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You’ve chosen your wedding invitations, and now it’s time to tackle the wedding invitation wording. Why is this important? Well, your wedding invitations are the first place your guests will look to for the essential information they require for your wedding day. Whether you choose to keep the wording classic and traditional or want to add a creative and modern twist is up to you, but whatever route you decide, there are many essential wedding invitation elements that you won’t want to forget. “What is written first on wedding invitations?” or “How do I make my wording sound traditional?” — our wedding invitation wording guide below will give you the answers on everything you need to know about wedding invitation wording.
The first thing you’ll need to ask yourselves is: “Who is hosting our wedding?” You may straightaway think that typically, it’s the bride and groom, but in some cases, a wedding is hosted by the bride’s parents. It’s important to confirm this before moving forward. The first line of your wedding invitations will start with who’s holding the wedding — whether the parents of the bride or the future bride and groom themselves. If the parents of the bride are hosting the wedding:
Mr and Mrs Richard Cooper request the honour of your presence at the marriage of their daughter Miss Kerry Cooper to Mr Jack Banks on Friday, 7th October 2022 at three o’clock in the afternoon At [Ceremony venue] followed by a reception at [Venue] (if at a different location) Carriages at midnight
If the future bride and groom are the hosts:
Miss Kerry Cooper and Mr Jack Banks request the pleasure of your company at their marriage on Friday, 7th October 2022 at three o’clock in the afternoon at [Ceremony venue] followed by a reception at [Venue] (if at a different location) Carriages at midnight
If you wish to include the name of a parent who is deceased to the wording above, you can also write this in an alternative way:
Kerry Cooper, daughter of Mr Richard Cooper and the late Mary Cooper, and Jack Banks, son of Mrs Laura Banks and the late Paul Banks, request the pleasure of your company at their marriage (and so forth)
Tip: Traditionally, a bride’s name usually comes before that of the groom on the wedding invitations.
It’s better to state exactly who is invited so that it’s clear from the start. When writing your invites, try to write their names in full, for example, “Mr. Richard and Mrs Mary Cooper.” If you’re inviting children, remember to include their names on the invitations: “Oscar, Matthew and Samantha.”
The date and times on wedding invitations will need to be written with the weekday, month and year. If your guests are attending all day, clearly state the ceremony’s starting time. For evening guests, make sure to note the start of the evening reception time.
TIP: If you’re worried that your guests will turn up at the ceremony’s start time, i.e. 2:00 PM, make sure to write, “Please be seated by 1:45 PM (state time 15-30 minutes before the ceremony start time)”.
There’s nothing worse than family members getting lost, so it’s better to include the full address of the wedding venue (including the postcode!) on the main part of the invitation.
Are you worried that someone will turn up to your wedding in jeans? Or do you want everyone to dress up according to your wedding theme? Guests will want to know if the dress is cocktail-attire only or informal wear, so don’t forget to let everyone know if you want them to stick to a particular style.
TIP: Keep it simple by writing: “Dress: no suits or tuxes required!”, “Black tie - (Tuxedos and formal gowns)” or “Cocktail Attire - (Suits and party dresses)”.
If you’re inviting a guest with a plus one, be sure to write “Mrs Mandy Teller and Guest” on the invitation or envelope. Or, if you know their plus one’s full name, you can write this instead.
Whatever you decide, you’ll need to clarify it to your guests. If you would like to include children on your special day, make sure to state their names on the invitation clearly. If you wish to have a child-free wedding, our guide: 19 Polite Ways To Exclude Children At Weddings, will give you some informative tips. If you decide to have a child-free wedding, then you can use the following examples which politely inform your guests:
“Unfortunately, as much as we'd like to invite all our friends' children, it is only possible to accommodate children of close family. We hope that you will understand this decision, and we very much hope you will still be able to join us on our special day.”
“To allow all guests, including parents, an evening of relaxation we have chosen for our wedding day to be an adult-only occasion. We hope this advance notice means you are still able to share our big day and will enjoy having the evening off!”
We never like to ask people for gifts, so this can often be a tricky one to tackle. Firstly, think of whether you want a physical gift, or if you would like money towards something you both want (honeymoon, car, a new home, etc.) — it’s entirely up to you.
Here is a list of some examples of how to ask graciously: “We’ve lived together quite a while with all our pots and pans, and as we don’t need homely gifts we’ve got another plan! We know it’s not traditional, but an awful lot more fun, to have items on our wedding list to help us catch some sun! So if you’d like to give a gift and send us on our way, a donation to our honeymoon would really make our day!!”
“If you're thinking of giving us a gift, to help us on our way, a gift of cash towards our honeymoon would really make our day. Then while we're relaxing on the beach, or by the pool so blue, we'll sit back and know that it’s truly thanks to you!”
“The most important gift to us is having you share on our special day. But if you wish to contribute in some other way, we would love a few pennies to put in our pot, for our honeymoon trip after tying the knot!”
