Wedding Invitation Etiquette

Invitations aren’t just about picking the perfect paper, colors or designs. Not only do they allow couples to show off their unique style and personalities, but they also provide wedding guests with a small glimpse of the highly anticipated event by giving them details and more. Wedding invitations these days are more creative, colorful and gorgeous, but one thing stays the same – wedding invitation etiquette. Many of the exact same rules from yesteryear still apply – from what information to include or how to address people. Here are some tips to have perfectly personalized and worded wedding invitations.

1. Formal Phrasing

 

A formal invitation is still preferred by many couples who want to approach their pending nuptials with decorum. Formal phrasing will work for any type of wedding and is great for church ceremonies, civil ceremonies, backyard weddings and more. Usually, a formal invitation might look something like this:

Mr. & Mrs. John Smith

Request the Pleasure of Your Company

at the Marriage of Their Daughter

Anne Smith

to

Jake Brown

Saturday, the Tenth of December

Two Thousand and Fifteen

Three O’Clock in the Afternoon

Calloway Winery

46 Pine Road

Napa, California

Reception to Follow

2. Casual Phrases

It’s perfectly acceptable to loosen up the language on your wedding invitations if you’re having a more artistic, whimsical or laid back wedding. For a more laid back look, you can easily use actual numbers instead of spelling out the numbers for addresses and dates. And you can opt to take out the hosts’ names completely, just using something more simple like “Together with their families…” or go with something way simpler like Anne Smith and Jake Brown Are Getting Married!”

3. Look At Examples

If you can’t decide on what type of phrasing you want, make sure to look at examples of other wedding invitations for inspiration. Look online or ask your wedding invitation vendor for a few samples of past invites they’ve created. Talk with your fiancé about how you want to communicate with your guests. Then once you’ve created a list of invites and phrases you like, narrow it down to the ones that better reflect your personalities.

4. Always Include the Three Ws

No matter what type of wording you want on your invite, it should always address the three Ws: Who-full names of the bride and groom; When-date, time, month and year of your wedding; and Where-this is where your wedding will take place, complete with the full address of the venue. Some choose to add their reception info or use a separate invite for it.

5. What to Leave Out

It’s best that you don’t include your gift or registry information on your invitation. You can opt to include wedding registry cards inside your invitations, but it’s a faux pas when it’s included on the actual invite. Also, make your reception cards and information on a separate invite. Creating Reception RSVP cards are perfect to include in your wedding invitation’s envelope.

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