Wedding Invitation Etiquette Parents Names
In addition to designing wedding invitations, I provide a lot of wedding invitation etiquette advicesuch as how to word the invitation properly, what phrases to use for a church verses a non-religious venue, whether to use the bride and grooms middle names, how to mention attire, whether to direct guests to a registry, where to list a wedding website, and the list goes on and on. With more and more couples paying for or contributing significantly to their own wedding budget, many couples are asking for my advice on when and where to list the couples parents names on their wedding invitation.
The Names Of The Bride And Groom:
Traditionally the name of the bride always precedes the grooms name. If the brides parents are included on the invitation and she shares their last name, then only her first and middle name are used. This same rule applies for the groom. If the couple is hosting by themselves, last names are needed.
For a same-sex marriage, you can do whatever you like. You may choose to go in alphabetical order or choose what sounds better. Whatever you place the names, its going to be lovely either way.
Adding Personality To Your Wedding Invitations
Every year, couples push the boundaries of what can be included in a wedding invitation, we’ve seen lots of fun and original invitations among our real weddings. Check out the biggest stationery trends and our latest paper-inspired features for lots of ideas for making your wedding invitations your own!
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If Our Wedding Reception Is For Immediate Family Only Is It Okay To Invite People To The Ceremony Only
This is a tricky situation. Standard etiquette dictates that everyone who attends the ceremony should be invited to the weddingthat means the ceremony and the reception. By inviting guests to one and not the other, it could send the message that you want them there for the actual ceremony but you either don’t want to pay for their plate at your party or don’t care enough to have them there to actually celebrate your newlywed status.
Wedding Invitation Wording If Everyone Is Hosting
If multiple parties are chipping in for the wedding, the invitation begins with the bride’s name, followed by the groom’s name, and finally the parents’ names, starting with the bride’s parents. Or go ahead and list the couple’s names in alphabetical order, followed by their parents’ names in corresponding order.
Formal Wedding Invitation Wording Sample:
Sample 1:
invite you to their wedding
Saturday, May 17, 2020
at 4:30 in the afternoon
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The Proper Way To Address Your Wedding Invitations
Photo by Mango Studios. Stationery by Palettera Custom Correspondences.
With all the pieces included in a wedding stationery set, it might be easy to overlook the envelopes. But according to Deborah Lau-Yu, founder of Palettera Custom Correspondences, envelopes can say a lot about the tone of your wedding.
A lot of people want to save money, and yes, thats important, Lau-Yu says. You can try to print the envelopes yourself, but home printers arent perfect. If you spent money on your invitations, it can cheapen them if you have a label thats shifted, she adds. This is why Lau-Yu recommends that couples have their envelopes professionally addressed in typography or calligraphy by their stationery designer. When its printed in beautiful script or font, it shows something special, she explains.
The details of how your envelopes are printed are just as important as what is printed. Lau-Yu tells couples that the most important thing is to always be intentional when it comes to addressing their guests. Weddings are sacred things, she says. Having your envelopes properly labelled conveys respect, properness and sacredness.
Here are some tips to keep in mind when addressing your invitations:
Here are some examples of templates you can use for addressing your envelopes:
For a married couple using different names:Put the names on two separate lines, alphabetically.Mrs. Jane Doe
State The Guests Of Honors Names
Okay, so whose wedding is this? Based on the formality of your wedding, you can decide how you want to feature your and your partners names. The only rule? Keep it consistent. You cant include a middle name for one partner, and not the other. In terms of the order, for different-sex couples, write the brides name first. For same-sex couples, names may be listed alphabetically or really, arranged in any way youd prefer.
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Addressing Wedding Invitations For A Casual Wedding
You might be wondering, “What if my wedding isn’t going to be that formal? Do I still have to make the wedding invitations formal?” Well, when it comes to addressing wedding invitations for a more casual event, we understand the temptation to just use first names, or first and last names without titles. While this isn’t traditional, if the vibe is really backyard barbecue or a picnic in the park, you may be able to get away with it.
But this is definitely the right time to use more formal wording for older or more conservative gueststhey may not notice that you were being particularly respectful, but they definitely will if they feel that you were too informal!
Include Date And Time Information
Now that youve clarified whos hosting, whats going on, and who the guests of honor will be, its time to spell out the important details: When is the event? Remember, that youre referring specifically to your ceremony herewell talk about the reception later on.
First youll want to share the date, and there are a few ways you can do this, depending on the formality. For a more formal wedding invitation, the date should be fully written out: Saturday, the first of June, two thousand nineteen. For a more informal wedding, you can write the date numerically: Saturday, June 1st, 2021. Some informal invitation designs allow the date to be written out completely numerically6-1-21but only write it out this way if your invitation design permits.
In terms of stating the time of your event, you have a lot of options in terms of wedding invitation wording. Here are a few examples:
- If your wedding takes place on the hour, the time can be listed more formally as six oclock or six oclock in the afternoon, or more casually as 6:00 p.m.
- If your wedding takes place on the half hour, you can write it out formally as half past six oclock or six-thirty in the evening (if your wedding takes place before 5 p.m., you would say in the afternoon and before noon, in the morning, or casually as 6:30 p.m.
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Wedding Invitation Wording: Informal Alternatives
Here, we’ve put together some informal variations on the formal wording, “request the honour of your presence”:
- “request the pleasure of your company to celebrate the marriage of” which has a slightly more relaxed tone, yet is still formal.
- “invite you to celebrate the marriage/wedding of” is a less formal option.
- “invite you to the wedding celebration of” is another one that works well as a less formal option.
- “invite you to share in the festivities” also works well for informal weddings or for couples who are having a party after getting married at an earlier date.
