Getting ready to send your wedding invitations? Once you've picked the perfect invitation design, then comes the next step: collecting guests' mailing addresses. Rather than spending hours contacting each guest individually and asking "I need your address" (either via email, text, or a phone call—all are way too time-consuming!), it's simplest and easiest to get addresses for wedding invitations digitally.
Many online tools out there provide this digital address-collection service for free; most are essentially like sending out a mass email to your wedding guests and then compiling the gathered addresses for you in one convenient place. To help you sort through the different options, we created this step-by-step guide to the two best services that solve the problem of how to get addresses for wedding invitations. This way, you can check this pesky task off your wedding to-do list and move on to the next phase of wedding planning.
Option 1:
Minted's Digital Address Collection Cards
Minted's Digital Address Collection Cards speed up the address-gathering process so you don't have to call or text each person asking them "I need your address.” Best of all, this handy address-collection tool is free. Here's our easy, step-by-step guide.
Once you've created your wedding guest list, start by gathering everyone's email address in one place, either in a spreadsheet or your Minted Address Assistant (a.k.a. online address book). Next, email guests a Digital Address Collection Card by following these steps:
1. Choose a Digital Address Collection Card design.
We recommend choosing a design that matches your Minted wedding invitations—this way, you're giving guests a little peek at the wedding invitation to come. Or, if you haven't committed to a final invitation design just yet, then choose an Address Collection Card design that complements your overall wedding theme. Minted has a variety of stylish designs available that pair perfectly with every wedding aesthetic: lush greenery and botanicals, elegant calligraphy, classic gold borders, tropical leaves, modern typography, and rustic wildflowers, just to name a few.
2. Email it to your guests.
Add everyone's email addresses and Minted will email your digital card for you; or, you can email your guests the customized URL directly.
3. Guests will enter their mailing information.
When your guest receives your pre-invitation email message, they will be prompted to provide their postal address on an online reply card. Their addresses will be saved in your online address book for you to use for your wedding invitations and any other wedding stationery you might send at a future date (rehearsal dinner invitations, thank you cards, etc.). You can even keep track of who has and who hasn’t updated their addresses, in case you need to follow up.
4. Minted will address your wedding invitation envelopes.
Once everyone has added their addresses, Minted will print your save the date, invitation, and thank you card envelopes in any style or font—for free.
Option 2:
Google Forms
Another easy method to quickly gather guests' mailing addresses electronically (for free) is to use Google Forms. Here's how to do it:
1. Create a new Google Form.
We recommend creating a separate email account that's solely for wedding planning; use it to communicate with wedding vendors and also use that email address to create a Google Form to collect guests' addresses. Name your new form using your first names and "wedding" ("Sarah & Isaac's Wedding"), followed by a line explaining that you're using the form to collect their snail-mail addresses for your wedding invitations, which will come in the mail shortly.
2. Request guests' mailing addresses.
Be sure to include the following fields below for guests to fill out; we recommend making all fields required except for the “Address (line 2)” so guests don't accidentally miss a section. Bonus: Another benefit to using a form to gather guests' addresses is that since each guest is responsible for entering their own information, you will have the correct spelling of everyone's names (translation: you won't have to guess how to spell anyone's name and are guaranteed no misspelled invitation envelopes!).
- First name
- Last name
- Address (line 1)
- Address (line 2)
- City
- State (abbreviated)
- Zip code
3. Link the form to a spreadsheet.
Once you've finished creating your address-collection form, click the "Responses" tab and then the green box below, which will instantly create a connected spreadsheet—this is where all of your guests' responses will be auto-populated once they enter their information.
4. Send the link to guests.
Once you're ready to send your form, click the link icon to create a URL that you can share directly with guests (we recommend also selecting “shorten URL” to make the web address shorter and more manageable). Copy the link and send it to your wedding guests, either via email or text (whichever seems easier to you). When guests click the link (they do not need a Google account to complete the form), they will be prompted to fill out the form and it will immediately auto-populate your spreadsheet of guests' addresses. (Tip: That spreadsheet can then be uploaded to Minted's online address book and the company will print your wedding invitation, save the date, and thank you card envelopes for free. The addresses will also be saved for fast-forward-into-the-future mailings, like holiday cards and even birth announcements!)
One thing to note is that if you have some wedding guests who might not be super tech-savvy, then it is best to go the old-fashioned route and reach out to them directly with a phone call for getting addresses for your wedding invitations. If those guests are family members or, say, your parents' friends, consider asking a parent to call them on your behalf; this way, you'll be able to divvy up the address-gathering tasks and collect them more quickly.
