At first glance, coming up with your wedding invitation wording may seem like an easy task until you actually start thinking about it. Then it turns out that there are lots of things you need to say eloquently and concisely and unless you write speeches and even invitations for a living, you will probably have some trouble. But don’t worry because we’ve got you covered in this step-by-step or rather a line-by-line guide to wedding card wording:
Names of parents, bride and groom in wedding invitations
In typical wedding invitation wording, the names of the hosts go at the top. Traditionally, these were the bride’s parents but today it could be parents from both sides or the bride and groom alone. Either way, you should state the names of the hosts in the top part of the wedding invitation. It is also acceptable to include the names of deceased parents or step-parents, but you need to rearrange the wording a bit because a deceased parent can’t be a host. If the bride and groom are not hosting the wedding, their names should be a few lines down right in the center of the invitation, traditionally, the bride’s name comes first.
Invite your guests to come to the wedding
After the hosts’ names you should include the actual request for the guest to attend the wedding. The options are limitless – it can be as simple as “request the pleasure of your company at the wedding of their children”.
Wedding date and time when writing wedding invitations
The next part of the invitation should include the date and time of the wedding. For formal weddings, the date should be written out completely without any numbers and the time should include the word “o’clock”. For informal weddings, the date and time can be written using numerals and it’s also possible to use a.m. or p.m.
Location of the wedding in a wedding invite
Typically, only the name of the location and its city and state are specified in a wedding invitation, such as the name of the church, hotel, park or another place that your guests can look up the address for. However, you should give a full address with the street name and number and the city if the wedding is held at the parents’ home or at a different relatively nameless location.
Reception and dress code wording in a wedding invitation card
If the reception is held right after the wedding, simply state so, if not – specify the time and location of the reception so your guests can be ready. As for the dress code, explicitly stating it in the wedding invite is optional. If you choose to include a note on what the dress code will be, it should go in the bottom right corner of the invitation. If the dress code is not stated in the invitation, the guests will use the style of the invitation as an indication of the dress code. If the invitation is on the simpler side, the dress code should be more casual. Similarly, a formal wedding should use very fancy and elaborate invitations.