Spread the word!
When it comes to weddings, etiquette is the first consideration when wording a wedding invitation. There are proper ways to word a wedding invitation and we explore that here. We cover wording for formal invitations, contemporary invitations, and informal invitations. In addition we cover wording for how to word the invitation if your parents are widowed, divorced, remarried, in the military, a Doctor, and other specific situations.
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The wedding invitation wording that you use will depend upon the formality of your wedding. Formal weddings have third person wording with all information written out in text, like three o’clock instead of 3 p.m., and the British/Canadian spelling in the invitation, not the American spelling. Contemporary and informal weddings have a large selection of choices in wording.
The most important part of wedding etiquette is the wording of formal wedding invitations. It always starts with who hosts or pays for the wedding. Traditionally this is the parents’ of the bride, but today it can be both sets of parents and/or the couple.
Another aspect of formal wedding invitations is that addresses, time and date are always spelled out. Here is an example of formal wedding invitation wording:
Mr. and Mrs. Albert Jones
and
Doctor and Mrs. Robert Smith
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter
Susan Barbara
to
Mr. William Smith
on Saturday, the twenty-first of April
two thousand ten
at three o’clock in the afternoon
Saint Jerome Church
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Deceased parents are never mentioned on a wedding invitation. There is specific wording if the bride or groom is in the military, or if another family member, like a grandparent, hosts the wedding. See the resources for more information.
RESOURCES:
VIDEO: Formal Wedding Invitation Rules
VIDEO: Contemporary Wedding Invitation Rules
VIDEO: Informal Wedding Invitation Rules
VIDEO: Formal Wording – Hosted by Parent(s) and/or Wedding Couple
VIDEO: Formal Wording – Hosted by Widow/Widower Parent(s)
VIDEO: Formal Wording – Hosted by Divorced Parent(s)
VIDEO: Formal Wording – For Wedding Couple who is a Professional or in the Military
VIDEO: Formal Wording – For Wedding Couple who is a Doctor, Reverend, or other miscellaneous titles