As the centre of your wedding stationery, it’s important to get the wording and essential information just right on your wedding invitations. While it’s crucial to not miss out anything important, you also need to convey the key points in a simple and courteous manner to your guests. Wedding invitation etiquette is all about what information to include and how to address it so that your guests are sure to be inspired in preparation of your special day.
Whether you’re planning a contemporary or vintage themed wedding, your invitations will provide the recipient with a glimpse of what’s in store. So to help you with your planning and information checklist, we’ve compiled a list of all the essential information to include in your wedding invitations.
1. Who Is Inviting / Hosting?
This refers to the introductory line on your invitations and is traditionally linked to who is paying for the wedding, for example parents of the bride and groom, or simply the bride and groom themselves. This introductory sentence is also a key part of wedding invitation etiquette.
Here are some useful examples of the wording you could use in your wedding invitations:
'Mr & Mrs Simon Jenkins joyfully request the pleasure of your company at the marriage of their daughter...'
'Mr & Mrs Simon Jenkins together with Mr & Mrs Peter Matthews request the pleasure of your company at the marriage of their children...'
'Together with their parents Helen Jane Jenkins and John Calvin Matthews request the honour of your presence to celebrate their marriage...'
It is worth noting here that the request line traditionally used for wedding ceremonies taking place in a house of worship includes the phrase "honour of your presence", as it indicates a ceremony in a house of worship. Whereas the phrase "the pleasure of your company" is more often used for civil ceremonies, as part of wedding invitation etiquette.
2. Who Is Getting Married?
You may wish to have your names written out in full, or you might prefer to keep things informal and leave out middle names. On the vast majority of the wedding invitations we print, the bride's name appears first as per tradition.
3. The Wedding Date
Believe it or not, many couples spend a lot of time fine-tuning the little details that something as important as the wedding date can be forgotten about.
4. The Start Time
Be sure to include the ceremony start time so your friends and family will be ready and waiting to watch you walk down the aisle and say 'I do'.
5. The Location(s)
The wedding ceremony address is a key piece of information guests need to know. According to wedding invitation etiquette, avoid abbreviations in the address (e.g. stick with Road and Street as opposed to using rd. and st.). In this day and age, a postcode is essential to include as so many of your friends and family will be relying on a sat nav to get them there. Don't forget to include the reception location too!
6. The End Time
Although this is optional, it can be a good idea to let people know in advance when the celebrations finish. If your wedding venue has a strict licensing policy and the wedding reception needs to finish at a certain time, it's a good idea to add a line such as 'Carriages at midnight'. This way, guests can pre-book their transport home and those using a babysitter can make arrangements accordingly.
7. RSVP
Receiving replies after sending out your wedding invitations is really exciting and will accelerate your wedding planning, making everything feel that bit more real! You'll need to let guests know on the invitations how you would like them to reply, and don't forget to give an RSVP date, allowing you plenty of time to work out the finer details in the run up to the big day. As part of wedding invitation etiquette, you can either enclose a separate RSVP card for friends and family to return, or it is equally acceptable to offer your contact details instead (e.g. your postal or email address, wedding website and telephone numbers).
So there you have it, a useful checklist of the essential information you need to include in your wedding invitations. In our beautiful range, we’ve got a selection of personalised wedding invites to suit every wedding style. What’s more, you can customise your own wording and receive the invites professionally printed and delivered.
To decide which wedding invitation is right for you, please view our complete collection here.
