wedding invitation wording & wedding invitation etiquette.

When it comes to wedding invitations and their accompaniments, what to say and how to say it has left many couples wringing their hands in bewilderment. But the process doesn't need to be stressful or complicated. Remember, each piece in your wedding invitation suite is designed to communicate a specific set of information to your guests. Our talented design associates will gladly help answer any wedding invitation etiquette questions you may have. Below are a few simple rules of thumb that will get you headed in the right direction:

The Wedding Invitation

The names of the hosts should be listed at the top of the invitation.

The invitation should include:

• Names of the bride and groom
• Names of the hosts (traditionally, the parents of the bride)
• Ceremony date, day of week, time and location
• Women who are widowed should be addressed according to their late husband's name, with "Mrs." as the title (i.e. Mrs. George Brown).

The word "and" in between two names traditionally implies that those people are married. Names of unmarried hosts or guests should be stacked.

The phrase "request the honor of your presence" is typically reserved for a church or place of worship. You are welcome to spell it as either "honor" or "honour". Just make sure you match it on your reply card with "favor" or "favour."

If the wedding ceremony and reception are being hosted in the same location, there is no need for a reception card. At the bottom of the invitation, you can simply state "Reception to follow" or "Dinner and dancing to follow".

For the wedding collection, try not to use abbreviations. Traditionally, middle names, street information and state names are spelled out. If you do choose to list the date or any other information in a more casual manner, be consistent across all pieces of the invitation suite.

Etiquette and Wording Examples

Formal and/or traditional weddings being held in a church and hosted by the parents of the bride:

Mr. and Mrs. Bradley Hunter
Request the honor of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter
Odette Claire
to
Oliver Richards Temple
Saturday, the twenty-third of June
two thousand and twelve
at half-past four o'clock
First Church
New Vernon, New Jersey

Formal and/or traditional weddings being held outside of a church and hosted by the parents of the bride:

Mr. and Mrs. Bradley Hunter
request the pleasure of your company
at the marriage of their daughter
Odette Claire
to
Oliver Richards Temple
Saturday, the twenty-third of June
two thousand and twelve
at half-past four o'clock
The Standard Hotel
Miami, Florida

Formal and/or traditional weddings being held outside of a church and hosted by both sets of parents:

Mr. and Mrs. Bradley Hunter
And Mr. and Mrs. William Temple
request the pleasure of your company
at the marriage of their children
Odette Claire
to
Oliver Richards
Saturday, the twenty-third of June
two thousand and twelve
at half-past four o'clock
The Standard Hotel
Miami, Florida

Less formal or non-traditional weddings being hosted by both sets of parents and the bride and groom - there are a myriad of ways to arrange the wording, so feel free to be creative:

Together with their families
Odette Claire Hunter
&
Oliver Richards Temple
invite you to share in their joy
at the celebration of their marriage
Saturday, the twenty-third of June
two thousand and twelve
at half-past four o'clock
The Standard Hotel
Miami, Florida

Less formal or non-traditional weddings being hosted by the bride and the groom:

Odette Claire Hunter
&
Oliver Richards Temple
joyfully request
the pleasure of your company
at their wedding celebration
Saturday, the twenty-third of June
two thousand and twelve
at half-past four o'clock
The Standard Hotel
Miami, Florida

Special Cases

In today's world, may couples find that traditional wording conventions don't follow suit. Below are our recommendations for handling some common special cases.

Divorced parents

Formal and/or traditional weddings being held in a church and hosted by the divorced parents of the bride (include parents' names on separate lines):

Ms. Elaine Robbins
Mr. Bradley Hunter
request the honor of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter
Odette Claire
to
Oliver Richards Temple
Saturday, the twenty-third of June
two thousand and twelve
at half-past four o'clock
First Church
New Vernon, New Jersey

You can use a similar format when one parent has remarried:

Ms. Elaine Robbins
Mr. and Mrs. Bradley Hunter
request the honor of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter
Odette Claire
to
Oliver Richards Temple
Saturday, the twenty-third of June
two thousand and twelve
at half-past four o'clock
First Church
New Vernon, New Jersey

Wording for additional pieces

Wording for additional pieces in the wedding invitation suite varies widely. Couples should take their style, ceremony and budget into consideration.

Here are a few examples of standard wording for popular additional pieces. Feel free to use these examples as a starting point and change, edit or rearrange the different lines to reflect your wedding's unique character.

R.S.V.P. Cards

For formal R.S.V.P. cards, guests write in their responses in the blank spaces. This is a fun way to get personal and memorable responses.

The favor of a reply is requested by the thirty-first of May

____________________________________________________________

Another popular approach is the offer a series of checkboxes and lines to direct the information you want):

The favor of a reply is requested by the thirty-first of May

Name(s) _________________________
____________ will attend
____________ will not attend

or

The favor of a reply is requested by the thirty-first of May

M____________________________________
____________ Accepts with pleasure
____________ Declines with regret

Entrees
____Poultry
____Fish
____Vegetarian

You can personalize how you ask for replies, but remember to keep the wording consistent with the invitation. For example "the favor or a reply" typically matches the invitation wording "the honor of your presence". For less formal invitation wording, such as "request the pleasure of your ", the RSVP wording would typically "Kindly reply by" or "Kindly respond by".

