Parents of the bride or groom or the couple themselves may choose to send a wedding announcement after the wedding to friends and family. Here is an example of wedding announcement wording:

Mr. and Mrs. Carl Redd Verde
have the honour of announcing
the marriage of their daughter
Violet Blue
to
Mr. Albe Gooden Tuxed
on Saturday, the twenty-first of June
two thousand and eight
Ringfinger, California

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Sometimes couples choose to have a smaller, private wedding ceremony or a civil ceremony and invite a larger crowd to the wedding reception. Here is one way to word your reception only wedding invitation.

Mr. and Mrs. Carl Redd Verde
request the pleasure of your company
at the Wedding Reception for their daughter
Violet Blue
and
Mr. Albe Gooden Tuxed
Saturday, the sixth of September
two thousand and eight
eight o’clock in the evening
The March and Vow Hotel
450 South Raymond Avenue
Ringfinger, California

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Many couples like to include a deceased parent in memory of their loved one.

Wording for a deceased parent of the groom:

Violet Blue Verde
and
Albe Gooden Tuxed
together with their parents
Mr. and Mrs. Carol Redd Verde
Mrs. Filomina Gretchen Tuxed
and the late Mr. Alvin Lester Tuxed
request the honour of your presence
at their marriage
Saturday, the twenty-first of June
two thousand and eight
one o’clock in the afternoon
First Church of Religion
Ringfinger, California

Wording for a deceased parent of the bride:

Violet Blue Verde
and
Albe Gooden Tuxed
together with their parents
Mrs. Ruth Rosado Verde
the late Mr. Carl Redd Verde
and
Mr. and Mrs. Alvin Lester Tuxed
request the honour of your presence
at their marriage
Saturday, the twenty-first of June
two thousand and eight
one o’clock in the afternoon
First Church of Religion
Ringfinger, California

Wording for a deceased parents of the bride:

Violet Blue Verde
and
Albe Gooden Tuxed
together with their parents
the late Mr. and Mrs. Carl Redd Verde
and
Mr. and Mrs. Alvin Lester Tuxed
request the honour of your presence
at their marriage
etc.

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Here are examples of wedding invitation wording when one or both sets of parents are divorced:

Invitation issued by bride’s mother:
If mother has not remarried she uses a combination of her maiden name and her married name.

Mrs. Charlene Verde Brown
requests the honour of your presence
at the marriage of her daughter
Violet Blue
to
Mr. Albe Gooden Tuxed
Saturday, the twenty-first of June
two thousand and eight
one o’clock in the afternoon
First Church of Religion
Ringfinger, California

Invitation issued by both parents, mother has remarried, father has not:

Mrs. Charlene Brown Rosa
and
Mr. Carl Redd Verde
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter
Violet Blue Verde
to
Albe Gooden Tuxed

Both of bride’s parents have remarried and invitations are issued by both sets of parents:

Mr. and Mrs. Charlene Brown Rosa
and
Mr. and Mrs. Carl Redd Verde
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter
Violet Blue Verde
to
Albe Gooden Tuxed
etc.

Both sets of parents are divorced and both are issuing the invitation:

Mr. and Mrs. Heiromynus Serviet
Mr. and Mrs. Carl Verde
Mr. and Mrs. Clotilde Alister
and
Mr. and Mrs. Alvin Tuxed
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of their children
Violet Blue Verde
and
Albe Gooden Tuxed
etc.

Both sets of parents are divorced, Bride’s parents are issuing invitation and groom’s parents are being included:

Mr. and Mrs. Heiromynus Serviet
and
Mr. and Mrs. Carl Verde
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter
Violet Blue Verde
to
Albe Gooden Tuxed
son of
Mr. and Mrs. Clotilde Alister
and
Mr. and Mrs. Alvin Tuxed
etc.

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Here is an example of wedding invitation wording when the grooms parents host:

Mr. and Mrs. Carl Redd Verde
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of
Violet Blue
to
Mr. Albe Gooden Tuxed
Saturday, the twenty-first of June
two thousand and eight
one o’clock in the afternoon
First Church of Religion
Ringfinger, California

Ceremony at Home of Friends

Mr. and Mrs. Carl Redd Verde
request the pleasure of your company
at the marriage of their daughter
Violet Blue
to
Mr. Albe Gooden Tuxed
Friday, the twenty-seventh of June
two thousand and three
seven o’clock in the evening
at the home of
Mr. and Mrs. Fanny Farthingale
Ringfinger, California

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Church Ceremony

Mr. and Mrs. Carl Redd Verde
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter
Violet Blue
to
Mr. Albe Gooden Tuxed
Saturday, the twenty-first of June
two thousand and eight
one o’clock in the afternoon
First Church of Religion
Ringfinger, California

Ceremony at Home of Friends

Mr. and Mrs. Carl Redd Verde
request the pleasure of your company
at the marriage of their daughter
Violet Blue
to
Mr. Albe Gooden Tuxed
Friday, the twenty-seventh of June
two thousand and three
seven o’clock in the evening
at the home of
Mr. and Mrs. Fanny Farthingale
Ringfinger, California

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There are many unique ways to word modern wedding invitations. Here are a some examples:

When the couple and both families are hosting the wedding:

Together with our families

join us in celebrating the marriage of

Mary Lee James

and

Michael Hampton Parsons

Friday, the twenty-seventh of June

two thousand and three

seven o’clock in the evening

at the home of

Mr. and Mrs. Fanny Farthingale

Ringfinger, California

When the couple is hosting the wedding:

Friends

Come join in celebration

at the union of

Mary Lee James

and

Michael Hampton Parson

A quote from a poem as the header (this from Shakespeare’s Sonnet 76 or choose your favorite):

“For as the sun is daily new and old,

So is my love still telling what is told.”

At sunset on the water’s edge

Lily Blackstone

and

Patrick Willington

request you to share in their joy as they

unite their lives and love in matrimony

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How you word your wedding invitation depends on how formal your wedding is, who is hosting your wedding, and your cultural heritage. The wedding invitation wording suggestions in this article are based on American Anglo-Saxon traditions of the past 70 years or so.

However, none of the so-called rules are etched in stone. We have a substantial collection of etiquette books dating back to the mid 1800’s – as well as books about medieval life – and many of the wedding invitation wording rules have changed. Let’s just say we should all count our blessings that we live now!

Here’s a list of some general dos and don’ts:

• No periods at the end of a line.
• Use proper given names; for example Anthony, not Tony, Cynthia not Cindy.
• No abbreviations other than Mr., Mrs., Dr., and Jr.
• First letter of each line is not capitalized, unless it is a proper noun; for example Sunday, the fifth of October” is correct or “on Sunday, the fifth of October” is correct.
• Dates and times are written out: half after five o’clock, two thousand and three.
• The first word of the year is capitalized.
• The “honour of your presence is requested” is traditionally used for church weddings only.
• Never type in all-caps.

And here are several examples of how to word your wedding invitations based on different circumstances:

Modern Wedding Invitation Wording

Traditional Wedding Invitation Wording

Grooms Parents Host

Divorced Parents Wedding Invitation Wording

Deceased Parent Wedding Invitation Wording

Reception Only Wedding Invitation Wording

Wedding Announcement Wording