Mr. and Mrs. John Smith

request the honour of your company

at the marriage of their daughter

Sarah Jane

to

Mr. Gregory Adam Stone

on Saturday, the second of June

Two thousand twelve

at five o'clock

Christ Church

Ridgewood, New jersey

Who

What

When

Where

Westlake Village, California

p 805.494.6774

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Wording on Formal Wedding Invitations

Traditional wording of invitations has been in the third-person form for many years, with response cards  written in the same style.  The invitation is usually sent in the name of the bride's parents, but today there are many brides and grooms paying for their own weddings or are assisted by the groom's parents, so this tradition is less common. 

With today's more informal life-style, the "rules" have eased, including the third-person tense.  For example, some very beautiful and personal invitations use the present tense very effectively and are completely acceptable.  "Our joy will be more complete if you will share in the marriage of our daughter...". 

Here are some general rules regarding formal wedding invitations that are still followed, for the most part:

1.  The invitation to a wedding in a church traditionally reads: "Mr. and Mrs. John Harold Smith request the honour of your presence" (honour spelled with a "u")

2.  The invitation to a wedding held at a locaton other than a place of worship traditionally reads: "Mr. and Mrs. John Harold Smith request the pleasure of your company"

Wording on Formal Wedding Invitations (cont'd)

3.  No punctuation is used, except after abbreviations, such as Mr. or Mrs. or when phrases requiring separation occur in the same line, as in the date.

4.  Numbers in the date are spelled out, but long numbers in the street address may be written in numerals.

5.  Half-hours are written as "half after five" or "half past five", not five-thirty.  Note: Old time tradition indicates "half after" is the correct etiquette.

6.  Although Mr. and Mrs. are abbreviated, the title "Doctor" is more properly written in full.

7.  The invitation to just a wedding ceremony alone does not include an RSVP.

8.  Traditionally, the date of the wedding on a formal invitation does not include the year, but today it is considered correct to include it spelled out with the first letter capitalized: Two thousand nine.

9. Be consistent when using or not using titles.  For multiple lines with parent's names, use Mr. and/or Mrs. on all parent's names or none of the parent's names.

Etiquette

The Wrap on Invitations