GET WED: invitation wording

Understanding the anatomy of a wedding invitation is vital, whether you plan on sending a traditional and formal invitation or a casual and modern invite. While it is perfectly acceptable to depart from tradition in some aspects, there are also key invitation components that are important to stay true to. The following guide will help you write a lovely invitation set that is perfect for your wedding.

The Host Line

Traditionally, the parents of the bride hosted the wedding and their names appeared first on the invitation in the host line. But times have changed and these days the groom’s parents often contribute to the wedding along with the bride and groom. Perhaps the bride and groom are paying for the wedding themselves, but still want to include their familes on the invitation. If parents have passed away, divorced or remarried it gets evem trickier. All of these factors have made the host line a difficult and sometimes sensitive part of the invitation to write. A few examples follow, but there are many appropriate ways to word the host line. Ask your stationer for advice regarding your wedding.

Bride’s Parent’s Hosting

Mr. and Mrs. John Smith
Both Parents Hosting(bride’s parents listed first)Mr. and Mrs. John Smith andMr. and Mrs. Robert Brown

Bride’s Parents Divorced/Remarried(mother listed first)

Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Jones

and

Mr. John Smith

Parent Deceased

The pleasure of your company is requested

at the wedding of __________

daughter of Mrs. Susan Smith and the late Mr. John Smith

Bride, Groom and Both Families Hosting

Together with their families

Request Lines

The request line simply lets guests know what they are being invited to. The two most common wording choices are "request the honour of your presence” for a church or synagogue wedding, and “request the pleasure of your company” for a wedding taking place in a hotel, reception hall or other venue. Follow both of these examples, with “at the marriage of their daughter” or “at the marriage of their children” as appropriate. If you are having an especially casual affair feel free to let the request line reflect this with something like “invite you to join in the festivities as they join togeher in marriage”. If you are planning a gay/lesbian wedding, you can replace the terms marriage and wedding with “commitment ceremony”, “civil union”, celebration of commitment”, “relationship blessing” or any other term that you feel best represents your event.

Bride and Groom Lines

The Bride’s name is always listed first. Allow the formality of the wedding and invitation dictate how the names are written. The most formal invitations, issued by the bride’s parents, refer to her by her first and middle name, while the groom is referred to by his full name and title (Mr. Anthony Gattone). Often, however, just the first and last names of the couple are used.

Date and Time Lines

A formal invitation will have the date and time written out in full, with the year being optional:

Saturday, the seventeeth of July

at half past five o’clock

Casual wedding invitation do not need to have everything written in full:

July 17th, 20105:30 pm

Location Lines

The name of the location, whether it be a church, synagogue or reception hall, should be followed by the city and state. A street adress is not typically needed unless the wedding is taking place at someone’s home. For example:

St. Peter’s Church

Danbury, Connecticut

Reception Lines

Formal invitations will have a separate card inviting guests to the reception. It is also appropriate to note the reception directly on the invitation, if there is enough space. “Reception immediately following” is a standard example. If the time or location is different than the ceremony, be sure to include that information. If you are having a cocktail reception or another non-traditional reception, it is wise to mention this so that your guests don’t arrive expecting a meal.

RSVP Lines

Most formally, the request for a reply is printed on the lower left hand corner of the invitation, implying that guests should write a response to the hosts. However, most couples include a separate reply card and envelope with their invitation. The reply card should let guests know when their response is requested by and leave space for them to fill in their names. If you need guests to choose their meal ahead of time, it can be included on the reply card as well. A standard reply card looks like this:

Kindly reply by the tenth of August

M ___________________________

( ) accepts with pleasure

( ) declines with regrets

If your wedding is more casual, feel free to be playful with the reply card wording - “will be there with bells on/will celebrate from afar” is a fun alternative.

If you are having difficulty wording your wedding invitation, the best thing to do is consult your stationer. A good stationery designer will be able to guide you through proper wording so that you have a beautiful and appropriate wedding invitation.