Proper wording for wedding invitations

Ceremony Invitation with Reception Card

Mr. and Mrs. Mark Allen Jones
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter
Maria Louise
to
Mr. John Matthew Smith
on Saturday, the twenty-third of March
at one o'clock in the afternoon
Our Lady of Perpetual Hope
Bangor, Maine

Reception Card:

Reception
immediately following the ceremony
128 N. Main St.
Bangor, Maine

The favour of a reply is requested

Note:

if the ceremony is a religious one, the honour of your presence is requested. If the ceremony is a civil one, the pleasure of your company is requested.

When the mother has remarried

If the mother of the bride has remarried, and the bride wishes to include her stepfather on the invitation, the following wording is used (this wording assumes that the mother uses her new husband's name):

Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Adam Waters
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of her daughter
Ann Katherine Jones

When divorced parents are hosting the wedding

This example assumes that the mother has remarried and is using her new husband's name, though it could just as well be used if she had reverted to her maiden name, continued to use her former husband's name, or whatever (some people also include the bride's last name in this form, to avoid any possible confusion. Some people also omit the and between the parents' names):

Mrs. Jonathan Adam Waters
and
Mr. Mark Allen Jones
request the pleasure of your company
at the wedding of their daughter
Maria Louise

One or both of the parents might also be hosting the wedding with their current spouse. In that case, the invitation might look like:

Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Adam Waters
and
Mr. and Mrs. Mark Allen Jones
request the pleasure of your company
at the marriage of
Maria Louise Jones

When one parent is deceased

There is no reason why the living parent cannot host the wedding by themselves, which is the same as if one divorced parent hosts the wedding. This would be worded as:

Mr. Mark Allen Jones
requests the honour of your presence
at the marriage of his daughter
Maria Louise

However, the deceased parent may be mentioned using the following form. Note that the deceased parent may not host the wedding.

Maria Louise Jones
daughter of Margaret Elizabeth Jones and the late Mark Allen Jones
and
John Matthew Smith
son of Mr. and Mrs. James Michael Smith
request the honour of your presence
at their marriage

When the couple is hosting the wedding themselves

The honour of your presence
is requested at the marriage of
Miss Maria Louise Jones
to
Mr. John Matthew Smith

or (the titles "Miss" and "Mr." may also be used here):

Maria Louise Jones
and
John Matthew Smith
request the honour of your presence
at their marriage

Double Wedding

The older sister's name is listed first:

Mr. and Mrs. Mark Allen Jones
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of their daughters
Maria Louise
to
Mr. John Matthew Smith
and
Ann Katherine
to
Mr. Thomas Samuel Clark
on Saturday, the twenty-third of March
at one o'clock in the afternoon
Our Lady of Perpetual Hope
Bangor, Maine

When both sets of parents are hosting the wedding

Because this is a less traditional situation, we're sort of charting our own territory here. One alternative is:

Mr. and Mrs. Mark Allen Jones
and
Mr. and Mrs. Nathaniel James Smith
request the pleasure of your company
at the marriage of their children
Maria Louise Jones
and
Mr. John Matthew Smith


Page last modified: Sunday, May 16, 2004

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