Wedding invitation wording: 12 examples

What to include

A wedding invitation answers who, what, when and where. Everything else can go on your wedding website.

• Who is hostingMany couples host their own wedding today, and their names lead the card, often under “Together with their families.” When parents host, their names come first: “Mr. and Mrs. Robert Miller request …” On our cards, the invitation comes from the two of you by default, with your names at the top. To name parents as hosts, add them in the optional “Hosted by” field.
• Your namesFormal invitations use full names: first, middle and last. When her parents host, the bride’s last name is left off, since it’s theirs. Casual ones often use first names only. Traditionally the bride’s name came first; today any order is fine, so pick the one that sounds best.
• The date and timeThe day of the week, the date, the year and the time the ceremony begins. Print the real start time; guests know to arrive a little early.
• Where the ceremony isThe venue’s name, the city and the state or province. Add the street address if the place is hard to find or many guests are coming from out of town.
• The receptionIf it follows at the same place, “Reception to follow” is enough. If it’s somewhere else, give it its own time and place.
• How and when to RSVPA date three to four weeks before the wedding, and how to reply: a phone number, an email address or your wedding website.
• Your wedding websiteOne line with the address. That’s where guests find the registry, hotels, directions and the weekend’s schedule, so the invitation itself can stay simple.
• A dress code, if you have one“Black tie,” “Cocktail attire” or “Garden party attire” at the bottom of the card. Without one, guests take their cue from how formal the invitation looks and sounds.

Wedding invitation wording examples

Change the names, places and dates to your own. Each example follows the order guests read the card: who invites, the ceremony, the reception, then the RSVP.

Wedding invitations

Designs from classic to relaxed. Pick one and add your names, the ceremony and the reception.

Common mistakes

• An RSVP date that’s too lateYour caterer and venue will ask for a final headcount before the day. An RSVP date three to four weeks before the wedding leaves time to call the guests who forget.
• The registry front and centerTraditional etiquette keeps gifts off the invitation itself and puts the registry on your wedding website. If you add it to the card, keep it to one discreet line on the back.
• Leaving guests to guess who’s invitedThe envelope says who is invited: “Mr. and Mrs. Sam Lee” means the two of them, “The Lee Family” means the children too. Explain plus-ones and an adults-only day on your website too, rather than printing a blunt “No kids” on the card.
• Wording that doesn’t fit the day“Request the honour of your presence” promises a formal ceremony; “Eat, drink and be married” promises a party. Choose wording that matches the venue and the dress code, so guests know what to expect.
• Abbreviations on a formal cardOn a formal invitation, write out “Street” and “Saint” and keep abbreviations to Mr., Mrs., Ms., Dr. and Jr. On a casual card, short forms are fine.
• Sending before the details are settledWait until the venue, the times and the reception are confirmed. If people need the date sooner, send a save the date first.

Who hosts, and whose names go first

Traditionally, the bride’s parents hosted the wedding and their names opened the invitation. Today many couples host their own, and a favorite opening is “Together with their families,” which honors both families without naming them.

When both sets of parents host, both are named at the top, followed by “at the marriage of their children.” Divorced parents each get their own line. A parent who has died isn’t listed as a host, but can be honored in the couple’s line: “Grace Ellen Porter, daughter of Linda Porter and the late Thomas Porter.”

On our cards, the invitation comes from the two of you by default, with your names at the top. To name parents as hosts, type them in the optional “Hosted by” field.

How to write the date and time

The most formal invitations spell everything out: “Saturday, the twelfth of June, two thousand twenty-seven, at four o’clock in the afternoon.” On a formal card, the year may also be left off.

Numerals are the usual choice on modern and casual invitations, and many formal ones use them too: “Saturday, June 12, 2027, at 4:00 PM.” That’s how our cards print them. You pick the date and time, and the card prints them, with the weekday taken from the date, the same way everywhere they appear.

“Honour” with a u is the traditional spelling on formal invitations in the US and the standard spelling in Canada; “honor” is correct too. Traditionally, “request the honour of your presence” is used for a ceremony in a house of worship, and “request the pleasure of your company” for other venues.

The reception line

When the reception follows the ceremony at the same place, one line does it: “Reception to follow,” or “Dinner and dancing to follow.”

When it’s somewhere else, give the reception its own time and place below the ceremony. On our cards it has its own fields for the time, the venue and the address. Leave them empty when it’s at the same place.

If only close family will be at the ceremony, invite everyone else to the reception only, as in the reception-only example above.

RSVP, “kindly reply” and the reply date

Ask guests to reply three to four weeks before the wedding. “Please RSVP by May 15, 2027” is the plain way to say it. “Kindly reply by May 15” and “The favor of a reply is requested by May 15” are the formal ones.

“Regrets only” doesn’t work for a wedding: you need a yes or a no from everyone to plan the seating and the meals.

Say how to reply: a phone number, an email address or your wedding website. Meal choices and song requests fit better in a website’s RSVP form than on the card.

On our cards, the RSVP step writes the line for you from the date and the name or number you give: “Please RSVP by May 15, 2027 to Emily.”

Registry and wedding website etiquette

Traditional etiquette says the invitation is about the wedding, not the gifts, so the registry isn’t printed on it. Its place is your wedding website.

Putting the website on the invitation is fine: “For details, visit emilyandjames2027.com,” or the address on a line of its own. Guests find the registry there, along with hotels, directions and the schedule.

Some couples add a discreet registry line anyway. If you do, keep it to one line on the back. Our wedding cards have an optional Registry field for it.

When to send wedding invitations

Six to eight weeks before the wedding is the usual timing. For a destination wedding or a holiday weekend, send them about three months ahead.

Save the dates go out earlier, about six to eight months before, or up to a year ahead for a destination wedding. The invitation then brings the full details.

Making the invitation with us

Choose a wedding design and type your names, the ceremony and the reception into the card. Hosts, the dress code, the RSVP and the registry each have an optional field. For a line of your own, such as “request the honour of your presence,” ask our design assistant to fit it onto the card.

You see a proof of both sides before you pay. The examples on this page are free to copy, wherever you make your invitations.

Questions and answers