The first names your guests will see on your wedding invitation are those of the people who are paying for the event. Traditionally, this has been the bride's parents.
Bride and Groom Line
Traditionally, a bride takes no title before her name. Another option is to include titles for both the bride and groom; this is useful when one of you has an occupation that carries an official title, such as Dr. One way to put yourselves on equal footing is to leave titles off altogether.
Date and Time Lines
Spelling out the day, date, and year lends sophistication, but you can also use a numeral for the year. Similarly, although “half after six o’clock” is classic, it may not be right for a less formal wedding. When stating the time, only the hour is necessary; there’s no need to note A.M. or P.M. Where time of day may be unclear use “in the morning” or “in the evening”.
Location Line
Make sure you have the proper name of your church. As with everything else, spell out “Saint” or any other abbreviations (except R.S.V.P.). Direction cards have become a common way to direct your guests to both the ceremony and reception site. Invitations are typically written without punctuation; line breaks take the place of commas, except to separate city and state, or to avoid confusion.
Note:
If the ceremony is a religious one, the honour of your presence is requested. If the ceremony is a civil one, the pleasure of your company is requested.
Samples:
Mr. and Mrs. Morgan P. Smith
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter
Catharine Roberta
to
James Dylan Miller
on Saturday, the Eleventh of June
Two thousand and seven
at two o'clock in the afternoon
Saint Thomas Aquinas Church
201 Abbott Rd.
East Lansing, Michigan
***
Mr. and Mrs. Morgan P. Smith
invite you to share in the joy
of the marriage uniting their daughter
Catharine Roberta
to
James Dylan Miller
on Saturday, the Eleventh of June
Two thousand and seven
at two o'clock in the afternoon
Saint Thomas Aquinas Church
201 Abbott Rd.
East Lansing, Michigan
***
Please join our families
on this special occasion
when our children
Catharine Roberta
and
James Dylan
will be married
on Saturday, the Eleventh of June
Two thousand and seven
at two o'clock in the afternoon
Saint Thomas Aquinas Church
201 Abbott Rd.
East Lansing, Michigan
Mr. & Mrs. Morgan P. Smith
Glen & Rhonda Miller
Reception Card:
Reception
immediately following the ceremony
Walnut Hills Country Club
East Lansing, Michigan
When the mother has remarried
If the mother of the bride has remarried, and the bride wishes to include her stepfather on the invitation, the following wording is used (this wording assumes that the mother uses her new husband's name):
Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Adam Gallagher
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of her daughter
Catharine Roberta Smith
When divorced parents are hosting the wedding
This example assumes that the mother has remarried and is using her new husband's name, though it could just as well be used if she had reverted to her maiden name, continued to use her former husband's name, (some people also include the bride's last name in this form, to avoid any possible confusion. Some people also omit the and between the parents' names):
Mrs. Jonathan Adam Gallagher
and
Mr. Morgan P. Smith
request the pleasure of your company
at the wedding of their daughter
Catharine Roberta Smith
One or both of the parents might also be hosting the wedding with their current spouse. In that case, the invitation might look like:
Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Adam Gallagher
and
Mr. and Mrs. Morgan P. Smith
request the pleasure of your company
at the marriage of
Catharine Roberta Smith
When one parent is deceased
There is no reason why the living parent cannot host the wedding by themselves, which is the same as if one divorced parent hosts the wedding. This would be worded as:
Mr. Morgan P. Smith
requests the honour of your presence
at the marriage of his daughter
Catharine Roberta
However, the deceased parent may be mentioned using the following form. Note that the deceased parent may not host the wedding.
