Party Planning Just Got Easier With Apple Invites

If you're the party planner in your circle of friends and family, your task may have gotten a little easier, thanks to Apple's new Invites app.

Launched in February of 2025, Invites helps you create custom invitations for any special occasion. It pulls together a few different tools from Apple's library to create a streamlined way to make sure all guests are on the same page before the big event.

Apple Invites eliminates a lot of the pain points for the party host.

In order to create an event, you need to have an iCloud+ subscription (but anyone can RSVP or join an event, subscription or not). People can create and share invitations, RSVP to events, and collaborate on shared albums and playlists for the soiree.

A standout feature to me, is the ability to collaborate on a shared album for your event. Particularly if you're the party host, you end up missing a lot of moments, or being too occupied mixing cocktails or refilling chip bowls to remember to snap all the pictures you meant to. Or maybe you got a bunch of funny group shots, but you know a guest or too might not be happy to see those photos pop up on social media, but they sill want to see them. This shared album feature is great for being able to share the captured moments that are relevant to the group who lived them.

Shared albums allow guests to upload their favourite party pics to be enjoyed by the whole group.

You can also collaborate on playlists. I'm a music snob when it comes to party playlists, so I don't want much input in this area. But as the party host you can choose to share a playlist for the party (get everyone in the right mindset as they're getting ready) and decide whether or not you want it to be a collaborative experience, or locked down to your curated picks.

The Invites app allows you to choose from premade templates, your photo library, or tap in Image Playground (Apple's AI image maker) to really personalize the invitations to the event and vibe you're going for. All guests invited can see who else is atteding, their RSVP status, driving directions, and even the forecast for the day of the event so they can plan accordingly.

You need to have iOS 18 or later to download Apple Invites and as previously mentioned, you'll have to have an iCloud+ subscription to create an invite. For friends and family using Android, you'll have the ability to share your created invitations with them through the dedicated Share feature, and then choosing whether they'll receive it via email, WhatsApp, text, etc.

And to save a lot of back and forth messaging, the party host can add a note after the invite is sent, to update everyhone attending on key changes.

Invites is very intuitive to use, it's just a matter of remembering it's there when you're planning your next gathering. It eliminates a lot of the pain-points that can fall on the party planner or host, and I think anything that makes it easier to gather with friends is a good thing!