If you have a blended family, it can be difficult to determine the correct wording for your wedding invitation. The standard wording doesn’t apply because your parents are likely not handling the wedding together, so you must play with different types of wording to send the correct message. While you don’t want to offend any members of your family, you should also realize that a wedding is much more about the bride and groom than about their blended families. The trick is to avoid over-complicated wedding invitation wording so that recipients aren’t confused.

Generally speaking, the names of the parents who are funding the wedding are the ones printed on the invitation. In the past, it was always the bride’s family, and divorce was not nearly as common as it is today. Wedding invitation wording gets complicated for blended families, especially when two or more sets of parents are cooperatively funding the wedding itself. The standard wording for a wedding invitation would read something like:

Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Thompson request the honor of your presence at the marriage of their daughter Emily Jane to Mark David Rodriguez…

This standard wedding invitation wording implies that Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Thompson are the parents of the bride and are funding the wedding itself. But what if the bride’s parents are divorced and are funded the wedding together? Or what if the groom’s parents are also chipping in and are likewise divorced? This is where wedding invitation wording gets tricky for blended families.

Wedding Invitation Wording: When the Bride’s Parents are Divorced

If the bride’s parents are funding the wedding and are divorced, it is usually appropriate to say Ms. Kaitlyn Thompson and Mr. Lewis Thompson… This implies that they are acting separately but are still funding the wedding together. If you put their names together as Mr. and Mrs., it implies that they are still together and gives the wrong impression.

Preparing for a wedding is a huge project, effort and sacrifice for any bride-to-be. The planning revolves around different wedding preparations, such as the cake, the location, transportation for the bride, flowers, venue, the wedding cake, and a lot more. Another important one is the wedding invitation. In preparing the invitation wording, there are different approaches and styles a bride can consider.

With so many types of families to address in a wedding invitation, creating one with the proper wording could be complicated. The ideal way to write a wedding invitation is to keep it in a formal format. When composing, the first thing to consider is the host of the event. The very first names your wedding guests will see on their invitation are basically the names of those who will be paying for the ceremony and ensuing celebratory party. By tradition, the parents of the bride normally host this occasion.

So, it should read, “Mr. and Mrs. John Doe” or “John and Jane Doe.” If both the bride and the groom are hosting, then the lines may read, “Ms. Jenny Doe and Mr. Sam Smith.” It can also be “Together with their families, Jenny Doe and Sam Smith.” The following line requests their attendance. When your wedding ceremony is held at a place of worship, then the line can read “Request the honor of your presence at the marriage of their daughter.” Take note that the British spelling is used for the word ‘honour’. The term daughter is just used as one example. It should be the gender of the person whose parents are hosting.

Invitation wording when the ceremony is held in a secular place is different from the wording where the ceremony takes place inside a church. If the parents are hosting, it is ideal to have it read “Request the pleasure of your company at the marriage of their daughter.” Or it is suitable to have it “would be delighted for you to attend the marriage of their daughter.” Another thing is that the name of the bride should come first in the wedding invitation with her first and middle name, and then the groom’s name follows, with his title and his full name.

The date and the time of the ceremony should appear in the wedding invitation all spelled out. This is properly written, formal invitation wording. Capitalize the month and the day. There are indeed a lot of ideas and styles in wedding invitation wordings. For brides-to-be, keep in mind the many things you need to consider for your invitation.

There are rules for wording of very formal wedding invitations, but in less formal events the wording can vary. If you are having a very formal wedding, you will be having engraved invitations, and your local printer will give you the detail of what is acceptable wording.

It is traditional for the bride’s family to pay for the wedding, statistics show that the majority of weddings are paid for by the couple getting married. The second most common scenario today is that both parents share the cost of hosting the wedding. The third most common scenario is that the couple and both sets of parents share in the cost of the wedding.

If the couples are hosting their own wedding, the wording will state: Ann Smith and William Jones invite you to share their wedding day on date, place, time, etc.

If the parents of both couples are hosting the wedding, the wording will state: Mr. and Mrs. George Smith and Mr. and Mrs. Allan Jones, the parents of Ann Smith and William Jones invite you to witness the marriage of their children on date, place, time, etc.

If the couple are sharing the cost of the wedding with both sets of parents, the wording will state: Together with our parents, Mr. and Mrs. George Smith, and Mr. and Mrs. Allan Jones, we, Ann Smith and William Jones invite you to share in the joy of the start of our new life together as we exchange marriage vows on date, place, time, etc.

