The Big Announcement

Evites, "save-the-date," sky-writing, hand-written notes — all of these and more are possible ways to make your big announcement. And then, there’s the Incarnation.

Let's say you've got a big announcement to make, like --

- Your destination wedding on Turks and Caicos in the Caribbean;

- The birth of your first child whom you're naming after an exotic wild flower that is indigenous to the rain forests of Brunei, or after a member of the cast of The Big Bang Theory;

- You're turning 40, and you're embracing it by inviting people to celebrate with you;

- You're opening a gluten-free bakery business;

- Or, your retirement party.

Whatever your big news might be, there are a ton of ways to get it out there these days. With all those choices, how do you pick the most effective way of getting out the word?

You could go the old school route of sending out invitations or announcements by snail mail, of course. That's classic, and shows that you took the effort.

You could send out an "Evite," or a "Save-the-date" notice through SurveyMonkey.com.

You could post the announcement on social media sites for your online "friends" to see, but you might miss grandma...