Wedding Invitations

Wording Wedding Ceremony Invitations

By the beginning of the twentieth century the wedding invitations became a popular custom among people from all social ranks; if people were to poor to buy and send the wedding invitations they had the option to announce the wedding day in a local or national newspaper.




The simple and white wedding card with a hand written text was soon replaced by the contemporary wedding invitation cards, especially after the discovery of innovative printing techniques such as thermography.



The custom of sending the wedding invitations has its long history but so does the wording used to express the inviting to the wedding. This is the reason why we often talk about the wording etiquette for the ceremony wedding invitations which generally demands the use of a traditional and formal language. Its modern alternative is the use of an informal language, sometimes being humorous or funny and sometimes starting the invitations with a favorite quote, verse or poem or expressing in simple words the feeling of love.

The important thing is that the wedding invitation should contain the basic information about the wedding ceremony and reception or party: the names of the bride and groom, always mentioning the name of the bride first, the names of the wedding hosts if the wedding was paid by the bride or groom’s parents or both their families, the location of the ceremony and/or reception and the address, with a some details such as directional signs or a printed map, the time, date and the RSVP.

The wording for the wedding ceremony invitations depends on what kind of information you would like to share to your guests. For example, not all weddings are paid by the couple’s parents; sometimes they decide to pay for their own wedding or accept only a small financial contribution from their families so it should be their personal decision whether to include the names of the parents or not on the invitations.

The RSVP is an abbreviation usually written at the bottom of a wedding invitation card or on a separate one, only when the bride and groom expect for an attendance response, which might be very important for planning the final arrangements for the ceremony or reception. If only the non-attendance responses are expected, the RSVP is replaced by the expression “Regrets only” and an added phone number for contact.

Before sealing the invitations in their double or single envelopes make sure to read them again just to be sure there aren’t any spelling mistakes or wrong addressing forms or honorifics and mail them out with minimum six weeks before the actual wedding day if the attendance reply is important.

Some of the most popular ceremony wording examples for the wedding invitations are mentioned right below.

“Mr. and Mrs. Allen Osborne request the pleasure of your company at the marriage of their daughter, Lorelei Osborne to Andrew Dawson, son of Mr. and Mrs. Jack Dawson, on Friday, the seventh of March, two thousand eleven, at five o’clock in the evening, St. Andrew’s Chapel, New Orleans, Louisiana.”

“Lorelei Osborne and Andrew Dawson, together with their families, invite you to join them in celebrating their marriage, on Friday, the seventh of March, two thousand eleven, at five o’clock in the evening, St. Andrew’s Chapel, New Orleans, Louisiana.”

“Mr. and Mrs. Allen Osborne invite you to join them in a celebration of love, as their daughter, Lorelei Osborne, is united in marriage to Mr. Andrew Dawson, son of Mr. and Mrs. Jack Dawson, on Friday, the seventh of March, two thousand eleven, at five o’clock in the evening, St. Andrew’s Chapel, New Orleans, Louisiana.”

“Together with their parents, Lorelei Osborne and Andrew Dawson, request the honour of your presence at their marriage, on Friday, the seventh of March, two thousand eleven, at five o’clock in the evening, St. Andrew’s Chapel, New Orleans, Louisiana.”

”The pleasure of your company is requested at the marriage uniting Lorelei Osborne and Andrew Dawson, on Friday, the seventh of March, two thousand eleven, at five o’clock in the evening, St. Andrew’s Chapel, New Orleans, Louisiana.”

”We found the days were much too short for all the dreams we wanted to share and all the love we wanted to give. Lorelei Osborne and Andrew Dawson request the honour of your presence as they begin a life of dreaming, loving and sharing together, on Friday, the seventh of March, two thousand eleven, at five o’clock in the evening, St. Andrew’s Chapel, New Orleans, Louisiana.”