Wording for Wedding Invitation

Re: Wording for Wedding Invitation

• CMGragain member

  

  January 2015

  Mrs. John Bridesfather
  requests the pleasure of your company  (honour of your presence if church wedding)
  at the marriage of her daughter
  Bride's First Middle
  to
  Mr. Groom's Full Name
  Day, Date
  time o'clock
  Venue Name  (Church name)
  Address
  City, State
  
  If your reception is in the same location as your ceremony, you can simply put "Reception to follow" after this wording.  If it is in a different location, you should use a separate reception card.
  I'm sorry, but it isn't at all proper to put your late father's name directly on your wedding invitation.  Your mother, as his widow, carries his name.  The bride and Groom never directly invite people to their own wedding, so you should name your mother as hostess.
  
  

  

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• Jen4948 member

  

  January 2015

  Unfortunately, there is no polite way to list a deceased person on a wedding invitation for two reasons.
  
  The first is that the only persons who should be listed are the hosts, the honorees (the couple), and the guests. It is acceptable for the invitations to be worded so as to request the attendance of specified guests, but since that requires each invitation to be customized, it's seldom done. Deceased persons can't host. Nor are they the honorees or, obviously, the guests.
  
  The second is that invitations are not playbills or family trees. They do not indicate who paid for what or how much, which is none of the guests' business, or "honor" anyone other than the guests.

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• larabelleb member

  

  January 2015

  Thanks for the replies!  I feel even more confused now, haha.  I have seen wedding invitations where a deceased parent is mentioned. Something like:
  
  Bride's name
  daughter of Bride's Mom and the late Bride's Father
  and Groom's name
  son of Groom's parents.....etc.
  
  I was wondering how I would do something like this without listing his parents and I couldn't think of a way to do it.
  
  Also, I have always heard that whomever is listed on the invite is who is paying.  And I have heard of parents not attending the wedding of their son or daughter because they were not on the invite but were paying for the wedding. 
  
  If the invitation mentions only who is hosting and not who is paying, then is it okay to list only my groom and myself?  My mom will not be hosting.  One of you mentioned that the couple does not host so...?
  

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• CMGragain member

  

  January 2015

  No.  The wording is different if the two of you are hosting your own wedding.
  
  The pleasure of your company is requested  (honour of your presence)
  at the marriage of
  Bride's Full Name
  and
  Groom's Full Name
  Saturday, the number of June
  two thousand fifteen
  at six o'clock
  Venue
  Address
  City, State
  
  When in doubt, I use Crane's Blue Book as a wording guide.  They have been doing wedding invitations for 200 years. 
  
  "My father passed away last year, and I’d like to include his name on my wedding invitations. How is that done?
  Wishing to include a deceased parent’s name on a wedding invitation is a lovely sentiment, however it’s not proper to do so (except in Latin America).

  The essential purpose of a wedding invitation is to invite your guests to your wedding and to tell them where and when it’s taking place. It lists the host or hosts of the event, what the event is (your wedding), and the date, time and place.

  The only logical place to list your father’s name is on an invitational line. This is improper, however, as he’d be listed as one of the hosts of your wedding. Since he is deceased, he cannot be a host.

  Your father’s name is, of course, mentioned in your newspaper announcement and may also be mentioned in the wedding program and during a prayer said during the service."

  It is nobody's business who is paying for your wedding.  The first line indicates who is hosting.  If you and your FI are hosting, the wording should be indirect, as I have shown in this post.  This simply does not name the host.  People will assume that you are hosting your own wedding, which is fine.
  

  

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• Jen4948 member

  

  January 2015

  Hosting doesn't equal paying. If you and your FI are the hosts, meaning the point persons (the persons who issue invitations, receive responses, greet guests, and arrange for their needs to be attended to), then only your and your fiance's names are listed. You'd use
  
  The honor of your presence (for ceremonies at houses of worship/
  The pleasure of your company (for all other ceremonies) is requested
  at the marriage of
  Bride's Full Name
  and
  Groom's Full Name
  on Day, Date
  at time
  Venue Name
  Venue Address
  City, State
  
  If the reception is at the same venue as the ceremony, "Reception to follow" appears at the bottom. If it's at a different location, enclose an insert worded
  
  Reception
  Immediately following the ceremony
  Venue Name
  Venue Address
  City, State

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