Wedding invitation wording
What goes on an invitation, in what order, and why, with complete examples you can copy.
An invitation is a very short document doing six jobs at once, and almost every wording problem is one of those jobs being left out. Below is what each line is actually for, the wording most couples settle on, and then seven pages of complete examples: formal, casual, by who is hosting, RSVP lines, save the dates, adults-only and destination weddings.
Everything here is written to be used as it stands. Change the names and the dates and it is finished. There is nothing left to fill in.
The wording most couples use
If you read no further than this, this version is correct for the great majority of weddings: it honors both families, does not claim who is paying, is formal enough for a church and warm enough for a garden.
The safe default
Together with their families
Eleanor Grace Whitfield
and
Thomas James Hale
request the pleasure of your company
at their marriage
Saturday, the fourteenth of June, two thousand twenty-seven
at four o'clock in the afternoon
Ashcombe House, Kingsbridge, Devon
Dinner and dancing to follow
Kindly reply by the first of May
Works for almost any wedding. For a church ceremony, change “the pleasure of your company” to “the honour of your presence”.
The six parts of a wedding invitation
1. Who is inviting
The first line names whoever is hosting. By convention that means whoever is paying, which is why it is the line families argue about. "Together with their families" is the modern answer that honors both sides without claiming anything. Wording for every kind of host →
2. Who is getting married
Full names on a formal invitation, first names on a casual one. The bride's name has traditionally come first; there is no rule, and plenty of couples use alphabetical order or whichever simply reads better.
3. The request
"Request the honour of your presence" for a ceremony in a place of worship, "request the pleasure of your company" everywhere else. On a casual invitation this becomes "would love you there": the same sentence doing the same job.
4. When
Formally, the date and time are written out in words. There is a practical reason as well as a traditional one: 06/14 and 14/06 are the same day written by two countries, and a guest reading it the other way round arrives on the wrong date.
5. Where
The venue and the town. If the ceremony and the reception are in different places, give both, each with its own time. This is the single most common omission, and it produces two weeks of messages.
6. What you need back
A reply, by a stated date, in one stated way. "Let us know if you can make it" is the line that costs couples their evenings in the final month. How to word the RSVP →
Wording for your situation
Where the wording actually goes
On a printed suite the wording is split across an invitation, a details card and a reply card, which is why so much of it has to be abbreviated. A digital wedding invitation has one page and no such limit: the wording sits at the top, the schedule of the day under it, the map and the calendar buttons below that, and the RSVP form at the end, so a guest reads the invitation and replies without leaving it.
It also means a change of time reaches everybody. The link stays the same, so guests who already have it see the new version without anything being resent, which is the one thing printed wording can never do. There are 35 designs to put your wording into, from formal black and gold to rustic greenery.
Common questions
What do you write on a wedding invitation?
Six things: who is hosting, who is getting married, the request itself, the date and time, the venue, and how and by when to reply. Everything else (the dress code, parking, the hotel block) belongs in a details section below the invitation rather than in the invitation itself.
Whose name goes first on a wedding invitation?
The hosts, then the couple. Where the couple is hosting, the bride's name comes first by convention. It is a convention rather than a rule: same-sex couples, and couples who simply prefer it, use alphabetical order or whichever name reads better.
Should the date be written out in words?
On a formal invitation, yes. It is also the safest choice for any wedding with guests from more than one country, since numerals are read differently: 06/14/2027 and 14/06/2027 are the same day to an American and a European, and a different day to each other.
Do we put the dress code on the invitation?
Yes, on its own line at the foot, in two or three words: "Black tie", "Black tie optional", "Garden party". A dress code kept on a separate page is a dress code half your guests will not see.
How do we ask for money instead of gifts?
Not on the invitation. Put one short, warm line in the details section: your presence is the gift, and if anyone would like to give something you are saving toward a particular thing. Never a bank account number on the invitation itself.
Can we copy these wording examples?
Yes, they are written to be used. Every example on these pages is complete, with only the names and dates to change, and there is a copy button on each one.
Got the words? Put them into an invitation.
Build yours free →Written by Leon Bogičević, Founder, Say Yes at Say Yes Digital Invitations.