A Basic Guide to Wedding Invitation Wording
When you are planning your wedding, you want everything involved to be perfect. But even informal weddings have many details to work out and are steeped in tradition. There's the matter of having your wedding just the way you like it, but there are also certain things that people expect in a wedding, rules of etiquette to follow.
For instance, the wording on your wedding invitation follows a specific formula that should be followed if you are sending out traditional wedding invitations. Most formal wedding invitations should follow wording that conforms to rules of etiquette. Here are some of the things to keep in mind:
British or American Spelling
One thing to consider on wording for wedding invitations is whether or not to use American or British English on your invitation. Traditionally, it is considered appropriate to use the British English, using "honour" instead of "honor" and "favour" instead of "favor." The rules on this have relaxed a little bit, but it is still probably best to use the British English unless you strongly prefer the American spellings.
Wording for Different Locations
One of the things that will change the proper wedding invitation wording that you should use is the location of your wedding. If your wedding is in a house of worship, then the proper wording on your wedding invitation is use the phrase "request the honour of your presence." If you are having your wedding outside of a house of worship, such as in a community hall, the proper choice of words is "request the pleasure of your company."
Wording for Who Hosts the Wedding
There is also specific wording for how to request that someone attends a wedding, but who makes the request? The wording of the wedding invitation should indicate who hosts the wedding. So if the bride's parents are the ones paying for the wedding, the wording on the wedding invitation should list that they're the ones making the request, and then afterwards, when listing that the event is, the name of the bride and groom should be listed.
Unfortunately, the wording on wedding invitations for this is not a simple thing to determine. These days, there are many alternate family situations, from divorces to widowed parents, to weddings where both families are hosting the wedding. However, you are in luck, since any company that handles wedding invitations should have someone there well-versed in etiquette for proper wedding invitation wording. So, when in doubt, trust the experts, and you'll have a properly worded invitation for your special day.
For instance, the wording on your wedding invitation follows a specific formula that should be followed if you are sending out traditional wedding invitations. Most formal wedding invitations should follow wording that conforms to rules of etiquette. Here are some of the things to keep in mind:
British or American Spelling
One thing to consider on wording for wedding invitations is whether or not to use American or British English on your invitation. Traditionally, it is considered appropriate to use the British English, using "honour" instead of "honor" and "favour" instead of "favor." The rules on this have relaxed a little bit, but it is still probably best to use the British English unless you strongly prefer the American spellings.
Wording for Different Locations
One of the things that will change the proper wedding invitation wording that you should use is the location of your wedding. If your wedding is in a house of worship, then the proper wording on your wedding invitation is use the phrase "request the honour of your presence." If you are having your wedding outside of a house of worship, such as in a community hall, the proper choice of words is "request the pleasure of your company."
Wording for Who Hosts the Wedding
There is also specific wording for how to request that someone attends a wedding, but who makes the request? The wording of the wedding invitation should indicate who hosts the wedding. So if the bride's parents are the ones paying for the wedding, the wording on the wedding invitation should list that they're the ones making the request, and then afterwards, when listing that the event is, the name of the bride and groom should be listed.
Unfortunately, the wording on wedding invitations for this is not a simple thing to determine. These days, there are many alternate family situations, from divorces to widowed parents, to weddings where both families are hosting the wedding. However, you are in luck, since any company that handles wedding invitations should have someone there well-versed in etiquette for proper wedding invitation wording. So, when in doubt, trust the experts, and you'll have a properly worded invitation for your special day.
