Wording advice for my Mormon guests?

Louisa1000

Okay, so I grew up Mormon, and therefore, 60% of our guests will be Mormon. In Mormon culture, because the ceremony is privately held in a temple, everyone assumes when they receive an invitation, they are being invited to the reception only. I'm trying to find a polite but unambiguous way to communicate that yes, they are all indeed invited to the wedding itself as well as the reception. Even after reading a mock-up of my invite, which has the usual wording (presence requested at the nuptial mass . . ), my mom gets this confused look and asks, "wait, so what is this an invitation for?." Got the same reaction from a co-worker and one of my bridesmaids. 

To complicate things, we got stuck with the Catholic gap (3 hours). Tried my darndest to get around it, but to no avail. So I'm half expecting 50% of my guests to not even bother coming to the ceremony at all, and then treat the reception like an open-house, dropping in for 20 minutes (as is the custom), missing most of the night. 

How do I word this on my website or invite? Or do I just not worry about it at all and whatever happens happens? Help! 

ellen73

Could you just have the regular invite, and then a separate card/note explaining what is the custom for Catholic weddings?  In a tactful way explain that they are invited to witness your Sacrament of Marriage, and then celebrate after? And the Sacrament is something that is important to you, and you would like as many of your friends and family to witness this? And that the celebration is a sit-down dinner, so therefore you need to know the number of people who will be in attendance before hand?

I have a friend who is Mormon- and when another friend got married my Mormon didn't know how the RSVP/reception worked.  She would have probably never RSVPd for both her and her husband if she 1. knew in advance that the bride & groom had to pay per plate for the number of expected guests.  2.  knew that she probably wouldn't even be able to stay for dinner herself (three small children, including a newborn).  

daria24

Aren't Mormons forbidden from entering other houses of worship? I mean I guess just like any faith, there might be those who don't follow every tenant. I would probably word the invitation normally, but include a personalized note welcoming all to the ceremony.

Louisa1000

No, Mormons aren't forbidden from entering other houses of worship. In fact, in the last ward I was in, it was an ongoing yearly activity to go visit other faiths and dialogue. 

Do you think it's necessary to put an explanation right in the invite, or would it be sufficient to talk about it on our wedding website?

ellen73

I would use a small card,   you could make it front & back, 1/4 the size of 8.5x11 cardstock.   Not everyone reads websites as carefully as others, and it's nice to have the physical information right in front of you. 

OliveOilsMom

If you go with a pocketfold invite, you could place the note card explaining your ceremony in the pocket along with any other information you want to put in there (directions, reception, rsvp card).  I think the note card is a great idea  to help your Mormon guests understand.  Maybe have your priest read it over before it's printed so that he could help clarify how you want to explain your ceremony.

Perhaps your wording can start something along the lines of : As Catholics we would like to invite all of our family and friends to witness our ceremony as we become husband and wife. 

bibliophile2010

I think the card would be good, but I'd imagine word of mouth could also be helpful. Get your mom and bridesmaid and whomever to tell people that they are invited to the ceremony, what's going on with the reception, etc.

FWIW, many of the Mormons I know have been to enough non-Mormon functions that they know how to manage, at least with a little prodding.

Are you having the ceremony at St. Tim's? Where's the reception? I'm just contemplating the gap, wording, etc. some more...feel free to PM if you don't want too much info out in the open.