Your wedding invitation will provide your guests their first glimpse into your wedding and the invitation wording you choose will let your guests know who is hosting the event and how formal it may be.
Your wedding invitation should contain specific information such as the date, time and place of your wedding ceremony along with the names of the hosts. I have broken down the invitation and provided you with guidelines and wording options for each part of the invitation.
THE HOSTS OF THE WEDDING
The names of the individuals hosting the wedding are included towards the top of the invitation. Traditionally, the bride’s parents host the wedding and their names are written as follows:
Mr. and Mrs. {full name of father of bride}
For less formal events hosted by the bride’s parents this line can read:
{first name of mother of bride} and {first name of father of the bride} {last name of parents}
If both the bride’s and the groom’s parents are hosting the wedding, the names of the bride’s parents are listed first:
Mr. and Mrs. {full name of father of the bride} and Mr. and Mrs. {full name of father of the groom}
For a less formal approach, “Mr.” and “Mrs.” can be dropped and the first names added:
{first name of mother of bride} and {first name of father of the bride} {last name of bride’s parents}
and
{first name of mother of groom} and {first name of father of the groom} {last name of groom’s parents}
If the parents of the bride are divorced, the names can be written:
Mr. and Mrs.{full name of husband} and Mr.{full name of other parent}
Including only the names of the bride and the groom indicates that the bride and groom are hosting the event:
{full name of bride} and {full name of groom}
If all parties are hosting the wedding, the invitation can begin with:
Together with their parents
{full name of bride}
and
{full name of groom}
Honoring a deceased parent on your invitation is a personal decision. If you choose to do so, the following wording can be used:
The honour of your presence
is requested at the marriage of
{name of bride}
daughter of {name of bride’s father}
and the late {name of mother}
to
{name of groom}
THE INVITATION
The invitation to the wedding typically follows the names of the hosts. If your wedding ceremony will take place in a house of worship, then the invitation should read:
request the honour of your presence at the wedding of their daughter {or “the wedding of their children” if both sets of parents are hosting}
It’s appropriate to use either the British spelling for “honour” or the American spelling “honor”.
If your wedding ceremony will not take place in a house of worship, the invitation can read:
request the pleasure of your company at the wedding of their daughter {or “the wedding of their children” if both sets of parents are hosting; “their wedding” if the bride and groom are hosting}
Other wording options for your invitation include:
invite you to join them at the wedding of their daughter {or “the wedding of their children” if both sets of parents are hosting; “their wedding” if the bride and groom are hosting}
invite you to share in the joy of the marriage of their daughter {or “the marriage of their children” if both sets of parents are hosting; “their marriage ” if the bride and groom are hosting}
Invite you to join them to celebrate the marriage of their daughter {or “the marriage of their children” if both sets of parents are hosting; “their marriage ” if the bride and groom are hosting}
DATE AND TIME
The date and time of your wedding is usually spelled out with the day of the week and the month capitalized:
Saturday, the fifth of August
two thousand and ten
at half after six o’clock in the afternoon
For less formal events, the time may also be written “at six-thirty“.
LOCATION OF CEREMONY
If you will be getting married in a location that is well known, then only include the name of the venue along with the city and state on your wedding invitation. If your wedding venue is not well known, you may want to include the street address as well. Additionally, if you plan to include a direction card with your invitation, it is not necessary to include the address of your venue on your invitation.
INVITATION TO THE RECEPTION
If your reception will take place in the same location as your ceremony, include a sentence at the bottom of you your invitation inviting the guests to the reception. The following are some options:
Reception to follow
And afterward at the reception
Reception immediately following
Dinner and dancing to follow
If your reception will take place in a different location than your ceremony, we recommend including a separate reception card with your wedding invitation.
R.S.V.P
Traditionally wedding invitations included the address the R.S.V.P. should be sent to in the lower left hand side of the invitation and guests responded by writing a note on their own personal stationery. While some brides uphold this tradition, most choose to include a separate response card with their wedding invitation.
SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES
If you choose to invite your guests only to your reception, the invitation can read:
{names of married couple} request the honor of your presence at a celebration of their marriage {date} at {location}
ASSEMBLING THE WEDDING INVITATION
Assemble your wedding invitations in order of size. Starting with the invitation, place the next largest item (possibly direction card or reception card) on top and continue with the next largest item. All items should be facing up. The reply card and matching envelope are included together with the reply card placed under the flap of the reply card envelope.
WEDDING INVITATION TIMELINE
Wedding invitations should be mailed six to eight weeks before your wedding date. If many of your guests will be traveling to the event, sending your invitations eight weeks in advance is recommended.