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WEDDING INVITATION ETIQUETTE
Your wedding invitations will set the tone for your upcoming big day. Make your wedding stand out by sending out the most unique wedding invitations. Invitations reveal the how formal or informal your wedding will be and allow your guests to know who is hosting the event, as well as the type of ceremony and any activities to attend afterwards. Follow these wedding invitation wording etiquette rules to ensure that your guests are well informed.
The first line of the wedding invitation tells who is hosting the event. The parents of the bride traditionally host the wedding, but, today, there are several other invitation wording possibilities. If parents are divorced, it is acceptable to list both parents along with their new spouses. Invitation wording etiquette for a wedding hosted by the bride and groom is to list both full names, with the bride’s first. You can also include “Together with their families” in this situation.
The next line of your wedding invitation should tell guests what type of ceremony to expect. A traditional church wedding should read “Request the honour of your presence” while an outdoor wedding or a ceremony in a non-religious setting properly state “Request the pleasure of your company.” Always use full names on the wedding invitations and use Mr. and Mrs. before the names of the hosting parents
Wedding invitation wording etiquette says to never abbreviate. The time and date should also be completely spelled out, beginning with the day, date, and month, and then followed by the written time and afternoon or evening. The final line of the wedding invitation should tell your guests’ where the ceremony will be held. Remember to avoid abbreviating the name of the location and list the full address, spelling out road types, like Avenue or Boulevard.
Refrain from mentioning gift registry information or anything similar in the invitation. Wedding etiquette rules consider gift requests to only be listed on a separate insert. Do include information about your reception on the invitation as well.
Use both first and last names on the envelopes and avoid abbreviating titles, suffixes, and road names.
Here is a summary of the above to keep in mind when doing up the invitations wording
1) Write out names in full, including middle names. Omit a middle name if necessary, rather than using an initial.
2) Spell out all words, including the hour, the date and the year. Spell out all words in the address, including Street, Road and Avenue. The two exceptions to this rule in an address are Saint (St.) and Mount (Mt.)
3) Use Roman numerals in names, rather than "the third" or "3rd."
4) No periods (.) at the end of a line
5) No abbreviations other than Mr., Mrs., Dr., and Jr.
6) First letter of each line is not capitalized, unless it is a proper noun (for example -- “Sunday, the fifth of October” is correct. OR “on Sunday, the fifth of October” is correct)
7) Dates and times are written out (half after five o’clock, two thousand and three)
8) The first word of the year is capitalized
9) Formal invitations are usually written in third-person. For example, “Mr. and Mrs. Craig Chastain” instead of “We.” ADDRESSING THE ENVELOPES Here is a list on how to address the envelopes in different situations. We have listed the situation followed by the correct way to address the envelope.
Unmarried Female - Ms. Jones and Guest
Children under 18 - Mr. and Mrs. Kevin James and Kayla
Children 18 and over - Miss Jones and Guest
Unmarried couples - Miss Jones
Mr. Davis
Married couples - Mr. And Mrs. Davis
Married Couple-She kept maiden name - Mrs. Jones and Mr. Davis
Married Couple-She has a professional title and he does not - Doctor Davis and Mr. Davis
Married Couple-both are doctors - The Doctors Davis
He is a commissioned officer - Colonel and Mrs. Davis
He is a non-commissioned officer or enlisted man - Mr. and Mrs. Davis
He is a retired commissioned officer - Colonel and Mrs. Carl Davis
Judge - Judge and Mrs. Davis
Reverend - Reverend and Mrs. Davis
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