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Invitation Wording and Etiquette
So you've finally picked out the perfect wedding invitation design and now you need to figure out how to make it sound like perfection too? Well don't stress, because this modern wedding invitation wording guide will help you out with that part.
Wording Your Invitation
Wedding invitation wording can be broken up into two parts. The beginning few lines that announce that a marriage is taking place and that somebody is inviting you to this marriage is part one. The rest of the logistical information is part two.
Part two is easy. Remember the 5 W's from elementary school - who, what, why, when, and where? If part two of your wedding invitation can answer these five basic questions you are pretty much good to go. As long as you mention times, places, whether or not there will be a reception, and other key information you will be fine. Some people like to long-hand the numbers and times in this section, but it's not necessary. A more formal or traditional invitation design will probably look better with long-hand numbers, whereas a modern invitation design will probably look better with regular numbers. It's really your preference. If you do long-hand the numbers, keep in mind that 33 is written as "thirty-three" with a dash included, not "thirty three". Years are written without dashes (e.g. two thousand and twelve).
Now onto Part 1 - wording those first few lines of your wedding invitations. This may seem like a daunting or painful task, but it's actually pretty straight forward. These few lines basically just announce who is inviting you to the wedding. Usually this part of the wording is based around who is hosting (or paying for) the wedding, but you don't have to follow this tradition if you don't want to. It's your wedding invitation, so feel free to get creative and make it your own. The following sections describe a few different ways to word this part - traditional, modern, and freestyle.
Traditional: Mention the parents
Traditionally, whoever is paying for or hosting the wedding is mentioned on these first few lines and subsequently "asks" the guests to attend in some sort of elegant fashion. This is definitely not required in today's modern wedding environment, however, you will probably want to have a discussion about it with your parents or in-laws so that there are no hurt feelings over whether or not they were mentioned.
Parents of the bride or groom hosting:
Mr. and Mrs. John Smith
request the pleasure of your company
at the marriage of their daughter
Jane Smith to Bradley Johnson...
Both sets of parents hosting:
Mr. and Mrs. John Smith together with
Mr. and Mrs. Frank Johnson
request the honor of your presence
at the marriage of
Jane Smith to Bradley Johnson...
Parents and Families hosting:
The parents and families of
Jane Smith and Bradley Johnson
invite you to attend a wedding on...
Modern: Don't mention anyone, or mention everyone.
If the bride and groom are paying for or hosting the wedding themselves, the wording can start with something like "Celebrate the marriage of.. ", "You are cordially invited to attend the marriage of", "Join us in celebrating our marriage", or something along those lines. Some couples choose to mention their families as well which is another option. An example of this type of wording would be "Together with their families...".
Bride and groom hosting - 1:
The pleasure of your company is requested as
Jane Smith and Bradley Johnson
join together in marriage...
Bride and groom hosting - 2:
We would be delighted if you could join us
in celebrating the joyous occasion of our marriage
Jane Smith and Bradley Johnson...
Bride and groom and families hosting:
Together with their families
Jane Smith and Bradley Johnson
invite you to celebrate
the union of their marriage...
Freestyle: Just do it however you want!
This one is pretty self explanatory. Forget the rules, forget who's hosting and just go wild with whatever floats your boat. The trick is to make sure you don't go too crazy and not leave enough room for the super important details like time and place. Remember that this is an invitation, so as long as you get the point across that there is an event happening at a certain place and time and we want you to attend, feel free to get creative after that.
Freestyle example:
We would like the warmth of our family and friends
to warm our hearts during the ceremony of our marriage
John Dawlings and Kate Spryer
Intro Wording Variations
Request your presence...
Your presence is requested...
Request the pleasure of your company...
You are invited to celebrate the marriage of...
Celebrate the marriage of...
Join us to celebrate the marriage of...
Request the honor of your presence...
The honor of your presence is requested...
Join us for a celebration in honor of...
For more great examples of wedding invitation wording, visit Modern Girl Invitations
Summer Fielding is a wedding invitation expert with Modern Girl Invitations. View Modern Girl Invitations modern wedding invitations page for additional wording ideas.
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