Wedding Invitation Wording
Two choices shape the wording: who is hosting, and how formal you want to be. Make them below and the card fills in the rest. Examples for each family set-up follow.
By Grace · Updated
Wedding invitation wording generator
Opens the invitation editor with this wording. Designing is free, and you only need an account when you add guests.
Wedding Invitation Wording Examples
Twelve set-ups, shown as guests would see them. “Start from this” loads one into the generator so you can swap in your own names.
Bride’s parents hosting, formal, in a church
The bride appears by first and middle name only, because her surname is already on the line above. “Honour of your presence” is kept for a house of worship, and “to” joins the names when one set of parents is hosting.
Groom’s parents hosting
Strict tradition still puts the bride first here: “…the marriage of Miss Olivia Grant to their son Marcus Edward”. Many couples now lead with the hosts’ own child instead, as this card does.
Both sets of parents hosting
Each couple of parents gets its own line, joined by a lone “and”. This is also the usual layout for a Jewish wedding, where both families are traditionally named.
Together with their families
One of the most common lines on modern invitations. It credits both families and says nothing about who paid, which suits couples who share the cost with their parents.
Couple hosting, black tie
A formal card from the couple avoids the two of you “requesting” guests at your own wedding, so the request is passive and has no host. Your names then follow it as the people marrying.
Couple hosting, relaxed
Plain words and a plain date. No titles, no spelled-out year, and the time reads the way you would text it. Want it funnier? “Jess & Theo are finally making it official” or “Come for the vows, stay for the dancing” both fit on this card.
Divorced parents, one remarried
One line per household, and no “and” between them, since “and” says the two are married. A parent who has remarried shares a line with their spouse.
One parent hosting, in memory of the other
Only living people host, so a parent who has died is not on the host line. A short memorial line at the top is a modern choice; traditionalists keep it for the ceremony program instead.
Second marriage, with children
Swap “families” for “children” when your kids are part of the day. It works just as well for a first wedding with children.
Two brides
There is no rule for whose name goes first. Couples often go alphabetical, or put first whichever name sounds better before “&”.
Catholic ceremony with a Nuptial Mass
A Catholic wedding with a full Mass traditionally names the Mass itself and says the couple will be “united in the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony”. It is always “honour”, and “and” joins the names because the Mass unites them both.
Reception only, after a private ceremony
For couples who eloped or married at the courthouse. A reception is a party, so it is always “the pleasure of your company”, never “honour”. Saying when and where you married answers the first question every guest will ask.
How to Word Each Line of a Wedding Invitation
A formal invitation has seven parts, in this order. When the couple is hosting, the request moves below the names (“Together with their families / Maya & Daniel / invite you…”); everything else keeps its place.
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Bennett
request the honour of your presenceat the marriage of their daughter
Emily RosetoMr. James Andrew Carter
Saturday, the twelfth of Junetwo thousand twenty-seven
at half after four o’clock in the afternoon
St. Philip’s ChurchCharleston, South Carolina
Reception to follow
- 1
Host line
Whoever is inviting. Traditionally that is whoever pays, but many couples now name whoever they want to honour. If you are paying yourselves, leave it off or use “Together with their families”. Titles are optional.
- 2
Request line
“The honour of your presence” is for a ceremony in a house of worship; “the pleasure of your company” is for anywhere else. The British spelling “honour” is traditional on American invitations, and “honor” is fine too. Whichever you choose, use the matching spelling (“favour” or “favor”) on the reply card.
- 3
Names
When parents host, their child appears by first and middle name only. On a formal card hosted by one set of parents, “to” joins the names. “And” is used when both families or the couple host, and on less formal cards; “&” reads more modern. Tradition puts the bride first; two brides or two grooms can go in either order.
- 4
Date
A formal card spells everything out and capitalizes only the day and the month. The year has no “and”: “two thousand twenty-seven”. A less formal card can simply say “Saturday, June 12, 2027”.
- 5
Time
Formal wording says “half after four o’clock”, not “half past”, and never “4:30 pm”. Use “o’clock” only with a time written in words. Print the time the ceremony really starts. If you want guests seated early, say so in the day’s schedule.
- 6
Venue
The venue’s name, then the city and state. The street address is traditionally left off the invitation itself; a digital invitation can give it in its own section, with a map link.
