Wedding Invitation Wording Etiquette
Planning and ordering your wedding invitations can be difficult. Here are some examples of how to word your invitations depending on your circumstances.
Traditional Wedding Invitation Wording
Mr and Mrs A. Hickman
request the pleasure of
..............................................
at the marriage of their daughter
Nicola
to
Mr James Brendan Owen
at St Peter's Church, Bewdley
on Saturday 2nd May 2020
at 11:00am
and afterwards at
The Ramada Hotel,
Habberley Road, Bewdley
Traditionally, the bride’s parents would pay for the majority of their daughter’s wedding. Therefore, their names would appear on the wedding invitation, making it clear they will be hosting the wedding. The invitation should also list the name of the Church or venue where the ceremony will be taking place, and the details of the evening reception. The RSVP would traditionally be returned back to the bride’s parents. If you want to keep a close track of this yourself for planning purposes, then you could list your own RSVP details on the left hand side of the card.
Civil Wedding Invitation Wording
Mr and Mrs A. Hickman
request the pleasure of
..............................................
at the marriage of their daughter
Nicola
to
Mr James Brendan Owen
at The Ramada Hotel,
Habberley Road, Bewdley
on Saturday 2nd May 2020
at 3:00pm
Followed by an evening reception
There is no need to list details of two locations on a civil wedding invitation as the day and evening celebrations will usually take place at the same venue. The wording can be kept clear and simple, with the RSVP details being displayed on the left hand side of the card. Separate RSVP cards can be included with your invite, making it quick and easy for guests to send those much-needed replies to you.
Wedding Invitation Wording - Divorced Parents
Mr Hickman and Mrs Hickman
request the pleasure of
..............................................
at the marriage of their daughter
Nicola
to
Mr James Brendan Owen
at St Peter's Church, Bewdley
on Saturday 2nd May 2020
at 1:00pm
and afterwards at
The Ramada Hotel
Habberley Road, Bewdley
When divorced or remarried parents are listed as hosts on your invitations, it can make wording your wedding invitations a little trickier. The best way around this, if your parents are divorced and not remarried, is to list your parents separately by saying ‘Mr Hickman and Mrs Hickman request the pleasure of the company of …’, instead of saying ‘Mr and Mrs Hickman’.
If, for instance, your mother is remarried, you can list your parents as ‘Mr Hickman and Mrs Jones’. RSVP details can be outlined on the left hand side of your invitation to keep it looking neat.
Wedding Invitation Wording – Widowed Parent
Mrs Jane Hickman
requests the pleasure of
..............................................
at the marriage of her daughter
Nicola
to
Mr James Brendan Owen
at St Peter's Church, Bewdley
on Saturday 2nd May 2020
at 1:00pm
and afterwards at
The Ramada Hotel,
Habberley Road, Bewdley
If you have a widowed parent, wording your wedding invitations can be a delicate situation. The traditional way to word a wedding invitation if you have a deceased parent is to have one line at the top with the name of the parent who is requesting the pleasure of the guest. This also makes it clear who is hosting the wedding. If the mother is deceased, the father’s name would appear at the top, or vice versa if the father is deceased.
Wedding Invitation Wording – Hosting Your Own Wedding
Miss Nicola Jones and Mr James Brendan Owen
request the pleasure of
..............................................
at their marriage
at Bridgnorth Register Office, Bridgnorth
on Saturday 2nd May 2020
at 11:00am
and afterwards for lunch at
The Mill Hotel, Alveley.
If you are paying for your own wedding, then the wedding invitation would come from you as the bride and groom, and not either sets of parents. Traditional wedding invites often show parents as the host of the wedding, as they would usually pay for the day. But if you are paying for your own wedding, then you would probably want the invite to come from you as a couple. With both of your names on the invites, the RSVP details can be your own, putting you in control of your day.
Civil Partnership Wedding Invitation Wording
John and Mark
would be delighted if
..............................................
would join them at their
Civil Partnership ceremony
on Saturday 2nd May 2020
at 1:00pm
at The Ramada Hotel,
Habberley Road, Bewdley
and afterwards for a champagne reception
~~~
Together with their parents
John Evans and Mark Cooper
would be delighted if
..............................................
would join them as they pledge their commitment
to each other in a ceremony which will take place
at The Ramada Hotel,
Habberley Road, Bewdley
on Saturday 2nd May 2020 at 1:00pm
The ceremony will be followed by a
drinks reception in The Waterside Suite.
There are no rules when it comes to planning your wording for your civil partnership wedding invitations. You can make them as formal or as informal as you like. The key points you should remember to include are the date, time, and location of your ceremony, along with brief details of the evening reception if you're hosting one. Your RSVP details can be listed on the inside left of your invitation.
Evening Reception Wording
Mr and Mrs A. Hickman
request the pleasure of
..............................................
at an evening reception
at The Ramada Hotel,
Habberley Road, Bewdley
on Saturday 2nd May 2020
at 7:00pm
following the marriage of their daughter
Nicola
to
Mr James Brendan Owen
For guests attending the evening reception only, we recommend that you send wedding evening invitations to avoid any confusion. You need to be specific when it comes to time and location - you wouldn't want evening-only guests showing up at your wedding ceremony or wedding breakfast. You should send evening invitations out well in advance to ensure guests have enough time to RSVP, so you can sort out the final numbers for catering. RSVP details can be added to the left hand side of your invitation.
