Invite wording for divorced parents

jessicajimbo

My FI and I originally wanted our invites to say " together with our family's " but my mother in law recently said she would like their name on the invite since they are paying for some of the wedding ( flowers, shuttle, alcohol, rehearsal dinner). My parents are divorced both are not remarried. Mom still has my dads last name. I tried the invite wording on a sample invite and it just looked weird. There were like 5 names on the invite and I don't like it. I feel bad cause they have been so generous and don't want to hurt their feelings but I don't want a ugly invite. HELP! anyone have suggestions on wording?

[Deleted User]

If your parents are divorced, but have the same last name, you put them on separate lines to show this. You could do this, for example:

Mrs. Mary Jones and

Mr. Thomas Jones

request the honor of your presence

at the marriage of their daughter

Susan Elizabeth

to

John James Smith

Son of Mr. & Mrs. Nathan Smith...

The "together with their families" bit usually goes something like this:

Susan Elizabeth Jones

and 

John James Smith

together with their parents

Mrs. Mary Jones,

Mr. Thomas Jones,

and Mr. & Mrs. Nathan Smith

request the honor of your presence

at their marriage...

Play around with it and see what you come up with. Personally, I like the first version better, and it doesn't sound as if you're suggesting that FI's parents are hosting the event (which they really aren't).

ETA: Some websites suggest that if the divorced mother has not remarried, you use Mrs. First Maiden Married to refer to her.

Calypso1977

Mrs. Mary Jones and

Mr. Thomas Jones

request the honor of your presence

at the marriage of their daughter

Susan Elizabeth

to

John James Smith

Son of Mr. & Mrs. Nathan Smith...

id use this one but us MS Mary Jones not MRS sine they are divorced.

CallaLily25

In Response to Re:Invite wording for divorced parents:[QUOTE]Mrs. Mary Jones andMr. Thomas Jonesrequest the honor of your presenceat the marriage of their daughterSusan ElizabethtoJohn James SmithSon of Mr. amp; Mrs. Nathan Smith...id use this one but us MS Mary Jones not MRS sine they are divorced. Posted by Calypso1977[/QUOTE]

I second this wording.

MrsMack10612

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_invite-wording-for-divorced-parents?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:111fb690-46bb-434d-b99b-c97fd78affbcPost:f96d9129-ac4f-4ccd-a469-9c9d635c6fa4">Re: Invite wording for divorced parents</a>:
[QUOTE]Mrs. Mary Jones and Mr. Thomas Jones request the honor of your presence at the marriage of their daughter Susan Elizabeth to John James Smith Son of Mr. & Mrs. Nathan Smith... id use this one but us MS Mary Jones not MRS sine they are divorced.
Posted by Calypso1977[/QUOTE]

I think that Ms. vs. Mrs. for a divorced woman is personal preference.

Technically she can still be Mrs. Jane Smith.  My mother who has now been divorced for 20+ years still goes by Mrs.

Kate61487

It sounds like FILs want to be on the invitation AS HOSTS, since you said "my mother in law recently said she would like their name on the invite since they are paying for some of the wedding"

In that case you would need to do:

Mrs. Mary Jones

Mr. Thomas Jones and
Mr. & Mrs. Nathan Smith

request the honor of your presence

at the marriage of their children

Susan Elizabeth

to

John James Smith

Which I agree is pretty cluttered.  Are your parents also hosting?  if not then technically you'd only need the one line and could do

Mr. & Mrs. Nathan Smith

request the honor of your presence

at the marriage of
Susan Elizabeth

to their son

John James Smith

Any chance FMIL would budge on this?  The fact that they're paying for the RD means their names get to go on that invitation as hosts.  Perhaps if FI talks to her and lets her know that he feels it's too cluttered with everyone's names and she'll get her name on the RD invite she'll let it go?

Malaina9

Thank you for posting this; I am having the same issue, except that both my parents are remarried and that is a lot of clutter for a teensy invitation!