Catharine Roberta Smith
daughter of Catharine Frances Smith and the late Morgan P. Smith
and
James Dylan Miller
son of Glen & Rhonda Miller
request the honour of your presence
at their marriage
When the couple is hosting the wedding themselves
The honour of your presence
is requested at the marriage of
Miss Catharine Roberta Smith
to
Mr. James Dylan Miller
or (the titles "Miss" and "Mr." may also be used here):
Catharine Roberta Smith
and
James Dylan Miller
request the honour of your presence
at their marriage
When both sets of parents are hosting the wedding
Because this is a less traditional situation, we're sort of charting our own territory here. One alternative is:
Mr. and Mrs. Morgan P. Smith
and
Mr. and Mrs. Glen Miller
request the pleasure of your company
at the marriage of their children
Catharine Roberta Smith
and
James Dylan Miller
Bride, Groom & Children Hosting
Molly and David invite you to the ceremony that will make them brother and sister and that will make their parents Catharine Roberta Miller and Kevin Michael Jones husband and wife on Saturday, the Eleventh of June Two thousand and seven at two o'clock in the afternoon Saint Thomas Aquinas Church 201 Abbott Rd. East Lansing, Michigan *** Catharine Roberta Miller and Kevin Michael Jones along with their children Molly and David invite you to join in the blending of their families through marriage on Saturday, the Eleventh of June Two thousand and seven at two o’clock in the afternoon Saint Thomas Aquinas Church 201 Abbott Rd. East Lansing, Michigan Grooms Parents Hosting
Mr. and Mrs. Glen Miller request the honour of your presence at the marriage of Catharine Roberta Smith to their son James Dylan on Saturday, the Eleventh of June Two thousand and seven at two o’clock in the afternoon Saint Thomas Aquinas Church 201 Abbott Rd. East Lansing, Michigan *** Mr. and Mrs. Glen Miller have the honour of announcing the marriage of Catharine Roberta Smith to their son James Dylan on Saturday, the Eleventh of June Two thousand and seven at two o’clock in the afternoon Saint Thomas Aquinas Church 201 Abbott Rd. East Lansing, Michigan Second Marriage
Please join us in celebrating new love, new dreams, a new future as we exchange marriage vows on Saturday, the Eleventh of June Two thousand and seven at two o’clock in the afternoon Saint Thomas Aquinas Church 201 Abbott Rd. East Lansing, Michigan Catharine Roberta Miller and Mr. Kevin Michael Jones *** Soon we will be joining together all the hopes for the future as we are joining our lives share with us this new beginning the first day of our life together on Saturday, the Eleventh of June Two thousand and seven at two o’clock in the afternoon Saint Thomas Aquinas Church 201 Abbott Rd. East Lansing, Michigan Catharine Roberta Miller and Mr. Kevin Michael Jones
Wedding Announcement
Mr. and Mrs. Morgan P. Smith
have the honour of announcing
the marriage of their daughter
Catharine Roberta
to
Mr. James Dylan Miller
on Saturday, the Eleventh of June
Two thousand and seven
at two o’clock in the afternoon
Saint Thomas Aquinas Church
201 Abbott Rd.
East Lansing, Michigan
***
Catharine Roberta Smith
and
James Dylan Miller
are happy to announce
their marriage
on Saturday, the Eleventh of June
Two thousand and seven
at two o’clock in the afternoon
Saint Thomas Aquinas Church
201 Abbott Rd.
East Lansing, Michigan
***
Please join us for a Champagne Brunch
in celebration of our marriage
on Saturday the twenty-ninth of May
Two thousand and seven
at seven o'clock in the evening
Walnut Hills Country Club
East Lansing, Michigan
Catharine and James
***
Just Married!
Because you've shared in their lives
by your friendship and love, we are
very proud to share the happy news.
Catharine Roberta
daughter of Morgan & Catharine Smith
and
James Dylan Miller
son of Glen & Rhonda Miller
were married in a small wedding
on Saturday, the Eleventh of June
Two thousand and seven
at two o’clock in the afternoon
Saint Thomas Aquinas Church
201 Abbott Rd.
East Lansing, Michigan
Wedding Reception Invitation
Mr. and Mrs. Morgan P. Smith
request the pleasure of your company at
the wedding reception of their daughter
Catharine Roberta
to
Mr. James Dylan Miller
on Saturday the twenty-ninth of July
Two thousand and seven
at seven o'clock in the evening
Walnut Hills Country Club
East Lansing, Michigan
***
Mr. and Mrs. Morgan P. Smith
have the honour of announcing
the marriage of their daughter
Catharine Roberta
to
Mr. James Dylan Miller
on Saturday, the Eleventh of June
Two thousand and seven
Please join them
for a dinner reception
on Saturday the twenty-ninth of July
Two thousand and seven
at seven o'clock in the evening
Walnut Hills Country Club
East Lansing, Michigan
***
We, Catharine and James,
will be married in a
private wedding ceremony
on Saturday, the Eleventh of June
Two thousand and seven
You are joyfully invited to an informal
outdoor wedding celebration
after the wedding
at seven o'clock in the evening
At the home of
Mr. and Mrs. Morgan P. Smith
1234 County Line Rd.
Okemos, MI
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