RSVP directly within the invitation
- Works across devices and email
- Professional feel
Cons:
- Quite expensive for what it does (pricing increases per guest)
- Doesn't have a native "day vs evening" workflow — you have to create two completely separate invitations with separate links
- Managing two guest lists (day and evening) means essentially building two events
- No integrated gifting or registry
- Lacks people discovery — you have to manually manage your guest list
- If you're inviting some people to day and some to evening, coordination is manual
- No photo sharing or post-wedding integration
Cost: Free tier very limited; paid plans £30–£100+ depending on guests
Best for: Couples who prioritize beautiful design over functional features and have clear day/evening guest separation
Option 3: Canva + Email (Free, But No RSVP)
The reality: Design in Canva (brilliant for this), share the digital file via email, manage RSVPs elsewhere.
Pros:
- Canva has excellent UK wedding invitation templates
- Completely free design tool (premium templates cost extra)
- You can create two separate, custom invitation designs (day and evening)
- Full creative control
- No subscription costs
Cons:
- Guests receive a static image/PDF — no built-in RSVP mechanism
- You need to manage RSVPs separately (Google Forms, email replies, spreadsheet)
- No tracking of who's opened or engaged with the invitation
- Guests can't reply directly to the invitation; it's just a pretty image
- No reminder functionality
- Creates extra friction — invite is one thing, RSVP is another, completely separate
- No gifting or discovery features
Cost: Free (Canva) + cost of your RSVP tool
Best for: Graphic-savvy couples who don't mind managing RSVPs separately and want maximum control over design
Option 4: Lumhe (Per-Function RSVP, Built for UK Traditions)
The reality: Lumhe is designed specifically for celebrations with multiple events, making it ideal for UK-style day and evening invitations.
Pros:
- Per-function RSVP: Create one celebration, then add separate "functions" — day ceremony, wedding breakfast, evening reception. Each function gets its own RSVP link and guest list.
- Day vs evening clarity: Guests instantly understand which events you're inviting them to. No confusion about whether they're day-only or evening-only. You send one link; the platform shows them their specific invitations.
- Single guest management: Rather than two separate events with two guest lists, you have one celebration with multiple functions. A guest invited to day only won't see the evening function option.
- Built for UK celebrations: Supports British traditions and terminology
- Beautiful design: Modern, celebratory feel that works on mobile and desktop
- Integrated people discovery: Can't remember if you invited Aunty Susan? Lumhe suggests contacts based on mutual connections.
- Digital Lifafa (gifting): Guests can contribute gifts, send money, or donate within the same platform
- Moments: Post-wedding, your celebration becomes a permanent photo timeline that guests can add photos to
- Marketplace: Browse and book vendors (florists, photographers, caterers) directly from your celebration page
- No guest friction: Guests RSVP without creating accounts; mobile-first design
Cons:
- Newer platform in the UK — not as widely known as Paperless Post
- Requires guests to understand per-function model (though it's intuitive once explained)
- Fewer established integrations with UK vendors (yet)
Cost: Free tier available; premium plans available
Best for: UK couples planning multi-event celebrations (rehearsal dinner, day ceremony/breakfast, evening reception) or who want a single platform that works beyond this wedding
How UK Couples Are Using Lumhe for Day/Evening Splits
Here's the workflow:
1. Create your celebration (e.g., "Emma & James - Wedding")
2. Add Functions:
3. Invite guests:
- Day guests see both functions; they confirm attendance for both
- Evening-only guests see only the evening function
4. Each function has its own RSVP tracking: You see exactly who's coming to the ceremony, who's coming to breakfast, and who's attending evening only
5. Reminders go out automatically to non-responders for each function
6. Post-wedding: Your celebration becomes a permanent photo timeline (Moments); guests continue to contribute photos
This approach respects UK tradition while making the management simple.
| Beautiful design | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Day/evening workflow | ✗ | Awkward | Manual | ✓ Native |
| Built-in RSVP | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Free option | ✗ | Limited | ✓ | ✓ |
| Per-function tracking | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| People discovery | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Post-wedding Moments | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Gifting integration | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Mobile-friendly | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
How to Choose
Choose Papier if: You want stunning printed invitations and don't mind managing RSVPs separately via email or a form.
Choose Paperless Post if: Design is your top priority and you have a clear, simple day/evening split with minimal cross-over.
Choose Canva + Email if: You're design-savvy, want total creative control, and don't mind manual RSVP management.
Choose Lumhe if: You're managing multiple events (rehearsal dinner, day, evening), want native per-function RSVP tracking, value discovering guests you might've forgotten, and want a platform that grows with you (photos, gifting, vendors) beyond the wedding day.
Best Practices for UK Digital Wedding Invitations
Timing
- Day invitations: Send 8–10 weeks before the wedding
- Evening invitations: Can send 6–8 weeks before (though you may mention them earlier)
- RSVP deadline: Usually 2–3 weeks before the wedding
Wording
UK invitations tend to be more formal. Include:
Day Invitation Sample:
"Emma & James kindly request your presence at their marriage ceremony on [date] at [time] at [venue]. After the ceremony, you are cordially invited to join them for their wedding breakfast at [time] at [venue]. Black tie / Morning dress / Lounge suit requested."
Evening Invitation Sample:
"You are cordially invited to join Emma & James for an evening celebration at [venue] on [date] at 7 PM. Cocktail attire requested."
RSVP Information
Be clear about:
- Dietary requirements (separate for day and evening if applicable)
- Music requests (if relevant)
- Plus-one policy
- Children attendance (especially for evening events)
- Contact person if they have questions
Delivery Method
If you're going digital, you might:
1. Send a digital invitation link via email (works with Lumhe, Paperless Post)
2. Include a QR code in a printed card (print the card, but link to digital RSVP — hybrid approach)
3. Share via WhatsApp or text for very casual occasions (though less common for formal UK weddings)
The Evening Invitation Question
One common concern: should you send day and evening invitations at the same time, or stagger them?
Best practice: Send day invitations first (8–10 weeks out). Once you've heard back from day guests and confirmed numbers, send evening invitations to the additional guests.
This approach:
- Respects the hierarchy (day guests feel priority)
- Lets you confirm catering for breakfast before inviting evening guests
- Avoids awkwardness if a day guest's reply is "no" and you later invite them to evening only
Managing Guest Overlaps
What if someone can't come to breakfast but wants to join for evening? Or vice versa?
In Lumhe, this is straightforward: each guest gets their own RSVP page showing which functions they're invited to, but they can message you directly through the platform to negotiate attendance (e.g., "I can't do breakfast, can I come for evening?").
With Paperless Post or Canva, you'll need to handle this via email.
Final Thoughts
The UK wedding invitation tradition is beautiful, but it's also more complex than a single-event celebration. You need a tool that respects that complexity.
- For printed elegance: Papier is unbeatable.
- For digital design: Paperless Post or Canva offer beautiful options.
- For managing the day/evening split cleanly: Lumhe was built for exactly this scenario.
The best approach? Often a hybrid: print a stunning Papier invitation with a QR code or digital link pointing to your Lumhe celebration page. Guests get the tactile beauty of traditional invitations and the convenience of digital RSVP.
Ready to manage your UK day and evening RSVPs? Start with Lumhe for free — no credit card needed.
