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Ditch Invitations and Go Paperless at MyEvent.com

July 14, 2008 By: Anna14 Comments

brides f10n4
I am in the throws of planning a Bar Mitzvah and have made a commitment to make this one as green as possible. For those who do not know a lot about a bar mitzvah, the amount of detail involved is similar to a wedding. It is a ritual in Judaism when a boy reaches the age of 13 (and a girl, the age of 12), that he has come of age to observe the commandments of the Torah. Today the ritual has been expanded to include a religious service led by the child and a party or reception afterwards. For a 101 on bar mitzvahs, read here.

Each bar mitzvah (this being my third), I try to do something different.

First Son’s Bar Mitzvah, Clever, Not So Green.

The first son’s theme was puzzle pieces reflecting the various pieces of his life. I cut out 200 plus puzzle pieces, strung them on a white ribbon as a necklace. Each puzzle piece identified how the guest was part of my son’s life whether the guest was family or friends from his soccer team or nursery school.

Second Son, Getting There but Made Carbon Footprint Faux Pas.

The second son had a DVD invitation which featured a montage of his life. Since his bar mitzvah project was both the Nike Recycle-a Shoe program that I discussed in this article and recycling electronic media through GreenDisk ( see my GreenDisk article), we decided to enclose a self-addresses envelope to return the DVDs for recycling. I did receive many of the DVDs back. In reflection, my carbon creative footprint was huge. Not only did I create a product that could have ultimately ended up in the trash, I requested that they re-mail the DVDs back to me! What was I thinking?

Third Time Around, Let’s Go Paperless.

This go around I have been looking at my own carbon footprint in preparing for this party. The most obvious change that I could make was to go paperless with my invitations. Not only would it save me money, but it would lessen my footprint from taking down a few trees in the name of invitations that either are thrown out or recycled. No more DVDs for me. (Although, I have to admit, it was a pretty clever invitation.)
I started to research what was available online that would accomplish my needs for the bar mitzvah. I am fortunate that I have a lot of cousins; however, many are from out of town. They all fly in for the weekend, and we literally go from one meal to the other. So, yes there is a lot of partying the whole weekend. Quality time with your relatives.

I needed a program that would allow me to give everyone notice of all the weekend events. I could have used a WordPress blog template but I wanted something a little more private and finally found three sources to use: Myevent.com, E-vite, and Pingg. Both Pingg and E-vite are free. Other e-vite type alternatives are listed on Evite Alternatives, which includes among many MyPunchbowl, Renkoo, and Socializr.

Since I have five different events planned, Pingg and E-vite do not work for me. With these two services, I would have to send out a separate invitation for each event. On the other hand, I could create an easy website with Myevent.com of all of my events, upload photos and a video montage of his life. It would make my life and my guests lives easier as well. Read on about all the great features that Myevent.com contains to make this special website for my son.

What Makes MyEvent.com Special?

This website provides templates for weddings, bar mitzvahs, or any event from reunions to corporate events. I chose one of the templates and altered its colors for my taste. In a matter of hours I was able to customize my website with all of the various basic features. I am no techie, so if I can do it so can you.

You can have a flash intro and your choice of music to play as your guest browse through the website. Your welcome page can include pictures, text, and video uploads from YouTube or Google. My son’s page contained another montage of his life which I uploaded through google video along with a welcome letter.
In addition to the welcome letter, you can include a poll. Many people think my son looks like one of my other children or me, so I included a poll as to whom he resembles the most. I included the “milkman” to be funny but it is actually receiving the most votes.You can also include a quiz about your child’s interest which is fun for his classmates. He chose 4 different items about himself.

There is even a page for you to upload pictures of your family and friends. Uploading was very easy. All I had to do was to click the particular picture on my computer and click the word “submit.” The picture instanly appeared on my site.

My favorite section was the details of event sections. I entered all the different events on this page, attached a map for directions, as well as a picture of the venue. My guests could easily scan all the event of the weekend. Forget about printing those direction cards!

The site also contains the option of RSVP-ing by email to the broadcast you send out or to the website only. A link to the website is included in your broadcast of the invitation. I chose the website RSVP but I still receive notifications through my email so I can track visitors through another type of software (excel). All my events are listed on the RSVP so if you are an out of town guest or family, you would rsvp to those events specifically for you.

The website tracks your guests’ RSVPs for each event. I am using excel so I can have an instant number of guests attending each event without hand counting the guests. There is even a message board so people can leave messages. Unfortunately, they can not upload their own pictures with their messages.
Similar to any other website, there is a contact page. Your guests can easily contact you with questions. If the website does not have a template for a page you want for your site, then you can create your own additional pages. Don’t like a template page like polls, then remove it from your website.

The second part of the website is the planning part where you can upload an excel guest list by emailing the company or entering in the names by hand. Make sure you follow the format that they suggest.
I can view at anytime, a report as to who has RSVPed as well as edit RSVPs. Some of my guests RSVPed twice to the same events.

Invitations can be sent out by each event or a broadcast can be sent out for all of the parties. I chose the broadcast method because I thought it was too cumbersome to send out invitations for each event. The only problem I had with this is that the email did not include all the names of the family members that I invited. It was just a single email to the email recipient. If every family member had their own email then this would not be a problem. I had to send out another broadcast to those guests whose whole family was invited.

Want More Features?

If these features are not enough, you can upgrade to the premium features which include a blog, a feed for the blog, budget tool, and increased number of photos to upload, a message board, and other features. In addition, you can create your own header and send it to the company who will upload it for you. Still not satisfied with the website designs, the company can create one for you for an additional charge.

