There's a lot to juggle when you're planning an event. Your guest list is already in Joy, and Messaging Plus puts it to work. With one purchase, you can send text blasts, RSVP reminders, and hotel reminders directly to your guests' phones, schedule messages in advance, and reach everyone without copying links, switching apps, or chasing people down one by one. Every message comes with a built-in AI writing assistant to help you get the wording just right.
Note: Guests with U.S. and Canadian phone numbers receive your messages by SMS. Guests with any other phone number receive them on WhatsApp. Joy routes each message automatically based on the number on file. You don't need to do anything differently.
Send a Text Blast
A Text Blast is a freeform message you can send to any guests on your list. Use it for general updates, logistics reminders, or anything you want to get in front of people quickly.
From your Event Dashboard, click the Messaging icon, then select Create from the dropdown, then Text Blast.
Choose your recipients
Click Select People to open the guest selector.
Search by name or tag, or click Select All to add everyone.
Check the box next to each guest you want to include, then click Select [X] People.
Guests without a valid phone number on file will be grayed out and you won't be able to select them.
Tip: To add missing phone numbers before sending, click Edit Guest List at the bottom of the guest selector.
Compose your message and choose your send time
Under Send Time, select Now to send immediately or Scheduled to choose a future date and time.
If scheduling, select your date and time. Messages send on the half hour. The earliest available slot is the next half hour after your current time. Times display in your local time zone.
In the From field, confirm or edit the name your guests will see the message from.
Type your message in the Message field. Joy shows a live character count and indicates if your message will be delivered as more than one text.
Not sure what to say? Click the sparkle icon in the bottom-right corner of the Message field to open the built-in AI writing assistant. You can proofread, rewrite, adjust the tone (Friendly, Professional, or Concise), generate a new draft, or type a custom instruction and let the AI apply it. If you don't like the result, click Revert to return to your original message.
Click Continue when you're ready.
Confirm and send
Review your recipient list on the Confirm & Send page.
Click Edit Recipients to make changes.
Click Send Now to send immediately, or Schedule to confirm your scheduled send.
If this is your first time sending a Text Blast, clicking Send Now/Schedule will trigger the Messaging Plus purchase flow.
Note: Links in your message will be automatically shortened to a withjoy.com/go/[code] format. Joy shortens links to keep messages deliverable. The shortened link will still take guests to the right destination.
How text delivery works
Guests with U.S. and Canadian phone numbers receive your messages by SMS. Guests with any other phone number receive them on WhatsApp. Joy routes each message automatically based on the number on file. You don't need to do anything differently.
What guests see on WhatsApp
The message displays your name as the sender, along with your message and an Open Link button if your message includes a link. If you attached a photo, it will be included in the message.
If a guest doesn't have WhatsApp
If the number you have on file isn't connected to a WhatsApp account, the guest won't receive your message. Joy won't retry by SMS. You'll see a delivery failure on the Sent screen and can follow up with that guest by email.
Tracking your messages
On the Sent screen, guests who received a WhatsApp message will show a WhatsApp icon next to their name. If they've opened the message, their status will show as Read. The Text message filter includes both SMS and WhatsApp recipients.
Countries where WhatsApp delivery isn't available
WhatsApp delivery is not available to guests in China, Crimea, Cuba, Donetsk, Iran, Luhansk, North Korea, Russia, or Syria. If a guest is located in one of these places, you'll see a delivery failure on the Sent screen. Reach them by email instead.
Purchase Messaging Plus
Messaging Plus is a one-time purchase that unlocks all SMS features in Joy, including Text Blasts, RSVP Reminders, Hotel Reminders, and scheduled sending.
When prompted, a purchase modal will appear:
Click Unlock & Send.
Enter your Billing Address and click Save.
Confirm your email on the checkout page and click Complete order.
Once your purchase is complete, your message will send automatically. You won't need to purchase again for future SMS.
Send an RSVP Reminder
RSVP Reminders let you nudge guests who haven't responded yet. You can send by SMS, email, or both, and Joy includes your RSVP link automatically.
From your Event Dashboard, click the Messaging icon, then select RSVP Reminder from the dropdown.
Set your delivery method and compose your message
At the top of the page, select how you want to send:
Text — SMS only
Email — email only
Both — sends both if the guest has a phone number and email on file
Fill in the following fields:
From: the name your guests will see
Subject (Email only): the subject line for the email version
Your message: Joy pre-fills a default message. Edit it to match your voice.
RSVP Link: auto-populated with your event's RSVP URL. No action needed here.
The preview on the right updates as you type, and you can toggle between Text Preview and Email Preview to see both versions.
Select your recipients
Click Select People to open the guest selector.
Use the Has not RSVP'd filter to target only guests who haven't responded yet.
Check the box next to each guest, or use Select All, then click Select [X] People.
Guests missing the contact info required for your selected delivery method will be flagged with a warning icon and won't receive the message.
Confirm and send
Click Next to move to the Confirm & Send page. Here you'll see:
Your selected Delivery Method and Preferred Channel
A full recipient list showing who will receive a text, an email, or both
A Send Test Email button if you want to preview the email version before it goes out
Click Send Now when you're ready. If you haven't purchased Messaging Plus yet and selected text as a delivery method, you'll be prompted to purchase before the message sends.
Send a Hotel Reminder
Hotel Reminders follow the same flow as RSVP Reminders. The two differences are the default message (written to prompt guests to book their accommodations) and the link, which points to your Accommodations page instead of your RSVP page.
From your Event Dashboard, click the Messaging icon, then select Hotel Reminder from the dropdown and follow the same steps above.
Note: Messaging Plus covers text blasts, RSVP reminders, and hotel reminders. It does not include Premium Digital Card delivery. If you want to send your Save the Date or Invitation by text, that's a separate purchase made through the Premium Digital Cards flow.
Still have some questions?
Ask us directly! Click on the black and white chat bubble in the bottom-right corner of this page to ask us your questions, or you can email us at support@withjoy.com. You'll get a friendly response from someone on our team! 🙂