Wedding Invitation Etiquette

Inviting Guests

The wedding invitation is a multi-purpose tool—​conveying the bride and groom’s distinctive taste and officially communicating the important details of the event itself: when, where, what time, who is invited, who is hosting, formality and style.

Optional: Those you highly regard but probably cannot come due to logistics, etc, but you want to make sure they’re invited anyway.

One invitation per:

• Parents
• Each attendant
• Clergy/Officiate and spouse
• Family with children under 18
• Couple (married or living together)
• Generally, each child 18 or older (still living at home)
• Single guest
• Significant other of single guest—​not living together

Formal or Traditional

Mr. and Mrs. James Mason
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter

Heidi Marie
to
Mr. John Neil Lincoln

Saturday, the twenty-third of July
two thousand twelve
at 6 o’clock
Grace Fellowship Church
Minnetonka, Minnesota

Third person wording
Be consistent with spelling: honour/favour or honor/favor
Dr. and military titles need to be spelled out: i.e. Doctor David Johnson
Use Roman numerals in names instead of second or 2nd
Punctuation is only used to separate city, state or day, date or Mr. Mrs.
All days, dates and times are typically spelled out: Saturday, the twenty-third of July, Two thousand and twelve at two o’clock
Avoid abbreviations: spell out street, boulevard, avenue...

Less Formal or Casual

We invite you to share in the joy
At the marriage of our daughter

Heidi Marie
to
Mr. John Neil Lincoln

Saturday, the twenty-third of July
two thousand twelve
at 6 o’clock
Grace Fellowship Church
Minnetonka, Minnesota