Wedding Planning Tips 101: The Invitation – Wording

The content of a formal wedding invitation is fairly straight-forward, even if slightly more complicated these days due to changes in social attitudes and family structures. Below are a number of examples you could use based on who is doing the inviting, or hosting. More traditionally, the parents of the bride do the inviting, but often the groom’s parents’ names are included. These days when many are getting married later in life, after establishing careers or for other reasons, such as a second marriage, the bride and groom do the inviting themselves. Feel free to use any of the following examples or any combination of examples.


Who is Hosting the Wedding?

Formal Invitations begin with the person or people involved with the hosting, using formal names and titles.

- Bride’s Parents

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Allen Doe

request the honor of your presence

at the marriage of their daughter

Jennifer Rose

to

Mr. Adam Bruce Jones…

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Allen Doe

invite you to share in the ceremony

uniting their daughter

Jennifer Rose

and

Mr. Adam Bruce Jones…

- Both Sets of Parents

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Allen Doe

and

Mr. and Mrs. David Evan Jones

invite you to share in the joy

of the marriage uniting their children

Jennifer Rose

and

Adam Bruce…

- Both sets of Parents and Bride and Groom

Together with their parents

Jennifer Rose Doe

And

Adam Bruce Jones

Request the honor of your presence

At their marriage…

Together with our parents

Jennifer Rose Doe

And

Adam Bruce Jones

Invite you to share with us

The joy of our marriage…

- Bride and Groom

Jennifer Rose Doe

And

Adam Bruce Jones

Request the honor of your presence

At their marriage…

Jennifer Rose Doe

And

Adam Bruce Jones

Invite you to share in the joy

Of the beginning of their new life together

When they exchange marriage vows…

Honour vs. Honor

“requests the honour of your presence”

(use honour when the wedding is taking place in a house of worship; honor when the location is a hotel, club, etc.)

Casual: “requests the pleasure of your company”



Bride’s Last Name

If the bride’s name is the same as the parents, only her first and middle name are used, ex. “Jane Marie”

If the bride’s last name is different from the host’s, it should also be included on this line, ex. “Jane Marie Jones”

The connecting, “to” and “and” always goes on its own line in a formal invitation.

The Groom’s Full Name

If the bride is using a professional title, such as “Doctor Marie Ann Jones.” you should then also include the groom’s personal title, “Mr.,” “Dr.,” or whatever the case may be.

The Day and Month

In a formal invitation, spell out completely the date, time and location of your wedding. Thus, the date would be:

Saturday, the twentieth of June
Two thousand and seven
at two o’clock in the afternoon
The Woodbridge Country Club
Woodbridge, New Hampshire

(never include the zip code here)

Reception Line

If you are planning to have your reception at the same location as the wedding, the line “and afterward at the reception” or “reception immediately following ceremony” should follow the city and state.


The Reception Card

If you are holding your reception at a different location than that of your wedding, you will want to include a reception card with your invitation. This is helpful in a couple of ways: First, it will not crowd the text on your invitation. Secondly, if you are inviting only some guests to the reception it is convenient to simply add a reception card to the wedding invitations of those guests. (Be sure to remember this when ordering your invitations so you will order the correct amount)

The card should include the name and address of the establishment with “Reception immediately following the ceremony” at the top of the (reception) card.


A Final Note Before You Mail


Before sending your invitations, it is highly recommended to take a sample to the post office with all pieces to confirm that you’re applying the proper postage before mailing. You don’t want these coming back! if you have international addresses, it is important to ask for postage for each individual country to which an invitation is being sent. These measures will ensure prompt delivery of your invitations.

When it is time to mail your invitations, if you hand deliver them to your local post office window, you can request that they be hand canceled with a rubber stamp, instead of by a machine. It makes the front of the envelope look a lot more attractive without the large ugly black postal markings all over it.

Once everything is properly stamped, you will want to adhere to the following timelines for mailing your invitations: Six to eight weeks before the event is the general rule for mailing your invitations to ensure your guests receive their invitations and are able to respond in sufficient time. If you have guests traveling from outside the regional area, it is courteous to mail their invitations 6-8 weeks ahead of your wedding date so that they can make travel arrangements. As well, if you are planning your wedding around a holiday weekend, it is a good idea to get your invitations out 6-8 weeks prior so that your guests are sure to make your wedding the focus of the holiday. Regardless of when the invitations are sent, they should all be mailed at the same time.