Wording | Text
WORDING RULES AND ETIQUETTE
Let’s work our way down the invitation from top to bottom!
See the bottom of this page for wording examples.
HOSTING
Start your wording off based on who’s hosting the wedding.
If the bride’s parents are paying for everything you may start the invitation:
Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Anderson
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter
If both sets of parents are paying for everything:
Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Cooper
request the pleasure of your company
at the marriage of their daughter
Sarah Marie
to
Christopher Stephen
son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Davidson
If just the couple themselves is paying:
Sarah Marie Cooper
and
Christopher Stephen Davidson
request the honour of your presence
at their marriage
Both sets of parents are hosting:
Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Cooper
and
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Davidson
request the pleasure of your company
at the marriage of their children…
Everyone is pitching in on the wedding:
Together with their families
Sarah Marie Cooper
and
Christopher Stephen Davidson
request the honour of your presence
as they exchange wedding vows
(you may omit middle names for a less formal approach)
HONOUR vs. PLEASURE
The phrase “request the honour of your presence” is traditionally used if a ceremony is in a place of worship. “Request the pleasure of your company” is used for a ceremony in a non-religious location.
ABBREVIATIONS
• No abbreviations should be used on the invitation. Either spell out a name or leave it out: Jonathan Richard Cooper or Jonathan Cooper...never Jonathan R. Cooper. Exceptions are: “Mr.” and “Mrs.”
• Road, Street, Avenue, Reverend, Doctor and all military titles should be spelled out.
• Etiquette experts prefer “junior” to be spelled out. The “j” is not capitalized.
PUNCTUATION
Punctuation is not used at the ends of lines. But, commas may be used within the lines (between day/date, city/state, etc.).
CAPITALIZATION
Only proper nouns should be capitalized (names, church name, streets, etc.), except at beginning of a new sentence, like “Reception to follow”.
NUMBERS
Numbers are spelled out, except in the street addresses. Casual weddings, or for contemporary look, you may use numbers in the invitation.
DATE
When writing the date, the days and numbers should be spelled out.
The day is written first, then the date and month. The year is written on the following line.
British wording is traditionally worded “two thousand and ten”, American version is “two thousand ten”.
TIME
• Abbreviations “a.m.” and “p.m.” should not be used, instead use “in the morning” or “in the evening” (if it’s held between 8-10 p.m.).
• The proper reference to a half hour is “half after,” not “half past.” So 7:30 would be written as “ half after seven o’clock”.
• Times between Noon and 5:30 pm are considered the afternoon. After 6:00 p.m. is evening.
LOCATION ADDRESSES
When listing the ceremony address, spell out all words (Street, Avenue, State/Province, etc.). Only the street address, city and state should be listed. The zip code should not be listed on the invitation.
RECEPTION INFORMATION
If you don’t use reception cards, you may put “Reception immediately following” or “Reception to follow” on the last line of the invitation. This means the reception will be at the same place as the ceremony. If the reception is at another location, you should order a separate reception card to differentiate the two locations.
NO CHILDREN
It is considered inappropriate to write “no children please” anywhere in the invitation suite. A more acceptable (although questionable) way to tackle this is to include a separate reception card in your invitation suite containing the reception details. The last line can state “Adult Only Reception”. Ideally, it is best to share this situation by word of mouth via family members and friends, before the wedding.
ATTIRE
Attire requests such as “Black tie” don’t traditionally appear on invitations. If the event takes place after 6 p.m. people should assume that it is a formal event. However, if you are concerned, you can write “Black tie” as a footnote on your reception card. Note that “B” in “Black tie” is capitalized, but not “t.”
REGISTRY INFO
It’s not proper etiquette to include registry info on your invitations. It makes it seem as if you’re expecting your guests to bring gifts. If you wish to include charity donation information, that may be acceptable. Registry info is usually spread by word-of-mouth and can be listed on bridal shower invitations.
RSVP
R.s.v.p. is the French phrase “Répondez s’il vous plaît”. It means “please respond”. Only the “R” in “R.s.v.p.” needs capitalization. Since it means “please respond”, you don’t need to say “Please R.s.v.p.”.
FAVOR VS FAVOUR
Either spelling can be used, but if you use the word "honour" on the invitation use "favour" on the R.s.v.p. "The favour of a reply is requested…". The formal British spelling using “u” is considered proper wedding etiquette but whichever form you use, be consistent.
WORDING OPTIONS
BOTH PARENTS AND COUPLE HOSTING:
Bride Name
and
Groom Name
together with their parents
request the pleasure of your company
at their marriage
Saturday, the third of May
Two thousand thirteen
at two o'clock in the afternoon
Fox Hollow Country Club
4780 Palmgren Lane
St. Michael, Minnesota
Reception to follow
-------------------------------------
JUST COUPLE HOSTING:
Bride Name
and
Groom Name
request the pleasure of your company
at their marriage
Saturday, the third of May
Two thousand thirteen
at two o'clock in the afternoon
Fox Hollow Country Club
4780 Palmgren Lane
St. Michael, Minnesota
Reception to follow
-------------------------------------
JUST BRIDE'S PARENTS HOSTING:
Mr. & Mrs. Charles and Susan Anderson
request the pleasure of your company
at the marriage of their daughter
Bride Name
to
Groom Name
Saturday, the third of May
Two thousand thirteen
at two o'clock in the afternoon
Fox Hollow Country Club
4780 Palmgren Lane
St. Michael, Minnesota
Reception to follow
-------------------------------------
JUST GROOM'S PARENTS HOSTING:
Mr. & Mrs. Charles and Susan Anderson
request the pleasure of your company
at the marriage of
Bride Name
to their son
Groom Name
Saturday, the third of May
Two thousand thirteen
at two o'clock in the afternoon
Fox Hollow Country Club
4780 Palmgren Lane
St. Michael, Minnesota
Reception to follow
-------------------------------------
IN A PLACE OF WORSHIP:
(couple and parents hosting)
Bride Name
and
Groom Name
together with their parents
request the honor of your presence
as they are united in marriage
Saturday, the third of May
Two thousand thirteen
at two o'clock in the afternoon
St. Joseph's Catholic Church
290 Anoka Avenue
Monticello, Minnesota
Reception to follow
at six o'clock in the evening
Fox Hollow Country Club
4780 Palmgren Lane
St. Michael, Minnesota
-------------------------------------
With Appleberry Ink's invitations, you may choose to put details of the reception (time and address) on the backside if there is not enough room on the front.
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