To determine the RSVP by date, a good rule of thumb is to allow guests half the time between receiving the invitations and the date of the wedding. If you send your invitations eight weeks in advance of your wedding, set the reply by date 4 weeks from the wedding.

Minted's design associates will be happy to answer any questions or suggest appropriate wording.

Save the Date Cards

Save the date cards should include the couples' names and wedding date. Beyond that, have fun with the wording! Our save the date yearline cards™ and save the date minibook cards™ allow you to share engagement photos, relationship stories, wedding details and much more.

Sample Wording

Please save the date
Saturday, June 23, 2012
For the wedding of
Odette Claire Hunter
and
Oliver Richards Temple
Formal invitation to follow

For formal events, you may want to include the couples' full names as well as the names of the hosts. You may also want to include the wedding location, particularly if the wedding will not be held in your hometown or if guests will need to travel. If you have created a wedding website, you may want to include the URL as well.

Reception Cards

If the ceremony and reception are held at the same venue, it is fine to state "Reception to follow" at the bottom of the invitation. If the reception is held at a different location, it should be treated as a separate event. Include a reception card with the event details as part of the invitation suite.

Activities Cards

Activities cards can be very helpful when it comes to weddings with many out-of-town guests. The activities card outlines organized activities, meals and other events taking place over the course of the days surrounding the wedding. Our wedding minibook card™ is a great alternative to a tri-fold or flat piece.

Sample Wording

Weekend Activities

Friday

Meadowood Winery Tour
1:00 pm
Please meet in the hotel lobby

Rehearsal Dinner
7:00 pm
Meritage Resort
875 Bordeaux Way

Saturday

Ladies Tea
11:00 am
Churchill Tea Room
Please meet in the hotel lobby.

Sunday

Farewell Brunch
11:00 am
Bouchon Bistro
6534 Washington Street

Information Cards

An information card is enclosed with your wedding invitation, and allows couples to provide guests with any additional information you want them to have (transportation information, lodging suggestions, etc.).

Sample Wording

Transportation will be provided to and from the rehearsal dinner, wedding ceremony and reception. Shuttles will depart from the hotel lobby 45 minutes prior to each event and return every half-hour each evening beginning at 9 pm.

Rehearsal Dinner Invitations

We recommend sending rehearsal dinner invitations three to six weeks before the event. This invitation is much less formal, and wording can vary depending on the formality of the event. Some suggestions are below:

You are cordially invited to attend the
Rehearsal Dinner
honoring
Odette and Oliver
on the eve of their marriage
Friday, the twentieth of June
at seven o'clock in the evening
The Slanted Door
RSVP 415-222-5555

Or

Mr. and Mrs. Jeffery Temple
request the honor of your company
at the Rehearsal Dinner
honoring
Odette and Oliver
on the eve of their marriage
Friday, the twentieth of June
at seven o'clock in the evening
The Slanted Door
RSVP 415-222-5555

Escort Cards, Place Cards and Favor Tags

Escort cards tell your guests where they will be seated during the reception. Guests names are written on the envelopes and the table numbers are written on the enclosed escort cards. Escort cards are usually displayed on a decorative table designated for this purpose.

Sample Wording

Mr. and Mrs. Taylor Lewis
Table 5

Or

Ms. Kimberly Hammond
Table 12

Place Cards typically just have the guest's full name (e.g. Mr. Taylor Lewis), while favor tags have the guest's name as well as the date of the wedding.

Thank You Cards

Brides and grooms may choose to purchase personalized stationery to match their wedding suites, or they may choose to purchase thank you cards separately. Thank you notes are typically personalized with the couple's married names or monogram (for example, Odette and Oliver Temple).

• Mention the gift by name, and give an example of how you will use it.
• For monetary gifts, do not mention the exact amount. Instead, thank the guest for the "generous gift".
• If applicable, thank the person for attending your wedding.

At Home Card

This card is include in the wedding invitation suite to inform guests of a new, post-wedding addresses. Couples may also choose to send moving announcements after the wedding.

Sample Wording

Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Temple
Will be at home
After September third
300 Broadway
San Francisco, California 94133

Monograms

Monograms are often used as signature emblems on wedding suites. Traditionally, monograms on wedding invitations and accompany pieces include the bride's initials only.

That said, many couples today choose to incorporate both their initials as part of the wedding suite. In this instance, we recommend using first initials only. For example, if Jennifer and Mark are getting married, their monogram would be the letters JS (bride's initial should come first).

Most couples choose to use a monogram as a signature emblem on their invitation suite.

Save the formal, married monogram for the post-ceremony reception pieces - place cards, table cards, menu cards - as well as thank you cards. Typically, the couples' first initials appear on either side of the groom's last initial. For example, once Jennifer Hammond and Mark Temple are married, their new monogram will be JTM.

Finally...

Whatever wording and format you choose, we suggest keeping these tips in mind:

• Use the correct names for invited guests wherever possible. If you don't know the names of your cousin's new boyfriend, ask! Using the correct names will make people feel truly welcome and honored.
• Do not include registry information anywhere in your invitation suite. Rather, list the information on your wedding website or ask your family and wedding party to communicate it via word of mouth.
• Do not print "no gifts" anywhere on your invitation suite. Even if that is truly your preference, this message presumes your guests were planning to give you gifts to begin with. Again, ask your family and wedding party to help communicate this message - however, be aware that some guests may insists on giving gifts.