If the bride’s parents are hosting the wedding, the wording will state: Mr. and Mrs. George Smith the honour of your presence at the marriage of their daughter Ann to William Jones, son of Mr. and Mrs. Allan Jones on date, place, time, etc. If the parents are divorced, but are hosting the wedding together, it would read: Mr. George Smith and Mrs. Lily Smith….

If either the mother or father is hosting the wedding alone: Mrs. George Smith asks you to be present at the ceremony uniting Ann Smith to William Jones, son of Mr. and Mrs. Allan Jones, on date, place, time, etc.

If the mother has remarried and is hosting with the bride’s father: Mrs. Sam Brown and Mr. George Smith invite you to share with their daughter Ann and William Jones, son of Mr. and Mrs. Allan Jones, when they exchange marriage vows and start their new life together on date, place, time, etc.

If the mother has remarried and is hosting with the bride’s stepfather: Mr. and Mrs. Sam Brown invite you to join our family on this joyous occasion when her daughter Ann will be married to William Jones, son of Mr. and Mrs. Allan Jones, on date, place, time, etc.

If the bride’s stepfather is the sole host of the wedding: Mr. Sam Brown invites you to share in the joy of the marriage uniting his stepdaughter Ann with William Jones, son of Mr. and Mrs. Allan Jones, on date, place, time, etc.

If the bride’s foster-parents are the hosts: Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Wood request the pleasure of your company at the marriage of their foster-daughter Ann Smith to William Jones, son of Mr. and Mrs. Allan Jones, on date, place, time, etc.

If the bride’s godmother is host: Mrs. Peter Green….of her goddaughter Ann Smith…

If the bride’s godmother and her husband are hosts: Mr. and Mrs. Peter Green….of her goddaughter Ann Smith

If the bride’s uncle and aunt are hosts: Mr. and Mrs. Jay Grant ….of their niece Ann Smith

If a friend is the host: Miss Sue Loves….friend of Ann Smith

In the examples, there are various wordings for the wedding invitation shown. It is important to include the key elements: who is hosting the party, their relationship to the bride, who the bride is marrying, when, and where. It is proper etiquette to acknowledge the groom’s parents, and their names should be included after the son’s name, as shown in the examples above.

Wording for wedding invitations has changed over the years, but the key elements are still the same. Less formal weddings give the couple the chance to create their own wording for the wedding invitations that express their style and personality. Your wedding day is a special day, and you can set the tone for your wedding through the wording on your wedding invitations. Be creative and make it yours!

Traditionally wording wedding invitation would have the bride’s parents as the hosts, usually because they would be paying for the wedding & as such the wedding invitations would be from them.  But in modern times many couples will pay for the wedding themselves or jointly with either one or both sets of parents.  There is also the matter of complicated family situations where parents are divorced, re-married, seperated etc.  Little wonder that these days choosing the right wording for your invitation can be something of a headache!

When choosing the wording for their invitations many brides will stick to a traditional template, making some adjustments to allow for family situations at the wedding. Here are a few templates you could consider for your invitation wording:

Traditional template (bride’s parents as hosts)
Mr & Mrs John Davis request the pleasure of your company (or insert name of guest/s here if you haven’t written it in the top left hand corner of the invite)
at the marriage of their daughter Jennifer
to
Mr Mark Jones
at
The Village Church
On 5th August 2009
And afterwards at
The Village Hall

Replace with the following wording, if the hosts differ:

Bridal couple as hosts
Miss Jennifer Davis & Mr Mark Jones request the pleasure of…………at their marriage

Divorced parents as hosts
Mr John Davis & Mrs Liz Davis request the pleasure of………..at the marriage of their daughter Jennifer.

Remarried mother/father as host
Mr & Mrs Paul Morgan/ Mr & Mrs John Davis request the pleasure of…………
At the marriage of her/his daughter Jennifer

Widowed mother as host
Mrs John Davis requests the pleasure of………. at the marriage of her daughter Jennifer

Finding the Perfect Words for Your Invitations

Whatever your style of wedding stationery, you want to get your invitation word perfect. Like the rest of your wedding stationery, the wording on the invitations should reflect the overall style of your special day. Before deciding how you to word your invitation, you should to decide on the style of the wedding and the invitation itself. Typically, the more formal your wedding, the more formal the invitation should be. Increasingly, many brides are opting for more informal and modern ceremonies , rather than classic and traditional which means that the wording of the invitation is no longer held up to such strict rules of etiquette. Ultimately, the wording of the invitation is about what you want rather than what you think should be written so don’t be afraid to experiment with different wording styles! Our guide below will give you some ideas to get you started.

