Why an invitation should open on something closed

An animated wedding invitation works best when it opens the way a letter does: your guest breaks a seal or lifts a latch, and the invitation appears a few seconds later. At Everleigh House, the London studio that designs digital wedding invitations, most of our collections start closed for exactly that reason.

A guest opens a link with one tap. They open an envelope with a little ceremony. We wanted the second feeling, on the first.

What an envelope does that a web page does not

Think about the last paper invitation you were sent. You probably turned it over before you opened it. You noticed the weight, the stamp, the handwriting on the front, and for a moment you did not know what was inside. That pause is small, and it does a lot of work. It tells you that someone made an effort, and it asks you to pay attention before you have read a single word.

A web page skips the pause. The date and the map are on the screen the instant the link loads, which is efficient and slightly flat. More decoration does not fix that. A closed thing that the guest opens with their own hand does, and it is a large part of why a digital invitation can still feel like an heirloom.

Five openings, and what each one asks of a guest

Each collection has its own way in. A few of them:

• Amore Lario. The guest taps a gold wax seal, and a pair of ivory doors part on a watercolour Lake Como.
• La Dolce Vita. One tap lifts the latch on a pair of cobalt shutters. The music begins and the shutters swing open on the Amalfi coast.
• Chinese Happy Xi. A lacquer red parcel is stitched shut down the middle, with a red tassel at the top. As the guest scrolls, the seam gives and the wrapper tears away.
• The Wedding Times. A folded newspaper waits in its wrapper, marked as the last copy. One tap tears the band, the paper unfolds and the press prints the front page.
• Vinterlys. A key lies in fresh snow below a frosted lock. One tap sends the key into the lock, and the frost clears onto the day.

There are others. Thalassa arrives as an airmail letter closed with a scallop wax seal, Blanc Garden opens a gate of white roses, and Miroir d'Eau opens when a single drop falls on still water. You can see every collection on your phone.

Each opening matches the place and the mood of the wedding, so the guest knows something true about the day before they read a line.

Why the openings are short

An opening that runs too long becomes a loading screen with good manners. Ours last a few seconds. The guest taps or scrolls once, the invitation opens, and the details follow straight away.

Most guests will open your invitation more than once. The first time is for the feeling. The second and third times, a week before the wedding, they want the start time, the address and the dress code. Those details sit on the page under the opening, and the reply is never far from them.

Questions to ask about any animated invitation

If you are comparing digital invitations, open each one on your phone and check these things. They are true of any supplier, ours included.

• Does it open with one action? A tap, a scroll or a touch. If a guest has to work out what to do, some will give up.
• How long until the details appear? A few seconds is plenty.
• Does sound wait for the guest? Music should start after the guest taps, never before. Nobody wants a surprise orchestra on the train.
• Does it open from WhatsApp? Many guests will tap the link inside a messaging app. Send it to yourself and try.
• Can you find the reply without searching? The answer should be yes from every part of the page.
• Does the opening suit the wedding? Shutters on the coast, a key in the snow, a seal on a letter. If the opening could belong to any wedding, it tells your guests nothing.

What happens after the opening

Once the invitation is open, it does the practical work. Your guests find the day hour by hour, the venue, travel and what to wear in one place. Each guest replies on the page for their household, and if you ask, they choose a meal for each course and tell you about dietary needs. Every reply goes straight into your guest list.

The opening is the part people remember. The rest is the part that saves you from forty texts asking what time the ceremony starts.

If you want to judge an opening for yourself, try two or three collections on your phone, the way your guests will. You will know within a few seconds which one you did not want to close.