Wedding Invitation Etiquette Guide printable pdf download

WEDDING INVITATION ETIQUETTE GUIDE

How to Create Elegant Invitations for Your Wedding or other Special Occasion.

Composing YOUR INVITATION, RESPONSE AND RECEPTION CARDS

For truly formal events, there are certain rules of etiquette that

are observed when writing an invitation. For less formal

situations you can be more creative. Here are some things to

remember when you're composing a formal invitation:

Write out names in full, including middle names. Omit a

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middle name if necessary, rather than using an initial.

It's appropriate to use the British spelling for "honour"

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and "favour", unless you prefer to use the American

spelling of these words.

Spell out all words, including the hour, the date and the

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year. Spell out all words in the address, including Street,

Road and Avenue. The two exceptions to this rule in an

address are Saint (St.) and Mount (Mt.)

Use Roman numerals in names, rather than "the third" or

●

"3rd."

For ceremonies taking place in a house of worship, use

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"request the honour of your presence." Ceremonies taking

place in a non-religious setting should say, "request the

pleasure of your company."

Save the Date ANNOUNCEMENT WORDING

Miss Jane Smith and Mr. Stephen Richardson are very happy to

announce our wedding date of September 23, 2004. We are

sending this Save the Date Announcement to give you enough

notice to reserve this day so you can spend it with us. Your

formal invitation will arrive closer to the wedding date. We very much look forward to seeing you

there!

Wedding INVITATION WORDING

With so many different types of families out there, wedding

invitation wording can be complicated. Below are several formal

wedding invitation wording examples for different family

situations.

If you're composing a formal party invitation, include the

names of those giving the party, the invitation phrase "request the

pleasure of your company" in lieu of "request the honor of your

presence", the type of party, the purpose of the party, the date,

hour, place and RSVP information.

Wedding invitation wording examples for when the parents of the bride are issuing the

invitation:

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Evans Smith

request the honour of your presence

at the marriage of their daughter

Jane Elizabeth

and

Mr. Stephen James Richardson

on Saturday, the ninth of June

son of

two thousand and four

Mr. and Mrs. John Tyler Richardson

at two o'clock

on Saturday, the ninth of June

First Church of Christ

two thousand and four

219 North Granby Road

at two o'clock

Granby, Connecticut

First Church of Christ

219 North Granby Road

Granby, Connecticut

Wedding invitation wording examples for when the couple is issuing the invitation:

Jane Elizabeth Smith

Together with their families

and

Jane Elizabeth Smith

Stephen James Richardson

and

request the honour of your presence

Stephen James Richardson

at their marriage

request the honour of your presence

on Saturday, the ninth of June

at their marriage

two thousand and four

on Saturday, the ninth of June

at two o'clock

two thousand and four

First Church of Christ

at two o'clock

219 North Granby Road

First Church of Christ

Granby, Connecticut

219 North Granby Road

Granby, Connecticut

Wedding invitation wording examples for when the groom's parents host (left) and for when

both sets of parents host (right).

Mr. amd Mrs. Robert Evans Smith

and

Mr. and Mrs John Tyler Richardson

Mr. and Mrs. John Tyler Richardson

request the honour of your presence

at the marriage of

Jane Elizabeth Smith

and

to their son

Stephen James Richardson

on Saturday, the ninth of June

two thousand and four

at two o'clock

First Church of Christ

219 North Granby Road

Granby, Connecticut

Wedding invitation wording examples for when the bride's divorced and remarried parents co-

host (left) and for when the bride's remarried mother and husband host (right).

Mr. and Mrs. William Jones

and

request the honour of your presence

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Evans Smith

at the marriage of Mrs. Jones' daughter

request the honour of your presence

Jane Elizabeth Smith

at the marriage of

and

Jane Elizabeth Smith

Mr. Stephen James Richardson

on Saturday, the ninth of June

Mr. Stephen James Richardson

two thousand and four

on Saturday, the ninth of June

at two o'clock

two thousand and four

First Church of Christ

at two o'clock

219 North Granby Road

First Church of Christ

Granby, Connecticut

219 North Granby Road

Granby, Connecticut

Wedding invitation wording examples for when the bride's divorced mother (not remarried)

hosts (left) and for when the bride's widowed mother/father hosts (right).

Ms. Julia Franklin Smith

Mr. (or Mrs.) Robert Evans Smith

(maiden and married surnames)

request the honour of your presence

at the marriage of his (or her) daughter

Ms. Julia Franklin

Jane Elizabeth

(maiden name)

requests the honour of your presence

Mr. Stephen James Richardson

at the marriage of her daughter

on Saturday, the ninth of June

Jane Elizabeth Smith

two thousand and four

at two o'clock

Mr. Stephen James Richardson

First Church of Christ

on Saturday, the ninth of June

219 North Granby Road

two thousand and four

Granby, Connecticut

at two o'clock

First Church of Christ

219 North Granby Road

Granby, Connecticut

Here are two examples of Reception Cards . The example on the left is for a reception taking

place immediately following the ceremony. The example on the right is for a reception taking

place later in the day.

