Creating your wedding invites can be a confusing process. What to send when and how to keep up the “proper” etiquette – it seems daunting at first. If you work with a custom invitation designer, your process will become somewhat easier, but you still have to decide on a few things with your wedding invite wording. We have created some examples below to show you common wedding invite wording, what’s “proper,” and how to break the rules correctly on your invitation suite!

KEEPING IT CONSISTENT

The most important part of your wedding invite wording is keeping it consistent with the overall feel of your wedding. There are no tried and true “rules” to this anymore, but the wording can give your guests helpful clues about your wedding. You want to give your guests as much information about what your wedding will be like as possible with your invitations. This can start with design, of course, but your wording choices will be a huge indicator of how formal and how traditional your wedding will be. So think about the formality of your event – if it is black tie, then you will want to stick with a more formal wording. If your wedding is more fun and casual, then a more modern, unique wording will be more appropriate. We have provided some examples of each below!

DETERMINE WHO IS HOSTING THE WEDDING

The other piece of information that goes into your wording will be who the hosts of your wedding are. The hosts are typically those who fund the wedding, and who the invitation technically comes from. In a traditional sense, this was typically the Bride’s parents, but with the average age of marriage increasing, same-sex marriage becoming legal in the U.S., and unions of all sorts of family makeups becoming more commonplace. things have changed on this front. The invitation should still come from whomever is hosting the event, though, so ask yourself who that person is, and then you’ll be able to determine whose names are listed at the top.

EXAMPLES

FORMAL

For formal invitations, there is a pretty set format that is technically “correct” by Emily Post standards. “Honour” and “favour” are used in place of “honor” and “favor” on the invitation and reply card. Bonus points for anyone who recognizes these fake names!

ONE SPOUSE’S PARENTS ARE HOSTING

Mr. and Mrs. Jack Geller
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter
Monica Ellen
to
Chandler Muriel
Son of Ms. Nora Bing and Ms. Helena Handbasket

BOTH SPOUSES’ PARENTS ARE HOSTING

Mr. and Mrs. Jack Geller
with Ms. Nora Bing and Ms. Helena Handbasket
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of their children
Monica Ellen Geller
and
Chandler Muriel Bing
SEMI-FORMAL

If your wedding is semi-formal, you can play with some of the traditional wording a little bit more, but still stick to a regular structure. You can use the American spellings of “honor” and “favor”, and you don’t need to list out all the parents’ names, if they are still married. Many spouses are actually hosting their own weddings these days, but like to add a “Together with their families” to give a nod to the support of their families in getting them to this place.

ONE SPOUSE’S PARENTS ARE HOSTING

Mr. and Mrs. Jack Geller
request the honor of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter
Monica Ellen
to
Chandler Muriel
Son of Ms. Nora Bing and Ms. Helena Handbasket

SEMI-FORMAL, SPOUSES ARE HOSTING

Together with their families,
Monica Ellen Geller
and Chandler Muriel Bing
invite you to celebrate their marriage

CASUAL

With more casual wedding invite wording, there isn’t really a go-to format. You can play around with puns, exclamations, anything you want really! If it fits your style and your personality as a couple, then go for it! Here are a couple of examples to get you started!

Monica + Chandler are getting married
…let’s party!

You are invited to celebrate the wedding of
Monica Ellen Geller
and
Chandler Muriel Bing
Monica + Chandler
invite you to celebrate their marriage

What wedding invite wording are you going to go with? Let us know in the comments below which one you choose and why! We are always so excited to try new and unique wordings for modern weddings, we would love to hear what wording was perfect for you and your partner!