- 7
Reception line
“Reception to follow” when it is at the same place. Use “Reception immediately following” if there is no break, or name the second venue if guests need to travel. A dress code such as “Black tie” traditionally goes in the lower right corner; a digital invitation gives it its own section.
Wording for a Digital Wedding Invitation
The wording on the card stays the same. What changes is everything printed around it: the reply card, the inserts and the envelope.
Drop the reply card line
On paper, “The favour of a reply is requested” sits on a separate card that guests fill in and post back. Online, the reply form does that job, so the invitation only needs the deadline: “Kindly reply by May 15”.
Let the names say who is invited
On paper, the names on the envelope tell guests who is invited. That is why etiquette says not to print “no children” or “adults only” on the card. A digital invitation does it better: each household gets its own link with their names on it (“Dear Carol & Tom”), and the reply form offers only the seats you set for them. If you still want to say it, put one kind line in the questions section: “We love your little ones, but this is an adults-only celebration.” Plus-ones work the same way: give that household two seats, and there is no need for “and guest”. Still gathering names and addresses? A free wedding address collection link fills in the guest list for you.
Write the message that carries the link
Guests read this before they see the invitation, so keep it short, sound like yourself and say how to reply. Send it to each household on its own, not to a family group chat. Everyone then has their own link, and if a link does get forwarded, a reply only updates that one household’s answer. The same goes for a digital save the date sent months before.
By email. Subject: You’re invited: Emily & James, June 12
“Dear Carol and Tom, we’re getting married in Charleston next June and we would love you to be there. Your invitation is below. Open it to see the day, the hotels nearby and your reply card. Please let us know by May 15. With love, Emily & James”
Wedding RSVP Wording
Ask for replies three to four weeks before the wedding. Your caterer usually wants a final count about two weeks out, and that leaves a week to chase the stragglers. Work out every date for yours with our guide to when to send wedding invitations.
On a printed reply card
Formal: “The favour of a reply is requested by the fifteenth of May”. Simpler: “Kindly reply by May 15”. Guests write their names after the “M”, which covers Mr., Mrs., Ms. and Mx. Add a line per meal choice if you are serving a plated dinner.
On a digital invitation
The guest’s name is already filled in, so the card just asks: “Will you be joining us?” Meal choices, dietary needs and a song request are questions on the same form, and replies land in one list you can export.
Common Wedding Invitation Wording Mistakes
- Joining divorced parents with “and”.It says they are married. Give each household its own line.
- Naming a parent who has died as a host.Hosts are the people doing the inviting. Remember them in a line of their own or in the program.
- Capitalizing every word.“Request The Honour Of Your Presence” looks like a headline. Only names, places, the day and the month take capitals.
- Mixing styles.“Honour” on the invitation and “favor” on the reply card, or a spelled-out date followed by “4:30 PM”. Stay in one style.
- Putting the registry on the invitation.It reads as asking for gifts. Put it on your wedding website, or in the registry section of a digital invitation.
- Writing “no kids” on the card.Who is invited is shown by whose names are on it, not by a rule printed on the card.
Put Your Wording on an Invitation
Every card on this page is the real invitation guests open: a sealed envelope, then your wording, the day’s schedule and a reply form. Your first 5 invitations are free.
Wedding Invitation Wording FAQs
What wording do you put on a wedding invitation?
In order: who is hosting, the request ("request the pleasure of your company"), your two names, the date, the time, the venue with its city and state, and a closing line such as "Reception to follow". Everything else, like the registry, hotels and dress code details, goes on a separate card, your wedding website or, on a digital invitation, its own section.
How do you write a simple wedding invitation?
Names, what is happening, when and where. For example: "Maya & Daniel / invite you to celebrate their marriage / Saturday, May 22, 2027 / at five-thirty in the afternoon / The Foundry, Long Island City, New York / Reception to follow." If your families are helping, add "Together with their families" above your names.
What should I write in the message when I send a digital invitation?
Keep it short and personal, and say how to reply: "Hi Carol, our wedding invitation is here: [link]. Tap the seal to open it, and you can reply right there by May 15. We hope you can come!" Send it to each household on its own rather than to a group chat, so every guest gets their own link.
When should you use "Together with their families"?
When you are hosting with help from your parents, or when listing parents by name would be complicated. It thanks both families without saying who paid for what. If your parents are the only hosts, name them instead.