FORMAL WEDDING INVITATIONS

The number one rule for formal invitations, if you are sticking to convention, is that that invitations are written in the third person, referring to the hosts of the reception using their full names. There are no strict rules of etiquette but here are some guidelines to remember as a general rule (just remember simplicity and clarity are the most important considerations):
Here are some things to remember when you’re composing a formal invitation:

• Write out names in full, including middle names – do not write names as initials
• Spell out all words, including the hour, the date and the 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 second” or “2nd.”
• If the wedding is not going to be at a house of worship, then the phrase ‘honour of your presence’ should be replaced by ‘pleasure of your company’.
• When a Roman Catholic mass is part of the ceremony, invitations may include the phrase “and your participation in the offering of the Nuptial Mass” on a separate line below the groom’s name
• Etiquette says that the bride should be listed first before the groom, using first and middle names only. Then the groom should be listed, using both title and middle name.
• There is no punctuation except after abbreviations (Mr., Mrs.,) and when sentences requiring commas appear in one line (“on Saturday, the ninth of July”)
• Numbers in the street address mentioned on the invitation are written in numerals eg) “323 Windsor Street”. But when there is just one number, it is spelled out: “Thirty Windsor Street”.
• Half hours are written as “half after four o’clock” not “half past four” or “four thirty”

Formal invitations should be printed on formal heavyweight paper. Ivory, cream, and white are accepted colours for formal invitations. Classic font types, such as Roman, printed or engraved in black are traditionally used.

INFORMAL WEDDING INVITATIONS

For slightly less formal weddings you may wish to leave out Mr and Mrs and other titles and write the date and time in numbers rather than words. You can also print the invitation in coloured ink rather than black with modern fonts and add printed designs to the invitation. For very informal weddings, particularly those being hosted by the bridal couple, the wording and style of the invitation can be as creative as you wish – the only limit is your imagination!

You may also wish to add your personal wedding website address and your email address to the invitation. Many couples are now choosing to complement their wedding invitations with their own custom-built wedding website. A wedding ‘wedsite’ is a great way to keep your wedding guests up to date with all of your wedding arrangements and you can also put your wedding photos online after your wedding for all to enjoy!

Have you set your heart on a classically beautiful traditional wedding? If so, you are in excellent company, since this is still one of the most popular styles of wedding around. One reason why brides like to tackle the traditional wedding style is because certain protocol has been laid out before them. This makes it much easier to go through the planning process by simply following these guidelines. This is true for every aspect of the traditional wedding; from planning the flowers to choosing the traditional wedding invitation wording.

What Traditional Wedding Invitation Wording is Not

If you are concerned that traditional wedding invitation wording does not leave room for customization or your own personal style to show through, think again. You can choose traditional wedding invitation wording that is romantic, poetic or completely formal. You can add your own verse or rearrange the order of the major players involved.

The best thing about traditional wedding invitation wording is that you can stick with the basic templates that can be found all over the Internet or revise one of these designs to suit your own personal needs and taste. Another misnomer about traditional weddings is the cost. While you can easily bust your budget with this style of wedding, you can also find ways to throw a traditional wedding at a bargain price.

For example, there are many selections of discount wedding invitations that will give you the same simple beauty at a fraction of the cost. The great thing about your wedding invites is that you can incorporate traditional wedding invitation wording to any type of invitation you choose.

Charactreristics of Traditional Wedding Invitation Wording

While most traditional wedding invitation wording begins with the names of the bride’s parents, this is because these folks are most often the hosts of the day. If the groom’s parents or the bride and groom are hosting the weddings, traditional wedding invitation wording allows for you to make these alterations.

You can also find options for families with divorce, second marriages or a couple that is involving their children in the ceremony. You can find numerous templates for traditional wedding invitation wording online that will help you choose the best text for your own invitation.

Traditional wedding invitation wording is the perfect beginning to an event filled with classic rituals and timeless elegance. Choose your wedding invitations early and set the mood for your special day right from the start.

