Choosing the right wording for your wedding invitations

You've chosen your wedding invitations... now you just need to think what to say on them...

What to include

Although your wording can vary depending on how formal your celebration will be, make sure that the invitation includes the following:

names of the bride's parents or other hosts
first name of the bride
first name and surname of the bridegroom and his title (Mr/Lieutenant/Sir etc)
where the ceremony is taking place
date, month and year of the wedding ceremony
location of the wedding reception
address to which guests should reply, and a reply date

You might also wish to include:

details of any dress code/theme
time guests can expect the day to come to an end
whether children are invited

Who sends out the invitations?

Invitations are always sent from whoever is hosting the wedding -- traditionally the bride's parents. The wording becomes more complicated if parents are divorced or if the couple are holding the event themselves. The usual wording for a traditional invitation is:

Mr & Mrs James Jones

request the pleasure of your company

at the marriage of their daughter

Susan to Mr Neil Wood

at St Mary's Church, Milton,

on (date), (month), (year),

at, (time)

and afterwards at (reception venue).

RSVP: (host's address).