Wedding Invitation Wording: Standard Wedding Invitation Wording Examples

It's an eternal question: How will the wedding invitations be worded? As most newly engaged couples know, this can be a touchy subject because what's read between the lines is who's hosting (that is, paying for) the wedding. Today, many wedding etiquette rules are totally bendable. But before you can bend the rules to meet your unique wording needs, you first have to understand the rules. Here's the method behind the madness of a traditionally-worded wedding invitation.

Traditional Wording

It is customary in a formal wedding invitation to spell out everything, including the date and time of the wedding. For example, the invite should read Five o'clock in the evening not 5:00 p.m. Each bit of information occupies its own line and no commas are used, except between the location of the wedding and the city and state in which it will take place.

In its simplest form, the sequence of lines usually follows this order:
__________________ [proper names of those hosting]
request the honor of your presence [request line]
at the marriage of their _________ [list relationship of the bride to the host]
__________________ [bride's first and middle names]
to
__________________ [groom's full name]
_________, the __ of ________ [day of the week, day and month of wedding]
at ____ o'clock [time of wedding] in the _________ [time of day]
___________________ [name of the location of wedding]
_________, ____________ [city and state where wedding will take place]
Reception to follow

Knot Note: If the bride's parents are hosting, it is customary to leave off the bride's last name. If the groom's parents are involved, the bride's last name should be included.

5 Standard Wording Examples

Today, a whole roomful of people could be paying for the wedding, including the couple themselves, the bride's parents, the groom's parents, stepparents, grandparents, and the list goes on. It's important that you give credit where credit's due -- whoever's footing the bill deserves to lead off the invitation.

• If one set of parents is hosting your wedding, list their names at the top.
  Mr. and Mrs. John L. Smith
  request the honor of your presence
  at the marriage of their daughter
  Mary Ann
  to
  Edward Malcolm Jones
  

• If both sets of parents are jointly hosting, you should list both on separate lines, with the bride's parents first.
  Mr. and Mrs. John L. Smith &
  Mr. and Mrs. Mark Franklin Jones
  request the honor of your presence
  at the marriage of their children
  Mary Ann Smith
  to
  Edward Malcolm Jones
  

• When one couple is hosting, but you'd like to honor nonhosting parents by including them on the invitation (a respectful gesture and very wise political move), you simply make a point of noting their relationship to the bride or groom under that person's name.
  Mr. and Mrs. John L. Smith
  request the honor of your presence
  at the marriage of their daughter
  Mary Ann
  to
  Edward Malcolm Jones
  son of
  Mr. and Mrs. Mark Franklin Jones
  

• If the couple is planning to host the wedding, the invitation begins with the request line.
  The honor of your presence
  is requested at the marriage of
  Miss Mary Ann Smith
  daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Smith
  and
  Mr. Edward Malcolm Jones
  son of Mr. and Mrs. Mark Franklin Jones
  

• If everyone is pitching in -- the couple and both sets of parents are paying, the invitation should begin with the marrying couple's names (bride's name always comes first) and follow with "together with their parents" before the request line.
  Miss Mary Ann Smith
  and
  Mr. Edward Malcolm Jones
  together with their parents
  Mr. and Mrs. John L. Smith
  and
  Mr. and Mrs. Mark Franklin Jones
  request the honor of your presence
  at their marriage
  

-- The Knot

See More: Wedding Invitations + Wedding Stationery