- “would love you to join them in celebrating their wedding” is suitable for casual and informal weddings, and sets the tone for a fun wedding.
Stationery by Finer Details and Silent Word Studio | Photo by Ivana Milchanska via One Fab Day
To A Family Including Children
When inviting an entire family, the family name or the parents’ names should be listed alone, and everyone can be included on the inside.
When including female children under the age of 18, address them with a Miss.
- Outer envelope: “The Thompson Family” or “Mr. and Mrs. Alan Thompson” or “Mr. Alan Thompson and Mrs. Emily Thompson”
- Inner Envelope: Alan, Emily, Roger, Chance, Miss Jennifer, and Miss Lily
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How Do You Rsvp Via Email
You can send an email to the sender with RSVP protocol, which saves time and money, depending on the instructions in the invitation, and indicate the following: RSVP, regrets only or simply regrets only, which is a popular modern variation that implies, If you dont reply, that will be taken as an acceptance.
Your Guide To Wedding Invitation Wording
There are certain parts of the wedding planning that stump awedding couple, and wedding invitation wording has to be one of them. While picking the wedding stationery itself is a dream, trying to get the tone right on your wedding invitations andmaking sure youre not forgetting anything can be seriously stressful. Inviteslike weddings are changing traditionally, wedding invites would have beenmuch more formal but as couples embrace more laid back, casual celebrations,the wedding invite is reflecting this and following suit. That doesnt mean youcant have a formal wedding invite if thats what youre after, but if you arelooking to have a bit of fun with your wording, theres room for that too. Tohelp you figure out what style and tone youre after, and make the invite partas easy as possible, weve got a complete guide to weddinginvitation wording to help you…
There are a few things to think about before you startputting pen to paper or ordering that cute floral invite you’re lusting after.
The Basics
Okay so the basics, what exactly goes on your weddinginvites? You’ll need to include the following:
- Who is extending the invite
- The event itself i.e. the wedding ceremony andreception or just afters
- The location where is the ceremony/receptiontaking place
- The date and time
- RSVP details
- Who the invite is to
Additional Info
You may also like to include the following on the back ofthe invite or on a separate sheet:
Family Issues
Children at Weddings
Informal Options
Ms/Mr
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Choosing How Your Vaccination Requirements Will Appear
First things first: vaccination requirements should never steal the show. Let the imagery and wording on the invitation itself shine and communicate key details to your invitees . If youre sending paper invitations, we recommend saving any vaccination requirement information to be communicated via insert. It can either be added as a segment on the RSVP card, or as a completely separate insert, which would then detail any instructions you may have for your guests to provide proof of vaccination.
If youre using Greenvelope, however, you have some more options at hand. Plus, thanks to the powerful tools that come with your account like surveys and direct messaging youre likely to receive clear responses far quicker, while also having the ability to follow-up in the snap of your fingers. Your invitees also have the ability to message you to say, Congrats!, for example, or to ask for clarification on something which means that theres less pressure to be overly wordy on Take One you have more room to have and maintain a conversation with ease.
That in mind, the examples youll find below are the methods through which you can communicate vaccination requirements within Greenvelope.
How Do You Thank Someone For A Party Invite
Attending
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Details Cards You Might Need
Accommodations
If you are reserving hotel room blocks for out of town guests, it is recommended to share this information on an accommodation details card. This card is especially essential if you have a lot of out of town guests who may not be web-savvy enough to find room block details on your wedding website.
What to Include: Along with the name of the hotel and street address, inform guests of the name or group code your room blocks are listed under along with the date to reserve by. You may also wish to include the hotel’s phone number. If a shuttle is provided from the hotel to your venue, you may also add it here.
What Not to Include: You do not need to list the hotel website’s booking pagethese are often long and can look confusing. It’s best to include this on your wedding website. Don’t include too much informationsuch as the temperature, recommended airports, or other minor details guests can find on their own.
Ways to Save: Omit the added cost of including a website card by briefly including your wedding website at the bottom of this card.
Reception Insert
If your wedding and reception are held at different venues or if there is a long break between both events, this insert may be necessary to share all of the extra details with guests.
What Not to Include: If you have any other wedding festivities, such as a post-wedding brunch, do not list it on this card. It can appear confusing to guests if too many events are listed on one small insert card.
Website Card
Outside The Box Wedding Invitation Wording
If you and your partner are a bit unconventional, the words you choose or dont choose for your wedding invitation can keep that fresh perspective alive. Take a look at these two wedding invitation wording samples for some out-of-the-box inspiration.
Clara and William
Design: Maria Hilas Louie Design
With its beautifully prismatic sheen, modern typography, and simple yet sophisticated design, this Love and Light wedding invitation is a blank canvas for your message. Choose whichever phrasing you like, but we love that this couple didnt even use the word wedding, creating a voice and style all their own.
Clara and William
invite you to join their
celebration of love and friendship
at 6:00 in the evening
Terra Gallery & Events, San Francisco
Dinner and dancing to follow
Bailey and Craig
Design: National Park Foundation
This Mt. Rainier invitation is perfect for the nature-loving duo planning a green wedding. The bronze, handwritten typeface with the Meet us in the woods greeting is simply stunning.
Meet us in the woods
Together with their families
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The Date And The Time:
This is the one line where I strongly advise you to stick to the basics, since you want people to actually come to your wedding. Time, date, and location should all be listed. For formal weddings, everything is written out in full . For example:
four oclock in the afternoonSaturday, the second of JuneTwo thousand fourteen
How Do You Confirm An Email Invitation
Thank you very much for the invitation to interview for the Account Manager position. I appreciate the opportunity, and I look forward to meeting with Edie Wilson on June 30th at 9 AM in your Northampton office. If I can provide you with any further information prior to the interview, please let me know.
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