Roman Numerals In Wedding Invite Wording

knottie2d1d10badcf67e3e

Hi! We want to use roman numerals for our wedding date on our invites (looks fancyyyy) but I'm worried people won't know how to read our date. Text copy & pasted below. It looks nicer with all the fonts and design 

"request the honor of your company

at the celebration of their marriage

VIII X MMXIX

at one o’clock in the afternoon"

I feel like most people won't get aug 10 2019 out of that. Any suggestions? I really love the roman numerals.

OurWildKingdom

I know Roman numerals look cool, but they’re confusing to most people. In any case, I think you’re supposed to spell out the date (August tenth, two thousand nineteen). Check the sticky at the top of the board for samples of wording. The late CMGragain was our guru in that area.

climbingsingle

knottie2d1d10badcf67e3e said:

Hi! We want to use roman numerals for our wedding date on our invites (looks fancyyyy) but I'm worried people won't know how to read our date. Text copy & pasted below. It looks nicer with all the fonts and design 

"request the honor of your company

at the celebration of their marriage

VIII X MMXIX

at one o’clock in the afternoon"

I feel like most people won't get aug 10 2019 out of that. Any suggestions? I really love the roman numerals.

I think you're right in that most people won't get the date from that. You'll either have people googling, or calling and texting you to find out the date. 

ETA: Why mess with something as important as the date you want your guest there? 

MobKaz

It might look alright if you use a sun dial to designate the hour of your wedding.

Joking……

The invitation is NOT the place to be cute or confusing.  If you have an affinity for such things, incorporate them into your table numbers, cake topper, or other less important wedding related items.

ILoveBeachMusic

The proper way is to write out the date: "Saturday the tenth of August two thousand nineteen". Roman numerals are not a formal way to do this. It will be very confusing and will not look right on a formal invitation.

edited for self correction

InLoveInQueens

Save the Roman numerals for something like a guest book or custom picture frame in your house, it really doesn't work for an invitation 

maine7mob

Roman numerals do not make an invitation "fancy" or classy. 

levioosa

If you want your invitation to be “fancy” then write out the date and time in the formal way stated above. I promise the Roman numerals will not look as “fancy” as you think they will, plus they’ll be confusing. 

flantastic

I think you should go with traditional Roman date format, if you want them to know it's a date.

So, ante diem VI Idus Augustas

Or you could go with Ecclesial Latin:

Die X mensis Augustis MMXIX

ShesSoCold

I find that if you (general) do something for the sole purpose of appearing "fancy", you actually succeed in doing the exact opposite.

ei34

Maybe do Roman numerals on the cover of your wedding photo album or order an engraved/personalized clock with your wedding date in Roman numerals to hang in your house? Ditto PP I wouldn’t want to risk confusing guests over something as important as the wedding date.  

short+sassy

ILoveBeachMusic said:

The proper way is to write out the date: "Saturday the tenth of August two thousand nineteen". Roman numerals are not a formal way to do this. It will be very confusing and will not look right on a formal invitation.

edited for self correction

The way you have the date written in Roman numerals is really confusing.  At first, I didn't even recognize it was supposed to be the date.

And then, once I realized it, I wasn't totally sure if it was supposed to be August 10th or October 8th.  Because, as @ILoveBeachMusic pointed out, invitations often have the day first and then the month.

As a guest, I'd be laughing at myself with, "Please don't make me think this much to put a date on my calendar."

banana468

Think of it this way: By writing out the date in the etiquette approved format you just avoided 100 phone calls or emails. 

VerizonGirl

You should use it somewhere, not on invitations.