ToGather
A mobile-first wedding invitation experience designed for hosts and guests alike.
Role
Product Designer
Timeline
8 months
Skills
User Research & Analyst
Medium & High Fidelity
Usability Testing
Prototyping
Tools
Google docs
Zoom
Figma
Figjam
The Problem
Wedding invitations have gone digital—but the experience hasn’t evolved with how people actually use them. Most tools prioritize templates and logistics over storytelling, mobile interaction, and emotional impact. For couples, this results in rigid designs and fragmented planning workflows. For guests, it means cluttered information and unnecessary friction.
This project explores how a mobile-first, interactive invitation can become a single source of truth—one that empowers couples to express their story while making it effortless for guests to engage, respond, and plan.
How might we design a single invitation experience that supports both emotional storytelling and effortless coordination?
Speaking to Users
I approached research by separating hosts and guests—because their needs, while connected, are not the same. Couples were managing complexity behind the scenes, while guests encountered the product in brief, high-stakes moments, almost exclusively on mobile.
Across interviews, one pattern stood out: stress didn’t come from planning the wedding—it came from managing tools that weren’t designed for how people actually engage. RSVP tracking required workarounds, personalization felt constrained, and mobile experiences undermined the emotional impact couples were trying to create.
These insights shaped the product direction. The opportunity wasn’t to add more features, but to design around intent: automate what creates stress, elevate what creates meaning, and treat the invitation as both a functional system and an emotional artifact.
View Affinity Diagram
Persona - Wedding couple
Olivia Jones (Bride)
“I don’t mind going digital—but it still needs to feel special, effortless, and well thought out.”
Age: 30
Occupation: Marketing Manager
Status: Recently engaged; venue booked; preparing to send save-the-dates and invitations
Location: East Coast
Bio
Olivia is a recently engaged, soon-to-be bride navigating the early planning phase of her wedding. She and her fiancé have secured a venue and are now juggling frequent vendor meetings, deadlines, and decisions—often simultaneously. While she’s genuinely excited about celebrating with her loved ones, the volume of choices and the pressure to stay on schedule feels overwhelming.
Coming from a large family spread across the U.S., Olivia values tradition and etiquette. She wants her invitations to feel thoughtful and respectful, especially for close family members. At the same time, she is budget-conscious and aware that wedding costs add up quickly. Rather than investing heavily in printed invitations for every guest, she’s considering digital save-the-dates and invitations as a practical, modern alternative—while still planning to send physical copies to a small, intimate group.
Olivia wants an invitation experience that feels intentional and elegant, not cheap or generic, even if it’s digital.
Goal
Olivia’s primary goal is to create a mobile-first wedding invitation that centralizes everything guests need in one place. She wants the invitation to look polished and high-end, while remaining affordable—or ideally free.
Because she’s already managing multiple vendors and timelines, Olivia is actively seeking true automation. She wants an invitation platform that reduces mental load, handles RSVP logistics seamlessly, and minimizes manual follow-ups, so she can focus on other planning priorities.
Behaviors
Olivia and her fiancé have a large and diverse guest list, including friends, extended family, and plus-ones. Gathering contact information is an ongoing process, and many guests’ phone numbers or email addresses aren’t readily available at the start.
Once contact information is collected, Olivia prefers to use it efficiently—sending invitations digitally, tracking RSVPs in real time, and avoiding redundant communication. She expects tools to adapt to her workflow, not the other way around, and becomes frustrated when platforms promise convenience but require manual workarounds.
Frustrations & Needs
• Feels stressed when digital invitations don’t translate well on mobile
• Frustrated by platforms that limit customization but still
feel generic
• Dislikes having to manage RSVPs across spreadsheets, texts, and emails
• Wants reassurance that guests won’t miss important details
Persona - Guest
James Smith (Guest)
“I’m excited to celebrate—but I want everything I need in one place, without extra steps.”
Age: 31
Occupation: Data Analyst
Location: West Coast
Bio
James is a tech-savvy young professional living on the West Coast. He typically attends one or two weddings a year, often traveling out of state with his girlfriend. When attending weddings, he is responsible for coordinating flights, hotels, and time off work, which adds friction to what should be a celebratory experience.
James is a college friend of Olivia’s and first learned about her engagement through Instagram. While he’s genuinely happy for her, weddings are not a central focus in his life—he sees them as meaningful social commitments that should be easy to plan around, not time-consuming projects.
Goal
James’s primary goal is to minimize time and cognitive effort when responding to and planning for a wedding. He wants to quickly understand what’s required of him and move on with confidence that he hasn’t missed anything important.
He values:
A clear, uncluttered RSVP flow that takes seconds to complete
A registry that’s accurate and updated in real time,
so he doesn’t need to second-guess gift availability
One-tap calendar integration, eliminating the need to manually add events
A single source of truth for key details (date, location, dress code, schedule)
James especially appreciates when travel and accommodation recommendations are included directly in the invitation, saving him the effort of researching logistics on his own.
Behaviors
James rarely checks physical mail and strongly prefers paperless communication. Digital invitations feel natural and expected to him, especially when they are optimized for mobile.
He checks his phone frequently throughout the day and is highly comfortable with common mobile gestures and interaction patterns. He quickly notices when an interface feels cluttered, repetitive, or unintuitive—and disengages if he has to revisit the invitation multiple times to confirm basic details. James values thoughtful design that anticipates his needs and respects his time.
Frustrations & Needs
Frustrated by invitations that bury key information across multiple pages
Dislikes re-opening invitations to reconfirm dates, locations, or timing
Annoyed by manual calendar entry and outdated registry items
Expects modern digital experiences to “just work” on mobile
Competitor Research
Identifying gaps in today’s digital wedding invitation landscape
Pros
• Proven demand for digital wedding invitations
• Rich feature sets covering invitations, RSVPs, and registries
• Broad aesthetic coverage from minimal to decorative
• Accessible pricing models for budget-conscious couples
Cons
• Customization is constrained by rigid templates
• Editing flows are often complex or unintuitive
• Mobile experiences feel like adaptations, not first-class designs
• DIY tools trade flexibility for usability
• Platforms optimize for scale, not personalization
Opportunity Gap
Existing platforms either prioritize scale over personalization or flexibility over usability, resulting in fragmented and non-intuitive mobile experiences. There is a clear opportunity for a mobile-first invitation system that combines thoughtful design, real-time guest interaction, and seamless end-to-end flow in one cohesive experience.
Product Direction
Smart RSVP
Couples need automated RSVP tracking because manual follow-ups create unnecessary stress and errors during wedding planning.
Mobile-First Experience
Couples need control over the mobile invitation experience because most guests view invites on their phones and desktop-first layouts weaken first impressions.
Calendar & Map Integration
Guests need one-tap access to calendars and maps because manual entry increases friction and leads to missed or incorrect details.
True Personalization
Couples need to express personality beyond templates because fonts and colors alone can’t convey the meaning of their celebration.
Defining User Journey
Website template builder wireframes
View Couple Journey Map
View Guest Journey Map
The foundation is set. The prototype is on its way.
The experience has been fully defined through research and flows, interactive prototype coming soon.
Yay! We've made it to the finish line. Say 👋 hi!
renee.kim0921@gmail.com