Wedding Invitation Wording and Etiquette

Perfectly wording your wedding invitations is no easy task. Here are some simple tips and rules of thumb that will help make the process easier. Need additional help? Let us handle the writing for you!

The Invitation

The name(s) of the host(s) should be listed at the top of the invitation. Information on the invitation should include:

• Names of the bride and groom
• Names of the host(s) - traditionally this is the parents of the bride but more and more frequently it can be the bride and groom or the parents of the groom as well. No one sticks to tradition anymore ;)
  
• Ceremony date, date of week, time, location
  

Tips:

• Women who are widowed should be addressed according to their late husband's name with Mrs. in the title (i.e. Mrs. Richard Davis)
• The word "and" implies those two people are married. If hosts or guests are unmarried their names should be stacked
  
• The phrase "request the honor of your presence" is typically reserved for a church service or place of worship
• If the wedding ceremony and reception are being hosted at the same place, a reception card is not necessary. At the bottom of the invitation you can state "reception to follow" or "dinner and dancing to follow"
  
• Do not use abbreviations wherever possible. If it is necessary, keep it consistent across entire collection
  

Etiquette and Wording

Traditional weddings being held in a church and hosted by the parents of the bride:
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Davin
Request the honor of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter
Olivia Grace
to
Grant Oliver Smith
Saturday, the twenty-third of June
two thousand and fifteen
at half-past five o'clock
Holy Trinity Church
Cincinnati, Ohio


Traditional weddings being held outside of a church and hosted by the parents of the bride:
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Davin
request the pleasure of your company
at the marriage of their daughter
Olivia Grace
to
Grant Oliver Smith
Saturday, the twenty-third of June
two thousand and fifteen
at half-past five o'clock
Holy Trinity Church
Cincinnati, Ohio


Traditional weddings being held outside of a church and hosted by both sets of parents:
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Davin
And Mr. and Mrs. William Smith
request the pleasure of your company
at the marriage of their children
Olivia Grace
to
Grant Oliver
Saturday, the twenty-third of June
two thousand and fifteen
at half-past five o'clock
Holy Trinity Church
Cincinnati, Ohio


Less formal or non-traditional weddings being hosted by the bride and the groom:
Olivia Grace Davin & Grant Oliver Smith
joyfully request the pleasure of your company
at their wedding celebration
Saturday, the twenty-third of June
two thousand and fifteen
at half-past five o'clock
Holy Trinity Church
Cincinnati, Ohio

Less formal or non-traditional weddings being hosted by both sets of parents and the bride and groom
Together with their families
Olivia Grace Davin
& Grant Oliver Smith
invite you to share in their joy
at the celebration of their marriage
Saturday, the twenty-third of June
two thousand and fifteen
at half-past five o'clock
Holy Trinity Church
Cincinnati, Ohio


Special Cases

• Divorced Parents: include both parents' names on separate lines. Include both other parents if one parent is remarried 

RSVP Cards

For formal R.S.V.P. cards, guests write in their responses in the blank spaces. This is a fun way to get personal and memorable responses.

Another popular approach is the offer a series of checkboxes and lines to direct the information you want.  You can personalize how you ask for replies, but remember to keep the wording consistent with the invitation. For example "the favor or a reply" typically matches the invitation wording "the honor of your presence". For less formal invitation wording, such as "request the pleasure of your ", the RSVP wording would typically "Kindly reply by" or "Kindly respond by". More casual weddings can use replies such as "wouldn't miss it for the word" or "celebrating from afar". Some parties have even used ad-libs as their reply cards! Get creative with it!

To determine the RSVP by date, a good rule of thumb is to allow guests half the time between receiving the invitations and the date of the wedding. If you send your invitations eight weeks in advance of your wedding, set the reply by date 4 weeks from the wedding.

Reception & Accomodation Cards

If the ceremony and reception are held at the same venue, it is fine to state "Reception to follow" at the bottom of the invitation.

If the reception is held at a different location, it should be treated as a separate event. Include a reception card with the event details as part of the invitation suite.

An information card is enclosed with your wedding invitation, and allows couples to provide guests with any additional information you want them to have. Some examples include:

• Transportation
• Lodging
• Wedding Website

In Conclusion...

Keep in mind these last minute tips:

• Use the correct names for invited guests wherever possible. If you don't know the names of your cousin's new boyfriend, ask! Using the correct names will make people feel truly welcome and honored.
• Do not include registry information anywhere in your invitation suite. Rather, list the information on your wedding website or ask your family and wedding party to communicate it via word of mouth.
• Do not print "no gifts" anywhere on your invitation suite. Even if that is truly your preference, this message presumes your guests were planning to give you gifts to begin with. Again, ask your family and wedding party to help communicate this message - however, be aware that some guests may insists on giving gifts.