Wedding Invitation Message Sample: Sample Ideas & Examples

Okay So Wedding Invitation Wording Is Actually Harder Than People Think

Look I’ve been doing this for like 15 years and the number of panicked emails I get about invitation wording is honestly kinda ridiculous. People think it’s just “you’re invited to our wedding” and done but there’s actually this whole thing with who’s hosting and formal versus casual and oh my god the drama when divorced parents are involved…

So here’s the deal. Wedding invitation messages follow this basic structure that’s been around forever but you can totally mess with it depending on your vibe. The traditional format goes: host line, request line, couple’s names, date and time, location, reception details. But honestly nobody follows that exactly anymore unless they’re having like a super formal church wedding.

The Classic Formal Situation

If the bride’s parents are hosting (which is the old-school tradition even though it feels kinda outdated now), it goes like this:

Mr. and Mrs. Robert James Anderson
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter
Sarah Elizabeth
to
Michael Thomas Greene
Saturday, the fifteenth of June
two thousand twenty-five
at two o’clock in the afternoon
St. Mary’s Cathedral
Chicago, Illinois

Notice it says “honour” with a U – that’s the British spelling and for some reason it’s traditional for formal invites. Also “request the honour of your presence” is specifically for religious ceremonies. For non-religious venues you’d say “request the pleasure of your company” instead. I had this one bride back in spring 2023 who insisted on using “honour” for her beach ceremony and I was like… okay it’s your wedding but that’s technically for churches and she got so annoyed with me but whatever.

Both Sets of Parents Hosting

This is actually more common now because weddings are expensive and everyone’s chipping in:

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Anderson
and
Mr. and Mrs. David Greene
request the pleasure of your company
at the marriage of their children
Sarah Elizabeth Anderson
and
Michael Thomas Greene

Then you add all the date/time/location stuff. You can also do “together with their families” if you want to be more inclusive of like stepparents or other family members without listing everyone individually.

When the Couple Is Hosting

If you’re paying for your own wedding or you’re older or it’s a second marriage, you can host it yourselves:

Sarah Elizabeth Anderson
and
Michael Thomas Greene
request the pleasure of your company
at their wedding

Or even more casual:

Together with their families
Sarah and Michael
invite you to celebrate their marriage

See how we dropped the middle names and the formal “request” language? That’s totally fine for a more relaxed vibe.

The Divorced Parents Nightmare

Oh man this is where it gets messy. I had this situation in summer 2021 where the bride’s parents were divorced and both remarried and they BOTH wanted top billing on the invitation and I’m sitting there at my kitchen table with my cat knocking papers everywhere trying to figure out how to word this without causing World War III.

Here’s what you do: list the parent who raised the bride first, then the other parent on a separate line. If they’re remarried, you include the stepparent:

Mrs. Linda Anderson-Williams and Mr. James Williams
Mr. Robert Anderson and Mrs. Patricia Anderson
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter
Sarah Elizabeth

If one parent is deceased, you can acknowledge them like this:

Mrs. Linda Anderson
and the late Mr. Robert Anderson
request the honour of your presence

But honestly some people prefer not to list deceased parents on the invitation itself and instead mention them in the program or… look there’s no perfect rule for this it depends on family dynamics.

Super Casual Modern Wording

If you’re having a backyard BBQ wedding or a brewery reception or whatever, you can totally ditch all the formal stuff:

Let’s do this!
Sarah & Mike
are getting married
June 15, 2025 at 2pm
The Rooftop Garden
Chicago
Dinner and dancing to follow
Casual attire

Or:

Join us for tacos and ‘I do’s!
Sarah Anderson + Michael Greene
are tying the knot

I actually love when couples do this because it immediately sets the tone that this is gonna be a fun, relaxed celebration and not some stuffy formal thing where everyone’s worried about which fork to use.

Same-Sex Couples

The wording is exactly the same you just list the names in alphabetical order by last name or honestly whatever order feels right to you:

Mr. Thomas Greene and Mr. Michael Sullivan
request the pleasure of your company

Or:

Together with their families
Amanda Claire Roberts
and
Jessica Marie Thompson
invite you to their wedding

One thing that annoyed me – and still does – is when vendors or venues act all confused about same-sex invitation wording like it’s this complicated thing. It’s literally the same format just with different names. Come on people it’s 2025.

The Date and Time Details

For formal invitations, you spell everything out:

Saturday, the fifteenth of June
two thousand twenty-five
at half after two o’clock in the afternoon

For casual invites, you can just write:

Saturday, June 15, 2025
2:30 PM

The year is technically optional on formal invites but I always include it because… why wouldn’t you? People save these things and it’s helpful to know what year it was.

Time of day designations: morning is before noon, afternoon is noon to 5pm, evening is 5pm onward. If your ceremony starts at 5pm you could call it either afternoon or evening honestly nobody’s gonna call the etiquette police on you.

