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How to Write Wedding Invitations

Etiquette for Wedding Invitations

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            Etiquette for How to Write Wedding Invitations

            Formal wedding invitations will have wording that will remind you of your High School or College Diplomas. All of the pertinent information needed by your guests will be written out in full. This information includes the names, date, year, time and location. The couple and the couples' parent's names should be fully written out, including middle names, unless omitted. The date, year and time are written out, as well as the full address of the location. Invitations are also to be written in the third person, so to say, 'request the honor of your presence at the marriage of their daughter,' instead of 'request the honor of your presence at the marriage of our daughter,' is more appropriate.
            Suggested wording and wording order is as follows:
            InvitationMr. and Mrs. George Robert Crandle
            Requestrequest the honour of your presence
            Eventat the marriage of their daughter
            Mary Danielle
            and
            Mr. John Richard Jackson
            son of
            Mr. and Mrs. John Aaron Jackson
            Dateon Saturday, the ninth of June
            Two thousand and four
            Timeat two o'clock in the afternoon
            LocationFirst Church of Christ
            219 North Carrey Road
            City/StateStars Hollow, Connecticut


            It is best to tell close friends and family if you do not wish for children to attend the wedding, so that they can spread the word to your other guests. Or when addressing the invitations, do not mention the children's names. You can print a line at the bottom of the card, mentioning 'Adult Reception.' Printing 'No Children' on the invitation is considered to be in poor taste and should not be done.


            Hosting Format
            There are basic guidelines to write your invitation according to which family is hosting the wedding. However many of those guidelines have changed due to an ever-changing society. Whether it is the bride or groom's parents paying for the wedding, a joint-effort or the bride and groom themselves, the invitation should reflect the proper wording. Here are examples of situations that might need a bit of a change on the invitation regarding the host:
            Wedding invitation wording examples for when the parents of the bride are issuing the invitation:
            Mr. and Mrs. George Robert Crandle
            request the honour of your presence
            at the marriage of their daughter
            Mary Danielle
            and
            Mr. John Richard Jackson
            on Saturday, the ninth of June

            Mr. and Mrs. George Robert Crandle
            request the honour of your presence
            at the marriage of their daughter
            Mary Danielle
            and
            Mr. John Richard
            son of
            Mr. and Mrs. John Aaron Jackson
            on Saturday, the ninth of June
            Wedding invitation wording examples for when the couple is issuing the invitation:
            Mary Danielle Crandle
            and
            John Richard Jackson
            request the honour of your presence
            at their marriage
            on Saturday, the ninth of June

            Together with their families
            Mary Danielle Crandle
            and
            John Richard Jackson
            request the honour of your presence
            at their marriage
            on Saturday, the ninth of June
            Wedding invitation wording examples for when the groom's parents host
            Mr. and Mrs. John Jackson
            request the honour of your presence
            at the marriage of
            Mary Danielle Crandle
            and
            John Richard
            on Saturday, the ninth of June
            Wedding invitation wording examples for when both sets of parents host
            Together with their families
            Mary Danielle Crandle
            and
            John Richard Jackson
            request the honour of your presence
            at their marriage
            on Saturday, the ninth of June
            Wedding invitation wording examples for when the bride's divorced and remarried parents co-host
            Mr. and Mrs. Henry Stewart
            Mr. and Mrs. George Robert Crandle
            request the honour of your presence
            at the marriage of
            Mary Danielle Crandle
            to
            Mr. John Richard Jackson
            on Saturday, the ninth of June
            Wedding invitation wording examples for when the bride's remarried mother and husband host
            Mr. and Mrs. Henry Stewart
            request the honour of your presence
            at the marriage of
            Mary Danielle Crandle
            and
            Mr. John Richard Jackson
            on Saturday, the ninth of June
            Date Format
            The way you write the date on your invitation depends upon the formality of the event. If the event is formal, the date should be written out, rather than a numerical form. The most important thing to remember is to be consistent. If you write out one part of the date, you should write out the other part of the date. If you use numbers for your date, you should use numbers for your reply-by date, and so on.

            The use of 'th' or 'nd' after a number is only needed when it is not followed by the year. If the number is followed by the year, it is not needed.
            Formal:
            Sunday, the twenty-fifth of November
            Two thousand and seven
            Informal:
            Sunday, November 25, 2007
            November 25th
            November 25, 2007
            Time Format
            The way you write the time on your invitation depends upon the formality of the event. If writing out the time, you should only use whole and half hours. If the time is numerically written out, the proper use of ante or post meridian should be used. If using uppercase AM and PM, periods are not needed. If using lower case a.m. and p.m., periods are most certainly needed.
            Formal:
            twelve o'clock in the afternoon
            half past five in the afternoon

            Quick Tip – Time of Day
            On a formal invitation, the time of the event should be followed by 'in the morning', 'in the afternoon' or 'in the evening' rather than AM or PM. Below is a reference for which time of day phrase should be used:

            Morning 12:00 AM - 11:59 AM
            Afternoon 12:00 PM - 5:59 PM
            Evening 6:00 PM - 11:59 PM
            Informal:
            12 o'clock
            5:30 p.m.
            5:30 PM

            Reception Information
            Many weddings have the ceremony and the reception in the same location, thus a reception card is not needed. However, if your wedding is at a church, for example, a reception card is a nice way to organize your reception information and give the guests something to take with them after the ceremony. Many times reception cards include location information such as addresses or even maps. Maps should be small and clearly printed; although in today's society it is not unlikely that everyone will have some sort of GPS program, so addresses work just as well. For more information about maps, directions, accommodation cards and such, check our additional wedding information etiquette.