You’ve chosen your invitations, now all you have to do is write your wording! At Chartula we know that for most couples it can be tricky to strike the perfect balance between that which is traditionally correct and something that reflects the two of you and your day.
We’ve put together this little guide that we hope will help you with some of the common problems.
Wording Invitations:
Traditionally invitations are sent by the brides parents and are usually written as follows:
Bride’s Parents Hosting
Mr and Mrs (Bride’s Parents Name)
request the pleasure of your company
at the marriage of their daughter
(Bride’s Name)
to
Mr (Groom’s Name)
at (Ceremony Details)
on (Day, Date, Month, Year)
at (Time)
and afterwards at
(Reception Details)
Damask Invitation with Bride's Parents Hosting
These days however both families and the couple themselves may be hosting the wedding. The following wording is a great way to include everyone on your invitations:
Bride and Groom and Families Hosting
Together with their families
(Bride’s Name)
and
(Groom’s Name)
request the pleasure of your company
at their marriage
at (Ceremony Details)
on (Day, Date, Month, Year)
at (Time)
and afterwards at
(Reception Details)
English Roses Invitation with Bride, Groom and Families Hosting
There are plenty of alternatives to customise your invitations. Here are some of the most popular for traditional or modern weddings.
Traditional Alternatives:
Request the honour of your presence 2 o’clock2 o’clock in the afternoon And afterwards for dinner and dancing
And afterwards for sumptuous dinner and dancing
Followed by dinner and dancing
Modern Alternatives:
Invite you to celebrateWould love for you to join them 2.00 pm
2 p.m. Two o’clock Saturday the Fourteenth of June Two Thousand and Ten
Fun Phrases:
At Chartula we know how important it is that your invitation reflects the two of you. Whilst we concentrate on tailoring your design, over the years we’ve been impressed by the fun phrases our couples have created to inject an element of personality into their wording. Dress codes, notes on information cards and reply cards are a great place to do this if you want to keep your actual invitations quite formal. Here are some of our favourites:
Beau Jardin Reply Cards
Dress Code: Posh frocks and sharp suits Dress Code: Bring your dancing shoes! RSVP Acceptance: Wouldn’t miss it for the world! RSVP Decline: You have left it far too late to send the invitations out, we have a brilliant social life and are all booked up! RSVP Other: This is our all time favourite party tune and we would definitely get up and dance if you played it…..
We’ve also got a great area on our website with lots more wording examples for invitations - from the grooms parents, both parents, divorced parents, as well as for save the date cards, reply cards and much more that you can copy and paste and tailor to suit you.
For traditional etiquette and wording advice we can highly recommend Debretts, we keep a copy of their Wedding Guide and Correct Form in our studio.
We hope this helps you. Also, look out for our posts on spelling and grammar and etiquette that we’ll be putting up shortly.
Happy typing!
The Chartula Team x