Wedding Invitation Wording

From LoveToKnow Weddings

Your wedding invitation wording is very important. Through the invitation, your guests learn where the wedding is being held, where the reception is being held, what type of dress will be required and if the wedding will follow a particular theme. What follows is a short primer on wedding invitation wording.

invitation phrases

If the Bride’s Family is Hosting

If the bride’s family will be paying for and hosting the wedding, the wording should go as follows:

Mr. and Mrs. John Smith

request the honour of your presence

at the marriage of their daughter

Myrtle Marie

to

Boris Michael Harrison

on Sunday, the seventeenth of July

two thousand and four

at three o’clock

Sacred Heart Church

Mount Holly, New Jersey

Take note of a couple of things. The first is the word “honour”. Notice how it uses the British spelling? This is because it’s considered more formal. For wedding invitations it’s proper etiquette to use formal spellings. You might also note that the date is spelled out and the town and state are not abbreviated. This too is because it’s considered more formal and elegant.

If the Groom’s Family is Hosting

Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Harrison

request the honour of your presence

at the marriage of

Miss Myrtle Marie Smith

to their son

Mr. Boris Michael Harrison

on Sunday, the seventeenth of July

two thousand and four

at three o’clock

Sacred Heart Church

Mount Holly, New Jersey

If Hosted by the Parents of Both the Bride and Groom

Mr. and Mrs. John Smith

and

Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Harrison

request the honor of your presence

at the marriage of their children

Myrtle Marie and Boris Michael

on Sunday, the seventeenth of July

two thousand and four

at three o’clock

Sacred Heart Church

Mount Holly, New Jersey

If the Bride and Groom Will be Hosting

Myrtle Marie Smith

and

Boris Michael Harrison

request the honour of your presence

at their marriage

on Sunday, the seventeenth of July

two thousand and four

at three o’clock

Sacred Heart Church

Mount Holly, New Jersey


or


The honour of your presence

is requested at the marriage of

Myrtle Marie Smith

to

Boris Michael Harrison

on Sunday, the seventeenth of July

two thousand and four

at three o’clock

Sacred Heart Church

Mount Holly, New Jersey


If the Brides Parents are Hosting but Are Divorced

If the brides parents are hosting the wedding but are divorced and haven’t remarried, the wedding invitation wording should read as follows:


Mrs. Lillian Rose Smith

and

Mr. John Smith

request the honor of your presence

at the marriage of their daughter

Myrtle Marie

to

Boris Michael Harrison

on Sunday, the seventeenth of July

two thousand and four

at three o’clock

Sacred Heart Church

Mount Holly, New Jersey

Destination Wedding Invitation Wording

If you will be getting married in another location, you might try wording your wedding invitation to read as follows:


Myrtle Marie Smith and

Boris Michael Harrison

Are getting married in a sunset ceremony on the beach

in Oahu

Please join them for a

wedding celebration

Sunday, the seventeenth of July

two thousand and four

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Comments

Sue - You can easily word a reception invitation as "to celebrate the (insert original wedding date) marriage of" to indicate that the couple is already married but that the reception is being held later. That is perfectly acceptable and certainly understandable given their situation.

-- Contributed by: Melissa Mayntz

Lori - The wording is properly phrased to include both you and your husband as well as your ex-husband, but not the girlfriend unless she is really close to your daughter and your daughter agrees that she should be included in the invitations. You can alter the "divorced" wording above to include your remarriage.

-- Contributed by: Melissa Mayntz

Melissa - You can play on the humor in your situaton by using words such as "finally" and "long overdue." If you'd like a more elegant phrasing, use words such as "at long last" and "love of a lifetime for a lifetime." Best wishes!

-- Contributed by: Melissa Mayntz
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