Not sure that this concept is for you? No problem, There is a free 7 day trial so you can play around with the site to see if it meets your expectations. Check out some of the websites created on the site.
What has my experience been so far? Terrific. The customer service has been wonderful to deal with. I can email or call them with any questions. My guests love the site. Some think I created it all by myself ( yeah, in my sleep.)

The basic monthly price is $9.95 and the upgraded website is $14.95 a month. So, have an upcoming party, reunion, business event, baby shower, wedding or bar mitzvah? Consider using MyEvent.com. Convenience wrapped up in one paperless green site sure to tread lighter on Mother Earth, the orginal party girl.
So, what is your favorite way to make and/or send invitations that are kinder to the Earth?

Photo by permission of Fiona Wilkerson

Similar Posts:

  • Pingg Paperless Invitations: Even Your NonGreen Critics Will Love
  • Greenfield Paper’s Grow A Notes: Why Trash? Just Plant.
  • ECHOage Eco-Friendly Birthday Parties: Teaching Children to Give Back
  • Thank You Notes Via Email? Are They Eco-Proper?
  • HealthyToys.org’s 2008 Holiday Expanded Toy Database

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About Anna

Anna Hackman is the editor of Green Talk, and owner of The Naked Botanical and a avid (okay obsessed) gardener. She also loves video and podcasting and hosts Green Talk TV and Green Talk Radio. Her most important role is being a mother of four boys.

Chat with her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest , and Google+.

Comments

  1. 1

    DEathmitten says

    July 16, 2008 at 10:50 pm

    The problem is of course with those of us who don’t have computers (obviously not me, but some people, especially here in Russia, don’t).

    So, paperless, linked with a limited-run of invitations on recycled paper, perhaps?

    DEathmitten’s last blog post..Gochi Scientific Study Accepted For Publication

    Reply
  2. 2

    Greenbaby says

    July 19, 2008 at 1:12 pm

    We especially love the fact that sending email invitations means saving time, money AND the planet. Those are our favorite green solutions!

    We at greenbabyguide.com would like to personally invite you to join our frugal, eco-friendly blog carnival! Starting on July 24th, any blogger can get a piece of the action by joining our “Thrifty Green Thursday” blog carnival. Just write a post on a simple way that families (or individuals for that matter) can save money while going green on your blog. Then just follow the simple steps below:

    1. Post a comment on The Green Baby Guide’s Thursday post and share your blog’s Thrifty Green topic. Readers can click on your name to read your clever frugal tips.

    2. Be sure to post a link back to us in your post.

    3. If you want, copy the “Thrifty Green Thursday” image onto your Thursday post.

    If you have any questions or input, please comment here or email us atgreenbabyguide@gmail.com. Welcome to the carnival!

    Reply
  3. 3

    Green Talk says

    July 19, 2008 at 2:51 pm

    Greenbaby, sound like a great idea. I am sure I am learn alot from my fellow thrifty green bloggers. Anna

    Reply
  4. 4

    Kate says

    July 20, 2008 at 12:23 am

    I think what you are doing is GREAT! I would love to share your story at http://www.greenmitzvot.com – a new free website that helps families plan eco-friendly bar and bat mitzvah celebrations. If you are interested please contact me at Kate@greenbarmitzvahs.com

    Reply
  5. 5

    mojo says

    August 11, 2008 at 6:24 am

    Those idea puzzle is realy briliant.The pieces of story…Nice

    Reply
  6. 6

    Stan Brower says

    December 16, 2008 at 3:32 am

    Sending invitations through is a great Idea, saving paper most importantly.Also you can save money as well as time through e-mail.Its good to see people use technology for the betterment of the environment.

    Reply
  7. 7

    James keller says

    December 19, 2008 at 2:50 pm

    The puzzle Idea is great.Seems fun and meaningful.I strongly support all means of preservation of the environment.Lets hope more people open up to the idea and take similar steps, doesn’t matter if they are too small to make a difference.Even the ocean is made up of water droplets

    Reply
  8. 8

    depilacion laser says

    December 30, 2008 at 9:34 am

    very interesting explanation about these sites. I found your site very interesting and I found very good information

    Reply
  9. 9

    Sherlyn Borkgren Photography says

    October 23, 2009 at 12:32 am

    Sherrlyn of http://www.BorkgrenPhoto.net says…While it is oh so nice to get a thank you note in the mail and there is something even sweet about writing it out, you can tell your guests in an email why you decided to email thank yous. There is also recycled cards or you could make some to mail. Either way it’s all about your love and all your guest will see that you have tons of it.

    Reply
  10. 10

    Charlie@Birthday Parties says

    January 14, 2010 at 2:51 am

    This seems like a fantastic way to easily organize a children’s party and with so many people – both young and old – getting used to using social network sites, this style of invitation could be used more and more in the near future.

    The MyEvent.com website looks really simple to use and has whole host of features to use depending on the party you are planning. I think it will be a great success for people wanting a special day for their loved ones.

    Reply
  11. 11

    Kim says

    July 28, 2010 at 7:51 am

    http://www.cocodot.com is a great site for upscale online invites!!!!

    Reply
    • 12

      Green Talk says

      July 28, 2010 at 6:57 pm

      Kim, how does it differ from Ping, e-invite, etc. Anna

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Is it Eco-Proper to Send an Email Thank-You's? | Green Talk says:
    February 12, 2009 at 9:56 pm

    […] I even became a celeb since people were remarking how cool they thought the website was. (See my article here about the […]

    Reply
  2. Greenfield Paper’s Grow A Notes: Why Trash? Just Plant. | Green Talk™ says:
    July 28, 2009 at 2:13 pm

    […] was no paper, whether it was recycled content or not.   The invitation was a web page created on Myevent.com.  Inexpensive, creative and definitely a big […]

    Reply

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