Reception

Reception Dinner

immediately following the ceremony

at seven o'clock

Hopkinton Country Club

1 Country Club Road

Hopkinton, Massachusetts

Reply card enclosed

You can also include menu choices on the

Your Response Card could read as follows:

response card, if it's necessary to order the

M______________________________________

guests' meals in advance. You may also wish

to include a separate sheet with a map or

directios, if the ceremony or reception sites

Accept__________________Regret___________

are difficult to find.

for the ninth of June

Wedding INVITATION ENVELOPE WORDING

Unsure of how to address wedding invitations? Below are various examples of the wording for

formal wedding invitation outer and inner envelopes.

Inner Envelope

Outer Envelope

Single Guests

Unmarried Woman over 18 or a

Miss (or Ms.) Amy Smithers

Miss (or Ms.) Smithers and

Divorced Woman who retains her

Guest

maiden name

Divorced Woman who uses her

Mrs. Amy Carter

Mrs. Carter and Guest

married name

Unmarried or Divorced Man

Mr. Howard Croft

Mr. Croft and Guest

Couples

Married Couples

Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Caldwell Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell

Married Couple - when the woman

Mrs. Carol Thompson

Mrs. Thompson

kept maiden name

Mr. John Sigenthaler

Mr. Sigenthaler

Unmarried couples who do not

Miss (or Ms.) Amy Carter

Miss (or Ms.) Carter

share the same residence. You

Mr. Stevenson

should send the invitation to the

closest friend

Unmarried couples who live

Miss (or Ms.) Amy Carter

Miss (or Ms.) Carter

together address alphabetically by

Mr. John Stevenson

Mr. Stevenson

last name

Same gender couples -

Miss (or Ms.) Melissa Franklyn

Miss (or Ms.) Franklyn

alphabetically by last name

Miss (or Ms.) Stella Ziegler

Miss (or Ms.) Ziegler

Children over 18 years old should

Miss Amy Carter

Miss Carter and Guest

be considered adults and receive

their own invitation, even if still at

Mr. Brian Atwater

Mr. Atwater and Guest

the home of their parents who will

also be invited to your wedding

Other

Judge

The Honorable Thurgood

Judge Thurgood

Thompson (If Single)

Judge Thurgood and Mrs.

The Honorable and Mrs.

Thompson

Thurgood Thompson (If

married)

Doctor (Medical)

Doctor Michael Stokes (If

Doctor Stokes and Guest

Single)

Doctor and Mrs. Stokes

Doctor and Mrs. Michael

Stokes (If married)

Doctor (Ph.D.)

Dr. Harry Keller

Dr. Keller and Guest

Married Woman Doctor

Doctor Patricia Neddles

Doctor Neddles

Mr. Charles Lyons

Mr. Lyons

Married Couple, Both Doctors

Doctors Sam and

The Doctors Hepler

Mary Hepler

Clergy

The Reverend Jeremiah

The Reverend Whetheral

Whetheral

Officer - Male who is active duty or

General and Mrs. Barry Lynch General and Mrs. Lynch

retired from the service

Officer - Female who is active duty

Captain Sandra Kellerman, U.

Lieutenant Kellerman

or retired from the service

S. Army

Mr. Giminiani

Mr. Anthony Giminiani

Assembling YOUR INVITATIONS

Traditionally, there is a specific order for assembling invitations for mailing.

With the back of the large envelope and the front of the invitation facing you, put the

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invitation and its protective tissue sheet in, folded edge first.

On top of that, put in the reception invitation also facing up.

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Last, put in the response card, also printed side up. It should be lying within the flap of the

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small response envelope (which faces down).

Any other insertions, such as a map or directions, should go in last.

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Address the outer envelope and the response envelope by hand. Use calligraphy if possible.

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Choose an attractive postage stamp that will complement the overall look of your

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invitations.

Mail your invitations at least six to eight weeks in advance of your event so that your

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guests have ample time to make plans to attend.

If you bring your invitations to the post office, you can request that they be hand cancelled

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that will minimize any unsightly marks or damage caused by machine cancelling.

Wedding Announcements WORDING and ETIQUETTE

Announcement cards are sent on the day of or shortly after a wedding if there were no invitations

sent. They are often sent instead of invitations to friends who live at too far a distance to easily

attend the ceremony. Announcements require no acknowledgment although it is customary for the

recipient to send either a brief note expressing their best wishes; a gift is always appropriate but

not required. The announcement can either be made on a formal invitation card or on fine cotton-

fiber wedding stationery. This is the preferred form for the announcement card:

Mr. and Mrs. Henry Jones

announce the marriage of their daughter

Amy Rachael

with

Mr. Michael Allan Richardson

on Thursday, May the first

two thousand and four

When responding to a wedding announcement, you should first call the mother of the bride and

then the bride herself to offer your good wishes.

Wedding Invitation Etiquette Guide

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