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Wedding Stationery Guide: Wedding Invitation Wording Samples

Wedding Stationery Guide· Wording

28 Dec

Deciding on the wording for your invitation can seem like a daunting task! I’ve put together this post to take some of the stress out of the process and provide sample wording for your wedding invitations. There is a lot of conflicting information out there- when in doubt I defer to Emily Post for anything involving wedding etiquette.

wedding invitation wording examples

I’m sharing my advice about following traditional wedding etiquette, but when all is said and done, it’s your wedding. As long as you include the basic info (who, what, where, and when), your guests will make it to the wedding. And most importantly, make sure you and your partner (and your families) are comfortable with the wording you decide on.

The information that is typically included in a wedding invitation is broken down into five sections: the host, the request, the couple, date and time, and location.

traditional invitation wording

1. HOST

The first line of the invitation lists the host(s) of the event. Traditionally, the bride’s parents act as hosts, but it’s common to have the groom’s parents, both sets of parents, or the bride and groom hosting. You can leave the host line out completely, or alternatively use “together with their families”.

2. REQUEST

Use “the honor of your presence” for weddings at a place of worship. “The pleasure of your company” is used for secular locations. The old English spelling of “honour” can be used for traditional or formal weddings.

3. THE COUPLE

The bride’s name goes first, followed by the groom’s name. Use only the first and middle name if the parents’ names are listed. Formal invitations include the groom’s title. If the bride’s parents are hosting but you want to list the groom’s parents, do so after the groom’s name.

4. DATE & TIME

The date and time should be spelled out. Include a hyphen in numbers over twenty (twenty-three). Including the year is optional, but do not use “and” (two thousand and eighteen is incorrect). “In the afternoon/evening” is optional. Use “half after” for half hours.

5. LOCATION

List the ceremony location along with the city and state. The street address is optional (it’s a good idea if the venue is not well known, or if there are multiple venues with similar names in the city), but leave off the zip code.

6. Optional Information

If the ceremony and the reception are at the same venue, it’s common to include “reception to follow” (or similar wording). If they are at different locations or you have more reception details to include, you would use a separate card for the reception.

You can also include information about the suggested dress code (black tie, formal attire, black tie optional) if the invitation is to the ceremony and reception. Attire is generally listed in the lower right corner of the invitation.

Traditional Wedding Invitation Wording Samples

These first three invitation wording examples follow traditional wedding etiquette and would be perfect for a formal wedding.

OPTION 1

bride’s parents hosting at a religious location

Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Jackson
request the honor of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter

Abigail Marie
to
Lucas James Douglas

Saturday, the twenty-first of April
two thousand twenty-four
at four o’clock in the afternoon

Holy Trinity Church
Chicago, Illinois

Option 2

both parents hosting at a secular location

Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Jackson
together with
Mr. and Mrs. Mason Douglas
request the pleasure of your company
at the marriage of their children

Abigail Marie
and
Lucas James

Saturday, the twenty-first of April
two thousand twenty-four
at half after four o’clock

Midtown Loft and Terrace
Chicago, Illinois

Option 3

couple hosting at a secular location

The pleasure of your company
is requested at the marriage of

Abigail Marie Jackson
and
Mr. Lucas James Douglas

Saturday, the twenty-first of April
two thousand twenty-four
at half after four o’clock

Midtown Loft and Terrace
5103 Lincoln Avenue
Chicago, Illinois

and afterward at the reception

black letterpress on extra thick paper

Traditional Wedding Invitation Wording Variations

These next three wording examples are variations on the traditional wording, adjusted to fit different hosting situations.

OPTION 4

parents and couple hosting

Together with their families

Abigail Marie Jackson
and
Lucas James Douglas

request the pleasure of your company
at their wedding ceremony
Saturday, the twenty-first of April
two thousand twenty-four
at half after four o’clock

Midtown Loft and Terrace
Chicago, Illinois

dinner and dancing to follow

Option 5

groom’s parents hosting, black tie

Mr. and Mrs. Mason Douglas
request the pleasure of your company
at the marriage of

Abigail Marie Jackson
to their son
Lucas James

Saturday, the twenty-first of April
two thousand twenty-four
at half after four o’clock

Midtown Loft and Terrace
Chicago, Illinois

and afterward at the reception

black tie

 

Option 6

bride’s divorced (and remarried) parents hosting

Mr. and Mrs. Anne Worthington
together with
Mr. Charles Jackson
request the honor of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter

Abigail Marie Jackson
and
Lucas James Douglas

Saturday, the twenty-first of April
at four o’clock in the afternoon

Holy Trinity Church
Chicago, Illinois

wedding invitations with wax seals and silk ribbon

Contemporary Invitation Wording Samples

Finally, these last three invitation wording samples are examples of modern wedding invitation wording.

 

OPTION 7

couple hosting

Abigail Jackson
and
Lucas Douglas

invite you to join them
as they are united in marriage
April 21, 2024 at 4 o’clock

Midtown Loft and Terrace
Chicago, Illinois

merriment to follow

Option 8

bride’s parents hosting

Mr. and Mrs. Mason Douglas
invite you to share their joy
at the marriage of their daughter

Abigail Jackson
to
Lucas Douglas

Saturday, April twenty-first
at four o’clock

Midtown Loft and Terrace
Chicago, Illinois

reception immediately following

 

Option 9

bride and groom hosting

Because you have shared in our lives
by your friendship and love, we

Abigail and Lucas

invite you to share our joy
as we are united in marriage
Saturday, the twenty-first of April
at half after four o’clock

Holy Trinity Church
Chicago, Illinois

merriment to follow

modern wedding invitation wording

Next week in The Wedding Stationery Guide, I’ll be sharing wording tips and etiquette advice for another important piece of your invitation suite: the response card!

Previous Post: « Customize Your Wedding Invitations with a Venue Sketch
Next Post: Wedding Stationery Guide: Reception Card Wording Samples »

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MEET SARAH

Hello! I´m Sarah - I am a mom, wife, and stationery designer living in southwest Michigan. I believe in God and good manners, love beautiful typography, adore traditions, and am infatuated with pretty paper.
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ABOUT ME

I’m Sarah, and I create tailor-made wedding stationery for brides that need a simple, classic invitation design with just the right amount of personality.

Banter & Charm is a Michigan wedding invitation design studio based in St. Joseph. Not local? I serve brides throughout Michigan and northern Indiana, Notre Dame, Chicago, the Midwest, and across the US. Read More…

Make sure your invitations are

EMILY POST-APPROVED

Avoid common etiquette mistakes with this free guide.

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It's almost the weekend! That means it's time for It's almost the weekend! That means it's time for a quick #fridayintroductions ⁠
Hello! I'm Sarah - I’m a Midwest girl, born and raised in southwest Michigan where I still live today. I’m married to the love of my life, Jake, and am a mom to two adorable children, Abby and Alex. I believe in God and good manners, I treasure family traditions (both old and new), and I’m passionate about beautiful typography and pretty paper. ⁠
Fortunately, my passion is also my full-time job, and I spend my days designing wedding invitations for sweet brides through my stationery company, Banter & Charm. My side hustles also involve designing! Whether it's holiday cards for @minted or funny t-shirt on @zazzle I'm happiest when I'm able to put my creative talents to good use.⁠
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