Wedding Invitations

Wedding Invitation Wording Tips

The wording used for the wedding invitation usually implies two different options: you can choose for the formal and traditional wording and for that you must follow the wording etiquette, or you can use the unconventional or humorous addressing forms or the informal language.

It doesn’t matter for what option you decide because the wedding invitation is all about the basic wedding information such as the names of the wedding hosts, in most cases being the bride’s parents, sometimes the groom’s parents or both families; in some cases the bride and the groom decide to organize and pay themselves for the wedding; the name of the bride is always mentioned first, and only after, the name of the groom and his parents; the wedding invitation should also contain the correct time, time and wedding location.

To avoid any spelling or wedding information mistakes read again the invitation after writing it and ask another person to read the text as well.

The addressing form may differ according to the family situation of the bride or groom but also depending on the honorifics, the professional jobs or the military titles of the parents and the invited guests.

Always add an RSVP on the wedding invitation or on a different card, separate from the invitation card because the attendance response is very important and depending on it the final arrangements for the wedding can go a lot smoothly.

Below are some tips or wording examples you can use for your wedding invitations, especially if you find one situation that suits with your own.

In most cases the bride’s parents act as the wedding hosts, so the wording will look something like this: “Mr. and Mrs. Marc Williams, invite you to join them in a celebration of love, as their daughter, Rudy, is united in marriage to Jack Silver, son of Mr. and Mrs. Tim Silver, on Sunday, the eighteenth of March, two thousand and ten, at six o’clock in the evening, St. Andrew’s Church, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Continue the celebration at the reception following the ceremony”.

If the wedding is hosted by divorced parents, the wording example is: “Mrs. Sara Sarandon and Mr. Marc Williams, invite you to join them in a celebration of love, as their daughter, Rudy, is united in marriage to Mr. Jack Silver, son of Mr. and Mrs. Tim Silver, on Sunday, the eighteenth of March, two thousand and ten, at six o’clock in the evening, St. Andrew’s Church, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Continue the celebration at the reception following the ceremony”.

If the hosts are the groom’s parents, one wording example for this situation could be: “Mr. and Mrs. Tim Silver, request the honor of your presence at the marriage of Rudy Williams to their son, Jack Silver, on Sunday, the eighteenth of March, two thousand and ten, at six o’clock in the evening, St. Andrew’s Church, Baton Rouge, Louisiana”.

If the bride and groom, with some financial support from both their families, decide to pay for their own wedding, a wording example can be this one: “Rudy William and Jack Silver, together with their families, invite you to join them in celebrating their marriage on Sunday, the eighteenth of March, two thousand and ten, at six o’clock in the evening, St. Andrew’s Church, Baton Rouge, Louisiana”.

If the wedding hosts are only the bride and groom, the wording can be something like this: “Rudy William and Jack Silver request the honor of your presence at their marriage, on Sunday, the eighteenth of March, two thousand and ten, at six o’clock in the evening, St. Andrew’s Church, Baton Rouge, Louisiana”.

There is also the unfortunate situation when one or both parents of the bride or the groom are deceased; their names are mentioned in a newspaper announcement style. It is common that the name of the surviving parent to be mentioned alone on the invitation and if the mother is a widow and not remarried to continue using her late husband’s name; if she is remarried, the name of the stepparent can be mentioned or not, depending on the personal preferences of either the bride or the groom.

One wording example to fit with this situation is: “Rudy Williams, daughter of Sara Sarandon Williams and the late Marc Williams, and Jack Silver, invite you to join them in celebrating their marriage on Sunday, the eighteenth of March, two thousand and ten, at six o’clock in the evening, St. Andrew’s Church, Baton Rouge, Louisiana”.