Invitation Wording Etiquette

A guide to help you put together the wording for your invitations

Host Line

This is where you write who is inviting the guest to the wedding. Traditionally the brides parents would be hosting as they would be paying for the wedding. These days most weddings aren't just paid for by parents, but a mixture of both families or the couples themselves.
Some examples are:

One Family Inviting:
• Mr & Mrs Smith request the pleasure of your company
• Jane and John Smith invite you to celebrate the marriage of

Both Families Inviting:
• Mr & Mrs Smith together with Mr & Mrs Jones
• Jane and John Smith and Sue and Peter Jones

Inclusive of all family members or divorced couples:
• Together with their families
• With the love and support of their parents

Formal / Traditional Wording:
• Jane and John Smith
invite you to the marriage of their daughter
Antonia Jane
to
James Xavier Jones
son of
Sue and Peter Jones

Invitation Line

This line can go at the top if you're skipping a host line, above the couples name if they are hosting or below the Host Line / Couples names, it really just depends on how you'd like the wording on your invitation to read.
Some ideas are:

Below the Host Line / Couples Name
• request the pleasure of your company at the marriage of
• joyfully request your presence at our marriage
• would love to invite you to share in our wedding day

Above the Couples Name
• You're invited to celebrate the marriage of
• Your presence is requested at the wedding of

Couples Names

Traditionally the brides name will go before the grooms on the invitation, or the child of the parents that are paying. You can choose to have:

• First Names: Antonia and James
• First and Last Names: Antonia Smith and James Jones
• First and Middle Names: Antonia Jane and James Xavier
• Full Names: Antonia Jane Smith and James Xavier Jones

Wedding Date

An important detail to include is of course the date of your wedding. Depending on the design that you have chosen as well as personal preference you may wish to have your date displayed as:

• Words Only: Sunday the first of October, Twenty Twenty
• Mixture of Numbers and Words: Saturday the 1st of October, 2020
• Numbers Only: 01.10.20

Times and Venues

It is important to list the times and destinations of both the ceremony and reception on the invitation, especially if they are at different locations. Be sure to include all the venue address details as some venues have entrances on a different streets or have many rooms across different floors of the venue.

Times:
• Numbers Only: 2pm
• Numbers and Words: 2 o'clock in the afternoon
• Words Only: At two o'clock in the afternoon

Address:
The Tea Room
Queen Victoria Building
Level 3 North End
455 George Street, Sydney NSW
(Entry via York Street)

Separate Locations:
Ceremony to commence at 2 o'clock in the afternoon
St John's Anglican,
81 Alt Street, Ashfield NSW 2131

Reception to follow from 6 o'clock in the evening
The Tea Room
Queen Victoria Building
Level 3 North End
455 George Street, Sydney NSW
(Entry via York Street)

Dress Code and RSVP

At the bottom of your invitation you might like to include a dress code for your wedding, this will indicate what sort of event you are having and how they should dress.
The most popular dress codes are:
• Cocktail
• Semi-Formal
• Lounge Suit
• Formal
• Black Tie
• White Tie

If you don't have a separate RSVP card, are collecting RSVP's via email or have a wedding website, you can include these details at the bottom of your invitation if there aren't too many words.

Other wording ideas

It's great to inject your own personality into your invitations, so please feel free to use anything that you think suits you as a couple or sets the tone for your wedding day.

Some of our favourite are:
• Joyfully invite you to join them on their wedding day
• A night of dinner and dancing to follow
• Dress - Fabulous

RSVP

There are a few different ways you can get your guests to RSVP for your wedding.

These include:
• RSVP Postcard
• RSVP with Return Envelope
• RSVP via Email / Phone
• RSVP via Website

We recommend an RSVP date 4-6 weeks before your wedding date.

Gifts

There are many ways that you may choose to accepts gifts for your wedding.

The most popular options and wording are:
• Wishing Well - "Your presence is the greatest gift of all, however, should you wish to celebrate with a gift a wishing well will be available on the night"
• Gift Registry - "Your presence is the greatest gift of all, however, should you wish to celebrate with a gift we have setup a registry with David Jones.
Surname: Jones Password: 123"
• Charity Donation - "In lieu of gifts we ask that you donate to the Catherine Hamlin Foundation"
• No Gifts - "We kindly request no gifts"

Studio Collection

This collection is font based, therefore it is great option for couples who are on a tighter timeframe, or who are looking to save some money on design.

All designs are flexible with colours, paper stocks, printing methods and embellishments giving you the ability to have your stationery as simple or extravagant as you want.

We have an array of paper stock and envelope options that you can customise your design with. Browse our stock and envelope colour options ⟶

Upgrade your package to include custom lettering, maps and illustrations. Browse our embellishments ⟶

Approximate Design Time: 7 Working Days | Rounds of Changes: 3 | Design Fee: $100

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Gravity

Signature

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Botanical

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Bloom

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Terrace Press acknowledges that we operate on the country of the Dharug People of the Dharug Nation and acknowledge their ancestors who have been Traditional Owners of their country for thousands of years. Terrace Press also wish to acknowledge and pay our respect to the Dharug People's Elders past, present, and emerging leaders.