3. Wedding Invitation Wording

1. Traditional style used when the bride’s parents are hosting:

Doctor and Mrs. Edward James
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter

Cheryl Sue

to

Mr. Timothy Earl


2. When the bride’s parents are hosting and the groom’s parents are included:
Mr. and Mrs. Edward James
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter

Cheryl Sue
to
Mr. Timothy Earl
son of Mr. and Mrs. Carroll Earl

3. When both parents are hosting:
Mr. and Mrs. Edward James
and
Mr. and Mrs. Carroll Earl
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of

Cheryl Sue
to
Mr. Timothy Earl.

4. The bride or groom wish to honor a deceased parent:
Mrs. Edward James
requests the honour of your presence
at the marriage of her daughter

Cheryl Sue
also daughter of the late Mr. Edward James

to
Mr. Timothy Earl
son of Mr. and Mrs. Carroll Jones
or(son of Mr. Carroll Jones and the late Mrs. Jane Jones), etc.

Or, (version 4A)

Cheryl Sue
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Edward James
(or daughter of Mrs. Sharon Walker and the late Mr. James Walker)
and
Mr. Timothy Earle Jones
son of Mr. and Mrs. Carroll Jones
(or son of Mr. Carroll Jones and the late Mrs. Jane Jones)
request the honour of your presence... etc.

5. When the bride’s stepfather is hosting along with the mother:
Mr. and Mrs. James Walker
request the honour of your presenceat the marriage of her daughter

Cheryl Sue
to
Mr. Timothy Earl

NOTE: If her stepmother were hosting with her father, “at the marriage of ‘her’ daughter would be changed to ‘his’ daughter’’.

6. An invitation issued by the couple to the wedding and reception:
The honour of your presence is requested
at the marriage of

Cheryl Sue
to
Mr. Timothy Earl

Saturday, the fourth of March
at five o’clock
Memory Hall Garden
And afterward at the reception


For less formal weddings, the phrase: “is requested at the marriage of” could be changed to “invite you to the wedding of.” It may begin with “Please join us to celebrate” or “We hope you will join us” just to name a few.

6A. A custom, informal invitation, reflecting the couple, could look like this:
Cheryl Sue
and
Mr. Timothy Earl
invite you to share their joy at their wedding .... Etc.

7. The couple is issuing the invitation, but honoring their parents:
Cheryl Sue
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Edward James
and
Mr. Timothy Earl
son of Mr. and Mrs. Carroll Jones Earl
request the honour of your presence ... etc.

Not all invitations must be formal or informal cards as mentioned above.
A nice handwritten letter could be an alternative if your wedding is a small intimate affair.
An email message could be very similar.

8. Handwritten (Email) Invitation
Dear John and Kathy,
Timothy Jones and I will be married on March 4, at three o’clock at our home, with a buffet reception following the ceremony. Please come and celebrate with us.
Warm regards,
Cheryl Walker

9. Wedding Reception Invitations
Many prefer to include their reception information on the wedding invitation. However, there are times when a separate invitation to a wedding reception just makes sense. Reception invitations are often used when a reception is being held at a different time than the wedding, or when some are invited to the reception but not to a wedding. Many times divorced parents will split the invitations, with one issuing the wedding invitation and the other issuing the reception invitation. This is appropriate when both the mother and father of the bride are hosting the wedding.
Additionally, the reception invitation can include information, not mentioned on the wedding invitation, about formal attire, such as black tie. Typically, no other dress code is mentioned.

The pleasure of your companyis requested at the wedding reception of

Cheryl Sue
and
Mr. Timothy Earl

Friday, the fourth of May at three o'clock
Location ...
(Optional: Black tie requested)
RSVP
Address

Note:
This example is also very useful for reception invitations for those who wish to have a destination wedding and plan a reception in their hometown after the wedding. It is considered impolite to invite guests to a wedding and not to the reception. This is implying that some guests are important enough to entertain and some are not.

The Reply/Response Card
Did you know that a reply card is relatively new and is optional? Yes it is. Actually, a formally handwritten guest's reply letter was the most common way a guest would reply years ago. For expediency and convenience we now include response cards in nearly all invitations. Plus, unfortunately many people have lost the art of writing a formal response letter today. In the past, it was considered impolite to assume your guest didn't know how to write one. Now we assume that our guest doesn’t.
Some guests may forget to write their names on the response card. In order to keep track of who responds and who does not, make a list of your guests with a number assigned to each name. Mark the corresponding number in pencil on the back of each response card. You will know quickly who has and has not replied.
If you choose not to use a reply card, which is also known as a RSVP card, you would simply send a small card with your RSVP information stating,

“The favour of a reply is requested by June 20, 20...,”
or write it on your reception invitation.

A formal response should be returned to the bride on the guest’s personal stationary.
Note: Place a stamp on the response card envelope before assembling the invitations and placing them into the envelopes.

A Formal Response
Ms. Shannon Doherty accepts with pleasure your kind invitation for Sunday, the twentieth of June
Or
regrets that she is unableto accept

Note:
Using email responses is also relatively new and is appropriate for informal (never formal) weddings. Because it is so new and some may not be comfortable with sending emails for a wedding reply, it would be best to include a land address to reply to also.

10. Wedding Announcement

Mr. and Mrs. Charles Damier
are pleased to announce the marriage of their daughter

Josephine Sandra
to
Mark David

on Saturday, the eighth of April