Reception Information

If the reception is at the same location right after the ceremony:

Reception immediately following

Or:

Dinner and dancing to follow

If it’s at a different location or there’s a gap between ceremony and reception, you either include a separate reception card in the invitation suite or add:

Reception at six o’clock
The Grand Ballroom
123 Main Street
Chicago

Destination Wedding Wording

For destination weddings you wanna make it super clear where people are going:

Join us in paradise!
Sarah and Michael
are getting married on the beach
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
April 10, 2025

And honestly you should probably include some travel info or a wedding website with accommodation details because people need to plan for this stuff.

Specific Scenarios That Come Up All The Time

Okay so here’s some situations I deal with constantly…

Second marriages: You can absolutely have a formal invitation for a second wedding. Some people think you have to go casual but nah do whatever you want. Just maybe skip the “honour of your presence” super formal language and go with “pleasure of your company” instead.

Including children’s names: If kids are invited, list them by name on the inner envelope or under the parents’ names. If kids are NOT invited, only put the parents’ names on the envelope and maybe include an adults-only note on your wedding website. Do not put “adults only reception” on the actual invitation though that’s tacky.

Stepparents and blended families: There’s no one right way to do this. I usually tell couples to list whoever actually raised them or whoever’s paying or honestly whoever won’t cause drama at Thanksgiving for the next ten years. Sometimes you just gotta prioritize peace over perfect etiquette.

Multilingual invitations: You can absolutely do invitations in two languages either side-by-side or as separate cards in the same envelope. I had a gorgeous bilingual English-Spanish invitation suite last year that was just beautiful.

The Request Line Variations

You’ve got options here depending on your vibe:

• request the honour of your presence (formal, religious ceremony)
• request the pleasure of your company (formal, non-religious)
• invite you to celebrate (casual)
• joyfully invite you to witness (slightly formal but warm)
• would love for you to join them (very casual)
• invite you to share in their joy (warm and welcoming)

Pick whatever matches your wedding style. If you’re having a black-tie ballroom wedding, maybe don’t go with “Let’s party!” as your request line. But if you’re getting married in a barn with food trucks, go ahead and be playful with it.

What Not To Include On The Invitation

Alright so this is important – your actual invitation should NOT include:

• Registry information (that goes on your website or shower invites only)
• Dress code in super specific detail (just say “black tie” or “cocktail attire” or “casual” – the details can go on your website)
• Your entire life story
• Hashtag information (nobody cares put it on a sign at the wedding)
• Lengthy poems or quotes (save it for the ceremony or… actually maybe just skip it)

Keep the invitation itself clean and simple. All the extra info can go on enclosure cards or your wedding website.

Some Modern Examples I Actually Like

Example 1 – Semi-formal garden wedding:

Together with their families
Emma Rose Clarke and James Alexander Martinez
invite you to celebrate their marriage
Saturday, May 17, 2025
4:00 in the afternoon
Botanical Gardens
Portland, Oregon
Reception to follow

Example 2 – Casual brewery wedding:

Grab a beer and watch us say ‘I do’
Katie + Ryan
are getting hitched
September 5, 2025 | 6 PM
Riverside Brewing Company
Dinner, drinks, and dancing
Come as you are

Example 3 – Formal evening wedding:

Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Pierce
request the pleasure of your company
at the marriage of their daughter
Victoria Anne
to
Dr. Christopher James Walsh
Saturday, the third of October
two thousand twenty-five
at seven o’clock in the evening
The Metropolitan Club
New York

See how different these feel? That’s the point – your invitation should match your actual wedding.

The Whole “And Guest” Situation

Okay quick tangent but this comes up with invitation wording – if someone gets a plus-one, you have a couple options. You can write “and guest” on the inner envelope or just address the outer envelope to “Mr. John Smith” and then on the RSVP card have space for him to write his guest’s name. Don’t put “and guest” on the outer envelope that looks weird.

And if someone is in a serious relationship, get their partner’s actual name and address them both properly. Nothing says “we don’t really care about your relationship” like sending an invitation to “Sarah Johnson and Guest” when she’s been living with her boyfriend for three years.

I’m realizing this is getting long but there’s just so much to cover with invitation wording because every family situation is different and every couple has their own style and… honestly this is why I have a job because people need help navigating all this stuff. The invitation sets the tone for your entire wedding so it’s worth getting it right or at least getting it to feel authentic to who you are as a couple.

Just remember there’s no perfect wording that’ll make everyone happy. Your divorced parents might still argue about whose name goes first, your future mother-in-law might think your casual wording is too informal, someone’s gonna have an opinion no matter what you do. Pick what feels right for you and your partner and move forward. The people who love you will show up regardless of whether you used “honour” with a U or not.