Now that you’ve picked your perfect invitation design, it is time to decide how you should properly word it. wedding invitation wording will obviously include all the important information for your guests, so a date, time and a location, but what else needs to be included and how do you word it?
First of all it is important to note that information such as wedding website, directions, valet information, accommodations, would be listed on a different insert card; it is important to have a wedding website to include information such as registry details, which is not often well received as a written card on an invitation package.
The Host
list whoever is Hosting the event, so either the Bride’s parents, the Groom’s parents, both or neither
Generally the host of the celebration is the person taking care of most of the bill. That person is listed first, followed by their child’s name
Traditionally, the titles are included, however feel free to deviate from tradition and only include names for a less formal and more casual feel.
2. The Request line
This needs to be an explicit request to attend the wedding
There are many different ways to request someone’s presence at your wedding (see examples below)
the “honour of your presence” is used for weddings taking place at a place of worship, whereas “the pleasure of your company” can be used for all other venues
3. The Couple’s names
Traditionally the Bride is listed first
If the parents are listed, only first and middle names are included, you may also skip the middle name for a more casual feel
The groom’s name can be preceded by their title for an extra formal look.
4. Date and time
Day of the week, month, day and year are traditionally spelled out (although you may decide to give it a less formal look by using numbers)
Day of the week and year are capitalized (time should never be capitalized)
The year is usually printed on a separate line and can be omitted if desired.
Time, on the hour, should be followed by “o’clock”; do not use “o’clock” if the time is not on the hour
Time, not on the hour, should be hyphenated
Time should always be followed by “in the morning” (12am to 12pm), “noon”, “in the afternoon”(12pm to 6pm), “in the evening” (6pm to 12am), or “midnight”
When numerals are used, they should be followed by “a.m.” or “p.m.” (Note: lowercase and periods)
5. Location
Lists the name and address of your ceremony location
If ceremony and reception are at the same location, a line with “Reception to follow” will be printed at the bottom of the invite
Reception venue and address traditionally go on a small enclosure; in that case a line with “Reception to follow” will suffice on the invite. You may however include reception venue and address for a more casual feel
Zip codes do not belong on invitations or accessory cards. They are however appropriate for outer envelopes or rsvp envelopes (see mailing list cheat sheet HERE)
all words should be spelled out on invitations, accessory cards and envelopes . EX: “Road” instead of “Rd.”, “Boulevard” instead of “Blvd.”, “Indiana” instead of “IN”
Names of places are always capitalized; whether “corner” as example is not capitalized, “Street” is
6. “Closure” lines
if reception follows the ceremony, you can have a line for that
The last line can be reserved for the Attire, and is usually printed in “fineprint” (a different and usually smaller type than the rest of the wording)
You can format the writing of your dress code in a few ways: “Dress Formal”; “Dress: Formal”; “Formal Attire (Black Tie optional)
“Adults only” can be included on the bottom of the invitation also if needed
“Attire” and “Adult only” can also be in fineprint on the left and right bottom sides of the invitation card if needed