There are hundreds of ways to address an invitation. The most important thing to remember is to include the full names of the bride and groom, the names of those hosting the event, and a “request line” — however formal, casual, or cool that may be. Now that you’ve learned how to word a wedding invitation, you can bend these rules to make your wedding invitation reflect who you are as a couple. Here are a few examples of what brides and grooms across the nation are doing today to put a small twist on the traditional.

Not-So-Proper Parents

• List the parents names without the proper surnames; it almost seems archaic to address everyone as a Mr. or a Mrs.
  Jason and Eliza Miller
  request the honor of your presence
  at the marriage of their daughter
  Katie Lynn
  to
  Robert Luke
  son of
  Randall and Meredith Richards
• Alter the “request line” to suit the style of your wedding. Many couples not marrying in a religious institution or marrying in a very casual setting, pen their invitations with “pleasure of your company.”
  Jason and Eliza Miller
  request the pleasure of your company
  at the marriage of their daughter
  Katie Lynn
  to
  Robert Luke
  son of
  Randall and Meredith Richards
• Other couples are forgoing the traditional “honor of your presence” or “pleasure of your company” altogether and are opting for a more relaxed and festive “request line.”
  Jason and Eliza Miller
  invite you to share and celebrate
  the marriage of their daughter
  Katie Lynn
  to
  Robert Luke Richards
• Many couples who are hosting the wedding alongside their parents, choose to eliminate their parents’ names and save space with a simple suggestion of their financial help and loving support.
  Katie Lynn Miller
  and
  Robert Luke Richards
  together with their parents
  request the pleasure of your company
  at their marriage
• For couples entirely hosting the wedding themselves, parents names are not included on the invitation. However, it is important to remember to thank each set of parents for their support with a toast at the reception.
  Katie Lynn Miller
  and
  Robert Luke Richards
  invite you to share in their joy
  as they exchange marriage vows

Relaxed Request Line

Really Relaxed Request Line

Couples Come First

The bride and groom have many decisions to make during the wedding planning process. Once the major decisions are made, such as the date, location, and guest list, then the bride and groom should order their wedding invitations. It is a general rule that wedding invitations be sent to guests six to eight weeks prior to the wedding. This allows for the guests to make sure they have that day free and makes travel arrangements if necessary. In order to send out these invitations, the bride and groom need to choose the right wedding invitation wording.

If the bride and groom have chosen a theme for their wedding, then this should be expressed through the wedding invitation. It will also help them to choose their wedding invitation wording. The bride and groom need to consider whether their wedding is going to be a formal event, a casual event, or something entirely different. This will need to be expressed through the invitation and the wedding invitation wording. This is important because it will convey to the guests what they can expect from the wedding as well as clue them in to a proper gift and so they dress appropriately as well.

Wedding invitation wording is not one of the more difficult decisions that the bride and groom will need to make. Luckily, every wedding invitation retailer has plenty of examples of the most popular wedding invitation wording. The bride and groom can use one of these examples and simply insert their personal information. They may also combine several examples to meet their needs. If they are creative, then the bride and groom may choose to write their own wedding invitation wording. Regardless of what they choose, the wedding invitation wording should mesh with the wedding atmosphere while providing all of the pertinent information.

The bride and groom need to make sure that all of this crucial information is included in the wedding invitation wording. The invitation generally begins with the names of the people who are hosting the wedding, unless the bride and groom are hosting it themselves. This is followed by the names of the bride and groom. This should be included so that distant relatives and family friends have the names of both bride and groom in order to address cards and gifts properly. The next information included should be the date, time, and location of the ceremony. If the reception will be held at a different location or is not directly following the ceremony, then this information should be included as well. If the bride and groom are not including reply cards with their invitations, then the reply information should be included as well. All of this information is necessary for the guests to have and should be included in the wedding invitation wording.

Wedding invitation wording is one of the more fun choices that the bride and groom will make during the wedding planning process. It should not be stressful like some of the other planning. It gives the brides and grooms the opportunity to express their personal style. Since guests need all of this information, the wedding invitation wording is crucial and should not be taken too lightly!

From the invitations, to the ceremony, to the reception, each couple tries to make their day as special, memorable and perfect for themselves and their guests.  Since guests expect and want certain things when attending a wedding, here are some inside dos and don’ts to ensure everyone enjoys the day.

