Whatever your style of wedding stationery, you will want to get your invitations word perfect. Like the rest of your wedding stationery, the wedding invitation wording should reflect the overall style of your special day. Typically, the more formal your wedding, the more formal the invitation wording should be. Increasingly, many brides are opting for more informal wording and modern ceremonies, rather than classic and traditional which means that the invitation wording 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!
Formal Wedding Invitation Wording
The principle rule for formal invitations, if you prefer to stick to convention, is that that invitations are written in the third person, referring to the hosts of the reception using their full names. Formal invitations should be printed on formal heavyweight paper. Ivory, cream, and white are accepted colours for formal invitations. Classic font types, such as Times Roman, printed or engraved in black are traditionally used. There are no strict rules of etiquette but here are some guidelines to remember as a general rule:
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. This also includes 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."
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.
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'.
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".
There is no punctuation except after abbreviations (Mr., Mrs.,) and when sentences requiring commas appear in one line ("on Saturday, the ninth of July")
Half hours are written as "half after four o'clock" not "half past four" or "four thirty"
Informal Wedding Invitations
For slightly less informal 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!
This guide was brought to you by Sam O'Brien, a writer for the Wedding Invitations Shop. Please visit our site for the complete guide to wedding invitation wording and etiquette with invitation wording samples.
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