Ultimate Guide to Wedding Invitation Wording

Things You Must Include in Your Wedding Invite:

Before we even get to how you should word your invite, let’s talk about the must-haves. You’d be surprised how easy it is to forget some of the details when putting together your wedding invitations. Sometimes we focus on much on one small detail, like the wording of who is hosting the event, that we forget to put the actual start time of the ceremony. Ha! You laugh now, but I’ve actually received an invite once that completely omitted the start time! So, to help you out we put together a list of the non-negotiable elements of your wedding invite wording: 

  • Who's hosting (This is really only important if you are going the formal route)

  • The request to come to the wedding

  • The names of the bride and groom

  • The date 

  • The time it starts

  • The location

  • Reception information (unless including a details card)

  • Dress code (can also be included in details card) 

  • RSVP information (unless including an RSVP card) 

  • Wedding website (unless including an RSVP card or details card)

Formal Wedding Invitation Wording

As you probably know by know, weddings are pretty darn expensive. So, the party paying for it (or the majority of it) might care how you address the invitation. Traditionally, the bride’s family “hosts” the wedding (a.k.a. pays for the whole thing, so traditionally their names go first in the invitation. Today, not everyone follows the traditional wedding etiquette and it’s not expected that the bride’s family pays for everything. Some families split the costs and some couples opt to pay for the whole thing themselves. If you’re having trouble wording your invitations to everyone’s liking, try out these formal wording samples that are tried and true: 

Parents of couple hosting together

Dr. and Mrs. David Salinger Lee

and Mr. and Mrs. Reginald Boar

Invite you to celebrate the marriage of their children

Theodora Grace Lee and Clarice Thomas Boar

Saturday, the fifth of October, two thousand and twenty

Six o'clock in the evening | The Inn at Trinity | Palo Alto, California

Reception to follow


Bride’s family hosting 

Mr. and Mrs. Robert DeNiro

Invite you to join in the

Celebration of the marriage of their daughter

Claire Anne to

Jonathan Edward II

Son of Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Gage

Saturday, May 11

Two thousand twenty

at two thirty in the afternoon

St. Mary's Basilica, Chicago, IL

Reception to follow at four thirty in the afternoon, The Ivy Room

Couple hosting

Together with their families

Sadie May Smith

and

Quincy Robert Greene

Request the honor of your presence as they

Tie the knot

Friday May Seventeenth, Two Thousand Twenty

At three o'clock in the afternoon

Conservatory Garden

Central Park

New York, New York


Informal / Casual Wedding Invitation Wording

Are you over the fuss? Just looking for a fun and unique way to invite your friends to your wedding? Throwing wedding etiquette to the wind? Then look no further! Here are some simple informal ways to tell everyone about your impending nuptials are on the way: 

  • Good food, great music, and bad dancing

  • Join us for a wonderful evening of merriment and marriage

  • Love is in the air

  • Join us as we say I do

  • We’re getting hitched!

You could also try incorporating a bible verse or some literary quotes to make the invitation more personal to you and your relationship. 


Whether you are going super formal and adhering to traditional wedding etiquette, or you’re breaking the mold and going for something truly unique, we’d love to chat about how the Flourish co can help you achieve the perfect invitation for your big day! Holler at us by dropping a line to → mary@theflourish.co 


Weddings 101, CalligraphyMary AlbrightComment