Sweetpics

TRADITIONAL WORDING

It is customary in a formal wedding invitation to spell out everything, including the date and time of the wedding. For example, the invite should read Five o'clock in the evening not 5:00 p.m. Each bit of information occupies its own line and no commas are used, except between the location of the wedding and the city and state in which it will take place.

In its simplest form, the sequence of lines usually follows this order:
__________________ [proper names of those hosting]
request the honor of your presence [request line]
at the marriage of their _________ [list relationship of the bride to the host]
__________________ [bride's first and middle names]
to
__________________ [groom's full name]
_________, the __ of ________ [day of the week, day and month of wedding]
at ____ o'clock [time of wedding] in the _________ [time of day]
___________________ [name of the location of wedding]
_________, ____________ [city and state where wedding will take place]
Reception to follow

Knot Note: If the bride's parents are hosting, it is customary to leave off the bride's last name. If the groom's parents are involved, the bride's last name should be included.

STANDARD WORDING EXAMPLES

Today, a whole roomful of people could be paying for the wedding, including the couple themselves, the bride's parents, the groom's parents, stepparents, grandparents, and the list goes on. It's important that you give credit where credit's due -- whoever's footing the bill deserves to lead off the invitation.

If one set of parents is hosting your wedding, list their names at the top.
Mr. and Mrs. John L. Smith
request the honor of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter
Mary Ann
to
Edward Malcolm Jones

If both sets of parents are jointly hosting, you should list both on separate lines, with the bride's parents first.
Mr. and Mrs. John L. Smith &
Mr. and Mrs. Mark Franklin Jones
request the honor of your presence
at the marriage of their children
Mary Ann Smith
to
Edward Malcolm Jones

When one couple is hosting, but you'd like to honor nonhosting parents by including them on the invitation (a respectful gesture and very wise political move), you simply make a point of noting their relationship to the bride or groom under that person's name.
Mr. and Mrs. John L. Smith
request the honor of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter
Mary Ann
to
Edward Malcolm Jones
son of
Mr. and Mrs. Mark Franklin Jones

If the couple is planning to host the wedding, the invitation begins with the request line.
The honor of your presence
is requested at the marriage of
Miss Mary Ann Smith
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Smith
and
Mr. Edward Malcolm Jones
son of Mr. and Mrs. Mark Franklin Jones

TRADITIONAL WORDING

Give Proper Recognition

STANDARD WORDING EXAMPLES