Proof my wording please

bertke10

My parents want to include my Fi's parents as hosts since they are going above and beyond to help with planning and financing. I was originally going to do "son of..." but my mom wants them at the top, which, of course, is fine with me!
Generallly though, I think wedding invitations are worded very awkwardly. I like things to flow when read aloud and not sound so choppy.
I'd also like to use the mother's first names, not just write them as Mrs. Husband. I can't find an elegant way to include "Mr." and "Mrs." titles with the first names though. Any help/suggestions/critiques would be greatly appreciated!
Here's what I have so far: (names changed, of course)

Marsha and Craig Smith
together with
Abigail and John Black, Jr.
request the pleasure of your company
at the wedding of

Sarah Lynne Smith
and
Joseph Michael Black

Saturday, the twenty eighth of April
two thousand twelve
at six o'clock in the evening

Place Name
Town, State

Reception to follow

ashleyvanderhoof

I like "together with" in there. Especially since you said his parents are going above and beyond, in makes it sound like everyone is really involved. That said, I'm not much on etiquette, so I don't know if it's "right" or not, but I think it sounds good!

tenofcups4me

I'd stick with first names rather than Mrs. Marsha and Mr. Craig Smith (I really dislike that -- it looks like Marsha doesn't have a last name).

We tried
Mr. and Mrs. Craig and Marsha Smith

but it ran ridiculously long with 2 sets of parents so in the end went with first and last names, no titles, for a formal wedding and formal invitation. Personally I'd just have the two sets of names without the "together with," but I wouldn't roll my eyes at the expression if you really want to keep it in.

PinkRoseAcct

How formal is the wedding?  If it's on the low end, then I agree with tencupsoftea and lovethebeach, its ok to just say Marsha and Craig Smith.  I wouldn't bat an eyelash at it this way.  

tenofcups4me

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_invites-paper_proof-wording-please-2?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:cd062f89-8272-496a-b0ab-225e1f87acecDiscussion:ec122a71-e50f-417d-b833-1f5addbd10b0Post:a019c183-79ef-4d0d-a9c5-792af3183faf">Re: Proof my wording please</a>:
[QUOTE]How formal is the wedding?  If it's on the low end, then I agree with tencupsoftea and lovethebeach, its ok to just say Marsha and Craig Smith.  I wouldn't bat an eyelash at it this way.  
Posted by PinkRoseAcct[/QUOTE]

FWIW, my wedding was formal (black tie optional and no, I'm not going to get into a discussion of whether or not that's proper; it's accepted and "normal" within my crowd and I'd say 2/3 of the men were in tuxes). I'd rather sacrifice the titles than ignore my mom's first or last name.

PinkRoseAcct

TenCups - sorry, didn't mean anything  by that.  I'm a wedding newbie, not only with my own, but I can count on one hand the number I've been invited to in the past ten years.  So, I have always looked at stuff the old-old fashioned way, as in the way that I was taught.  Not that I always agree with that.  My mother and FI's mother have both requested to be listed as Mr & Mrs His Name, so thats what I'll use, but I can totally understand and commisserate with the women who want their own name used.  I am hyphenating my name to keep my old identity, along with my new identity.  

bertke10

tenofcups - I tried that too, but "Mrs. Craig" didn't sound quite right! haha!
It's not a formal wedding, we'll call it vintage/ country chic, but I didn't want it to sound too casual.
I basically started with what CMGr posted and am just trying to make it read a little smoother.
I think I'll keep the "together with" but ask the parents how they prefer their names - Mrs. Marsha and Mr. Craig, or just Marsha and Craig.

CMGr - Should I write out "junior" regardless of using the Mrs. and Mr.? And if so, should it be captilized or just how you wrote it?

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. You've been most helpful!