Wedding Invitation Etiquette

Your wedding may be the biggest day of your life, and you want every detail to go as smoothly as possible. This is true whether you are ordering your cake and flowers, or choosing the wedding invitation wording. While the idea of selecting wedding invitation wording may be somewhat intimidating, the good news is that there are basic guidelines for wedding invitation etiquette that you can follow no matter what style service you are planning.

You can find examples of wedding invitation wording for a ceremony at the beach or a traditional church service. There are also samples for any type of family situation including second marriages, ceremonies that incorporate the children or divorced families. We have the tips you need to ensure that your wedding invitations are the perfect beginning to your perfect day.

Traditional Wording

In the classic wedding invitation wording, the bride’s parents are listed first as the hosts of this special day. Usually the invitation will say the parents “request the honor of your presence at the marriage of their daughter”. After the daughter’s name, the groom’s name and his parents will be listed. The rest of the wedding invitation wording will include where and when the ceremony will be held. Information like date, time and address should be spelled out instead of using common abbreviations. This basic formula can be adjusted for different situations, such as when the groom’s parents host the wedding or the bride and groom throw the party themselves.

Wording for an Informal Ceremony

While a church wedding will “request the honor of your presence”, an informal ceremony will often “request the pleasure of your company” instead. The rest of the wedding invitation wording can follow the guidelines above, unless special instructions need to be included because of the venue where the ceremony will take place. By the mere wording of the invitation, guests will know that the day will not be a formal occasion, and will be able to plan and dress accordingly.

Wedding Reception Invitation Wording

If the wedding reception will take place at the same location as the ceremony, you can simply add a line at the bottom of your wedding invitation indicating that the reception will follow. However, if your reception will be at a different venue, you will probably want to use a separate card with wedding reception invitation wording that will give the details of where the party will take place. A response card can also be included so that your guests can RSVP and you can get an accurate head count for your celebration.

Wedding invitation wording follows a certain formula, taking a lot of the guesswork out of how to create your invitations. Within the basic framework, there is plenty of room for creativity, so don’t be afraid to put your own personal touch on your invitations. Wedding invitation etiquette doesn’t have to be intimidating.

Wording a wedding invitation can be an ordeal in itself. This is because there are a lot of things that one needs to consider when doing so, and numerous wedding invitation etiquette guidelines to follow. There are several worthy wedding invitation wording ideas that you need to know before starting to finalize the words on the wedding invitation. These ideas are especially handy to know for homemade wedding invitations.

Invitation Composition for Who Is Hosting

One thing that the bride and groom should bear in mind for wedding invitation wording ideas is who will be hosting the event. In many cases, it is the bride and groom who will be paying for the event which means that the invitation to the guests will be issued by them. In cases where it is either the bride’s family or the groom’s family who will be hosting the event, it will state that “Mr. and Mrs. Jones seek the pleasure of your company for the wedding of their son…” or “Mr. and Mrs. Jones cordially invite you to the wedding of their daughter…”

This wording is to give due homage to the family or person paying for the event. It is usually the host or the family who is paying who is inviting the guests to the wedding. In cases where both the bride and the groom along with their families are paying, then the wedding invitation wording should be like this: “Jane Doe and John Doe along with their families would like to request the honour of your presence…”

There is also wedding invitation etiquette if one parent is deceased or if the parents of either the bride or groom are divorced. In the case of a deceased parent, it is alright to write down “the late Mr. Doe…” In the case of a divorce, both the parents’ names will be written separately with their present names if they have remarried.

Spelling of Words

It is customary for formal wedding invitations to follow the British spelling of certain words. This wedding invitation wording idea has been around for ages but this does not necessarily mean that you have to follow it. These wedding invitation wording ideas are just suggestions and ideas which you can consider.

Examples of words that you can alter to British English are “favour” and “honour”. You should also spell the words in full instead of writing them down partially. Examples are “street” for St. and also months and days. The same goes for the titles of the guests such as “Honourable” instead of Hon.

These are just a few wedding invitation etiquette guidelines which you may find handy. You do not actually have to follow these ideas but they can be your guide regarding how to go about wording your invitations.