Invitations.
When sending out your invitations to single individuals, try to include “and guest” with their wedding invite.  Just because an adult isn’t married, that doesn’t mean they don’t have someone special they’d like to bring.  For more and other ways to reduce your guest list properly read here.

Let there be no surprises to anyone who sees the invitations. Make sure to include all parents of the bride and the groom, regardless of who is paying the bill. If you have step-parents, discuss with them the invitation name arrangements.

Avoid specifying the type of gifts you’re looking for. For example, never demand that you’re only looking for cash gifts. It’s bad etiquette to assume they’ll all be giving gifts, even if it is standard to do so.  Instead use online registries and your bridal party to get the word out.

Always include directions to the wedding ceremony as well as to the reception. Relatives and friends come from all over and many may not know your area. Giving them a list of directions and possible hotel locations can make their stay much more organized and enjoyable.

Check out more invitation etiquette here.

The ceremony.
Timing is everything. Your service should run, on average, thirty to forty-five minutes, depending whether you’re having a full mass, synagogue wedding, or simply exchanging your vows. A long ceremony can dull the magic your guests want to feel during the moment you two become husband and wife.

Don’t have a large gap in time between the ceremony and the cocktail hour. For example, if your ceremony is at 3:00 pm and your cocktail hour doesn’t start until 6:00 pm, your guests will have at least two hours to wait in between events. While the bridal party has pictures, the bridal cocktail hour and other obligations, your guests need to be entertained as well.  It doesn’t need to include alcohol, but they should be given something nice.

Cocktail hour.
The cocktail hour is not the main event; some hors d’ouevres, drinks and socializing is all that’s necessary in preparation for the reception.  Remember, however, that guests will expect alcohol, so if you decide against it to spread that word in advance.  If you’re looking to nix the mix for budgetary reasons, a cash bar is not the answer: Guests should not be expected to open their wallets at your wedding.

Don’t have an overload of food; give your guests the chance to try a little bit of everything, but you don’t want them so stuffed that they have no room for the main course and, the best part… dessert!

The Reception.
Everyone always dreads the seating arrangements. To keep the peace, try to seat guests with those relatives and friends they get along with. Think about having parents with small children sit with other parents and their children.

Keep the intros of the bridal party short and sweet, so that you have time for food, dancing and events. Make sure you serve dinner no later than 9:00 pm…guests don’t like to eat dinner after 10.

Make sure your table centerpieces are small enough that you can see everyone across, diagonally and next to you at the table. Big centerpieces, although pretty and dramatic, can take away from the personal affect your guests should feel with each other. A small flower arrangement or candle is just enough!

Family included

While I don’t think you need to get into “Mr. So ‘n’ So, parents of such ‘n’ such,” it is nice to recognize family if they’re helping you foot the bill. These examples include several ways to do that.

Together with our parents we invite you
to share our joy and support our love
as we are exchange vows and are united
in the commitment of marriage

SnowKate’s full name
and
SnowMate’s full name

Saturday, the thirtieth of April
two thousand and five
at five o’clock

Winery Name
Napa, California

Food and festivities to follow

wedding invitation wording from Rs2guru.com

Please share our joy
at the wedding of

Ruchby
daughter of RuchbyMom and RuchbyDad
and
Mr. Ruchby
son of Dad and Mom MrRuchby

Monday, the fifteenth of September
two thousand and three
at eleven o’clock in the morning
Glen Oaks Country Club
Farmington Hills, Michigan

Feast and merriment to follow

This day I will marry my best friend,
the one I laugh with, live for, dream with, love
Reenie
and
Mr. NNG
together with their children,
invite you to share in the joy and
celebration of their marriage
and the joining of their families
on Friday, the thirtieth of December
two thousand and five
at half past six o’clock
in the evening
Church
Street Address
Our Town, Ohio

Love was meant to be shared
with parents, family and friends

Melfirst Mellast and FHfirst FHlast

together with our parents
Melmom1st and Meldad1st Mellast &
FHmom1st and FHdad1st FHlast

Invite you to share our celebration
of lifelong love and commitment
in the ceremony uniting us in marriage

Saturday, the nineteenth of August
two thousand and six
at half past five in the evening

Name Of Site
12345 Main Street
City, California

Dinner and merriment to follow