WORDING YOUR INVITATIONS

This is a guide to wording your invitations in a relatively traditional manner. There is certainly a lot of scope for creativity and bending the rules these days, you can even break them all and add your own creative flair, showing your personality in your invitations.

The most important thing about your invitations is that they should give your guests a good indication of what they can expect at the wedding itself, so however you achieve that is up to you! So take or leave the traditions, but here they are for your information.

ADDRESSED FROM THE HOSTS

Usually the invitations are sent from the hosts of the wedding itself. This may be the engaged couple, the brides’ parents, the groom’s parents, or all of the above. Basically, whoever is significantly contributing to the cost of the wedding may wish to be included as host on the invitations.

Example #1 – When the engaged couple are sole hosts:

Sue Jones and Luke Smith cordially invite you to their wedding

Example #2 – When the bride’s parents are hosting:

Mr. & Mrs Jones invite you to the wedding of their daughter, Sue Jones, to Luke Smith

Example #3 – When the bride and groom’s parents are hosting:

Mr. & Mrs Jones and Mr. & Mrs Smith are proud to invite you to the wedding of their children, Sue Jones and Luke Smith

Example #4 – When all three parties are hosting:

Sue Jones and Luke Smith, along with their parents, Mr. & Mrs Jones, and Mr. & Mrs Smith invite you to attend their wedding

A SENSE OF OCCASION

The way you word your invitations adds to the theme of your wedding. If you are holding a very casual wedding, opt for more casual language. For a more traditional occasion, formal language will work better. Most importantly, you must be clear and concise with the information given. Be sure to include the following information:

• Date (written in full. Eg. Saturday, September 9^th, 2012)
• Time
• Location/s (be sure to include the full street address of both locations)
• The names of all the hosts
• The name of the couple being married
• The dress code of the wedding
• Specifics on gift giving if having a gift registry or wishing well
• Information on accommodation available nearby
• Any other relevant details, such as if it is a standing reception with canapes, if guests are expected to buy their own dinner or beverages, or if there is transport arranged from the ceremony to reception location
• RSVP date (work backwards from when you are required to give your reception venue final numbers, and give yourself a week or two leeway to chase up any stragglers)

Use our wedding invitation tool to find your perfect phrasing for your wedding invitations here.