Wedding Invitation Wording Templates: Text Examples

Traditional Formal Wedding Invitation Wording

Okay so the traditional formal template is what like 70% of my clients end up using because their parents basically require it. The structure goes: hosts’ names first, then the request line, couple’s names, date and time, location, and reception info if it’s somewhere else.

Here’s the classic format when bride’s parents host:

Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Michael Peterson
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter
Emily Grace
to
Mr. Daniel James Rodriguez
Saturday, the fifteenth of June
two thousand twenty-five
at half after four in the afternoon
St. Mary’s Cathedral
Chicago, Illinois

Notice it’s “honour” with a U—that’s the British spelling that formal invites traditionally use. Also you spell out everything: numbers, times, dates. No “4:30 PM” here.

When both sets of parents host together, which is honestly more common now since families split costs:

Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Peterson
and
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Rodriguez
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of their children
Emily Grace Peterson
and
Daniel James Rodriguez

I had this couple in spring 2023 where the groom’s parents were SO insistent their names come first because they were paying for more of the wedding and it caused this whole… anyway, traditionally bride’s parents go first but you can do whatever keeps the peace honestly.

When the Couple Hosts Their Own Wedding

If you’re paying for your own wedding or you’re older or it’s a second marriage, you don’t need parents’ names at all:

The honour of your presence is requested
at the marriage of
Emily Grace Peterson
and
Daniel James Rodriguez

Or even simpler:

Emily Grace Peterson
and
Daniel James Rodriguez
request the pleasure of your company
at their wedding

See how I switched to “pleasure of your company” instead of “honour of your presence”? Technically “honour of your presence” is for religious ceremonies and “pleasure of your company” is for non-religious, but honestly most people don’t know that anymore so don’t stress about it too much.

Casual and Modern Invitation Wording

This is where you can actually have some personality. My younger couples usually go this route and it feels so much more like… them, you know?

Emily Peterson & Daniel Rodriguez
are getting married!
Join us for love, laughter, and happily ever after
June 15, 2025 | 4:30 PM
The Greenhouse Loft
Chicago, IL

Or something playful:

Let’s do this!
Emily and Daniel
are tying the knot
Saturday, June 15th, 2025
4:30 in the afternoon
The Greenhouse Loft, Chicago

You can use ampersands, contractions, exclamation points—all the stuff that’s banned from formal invites. I kinda love these because they actually sound like real people talking.

Divorced or Remarried Parents Hosting

Ugh okay this is the thing that annoyed me SO MUCH when I first started because nobody tells you how complicated family dynamics make invitation wording. Like, etiquette books give you one scenario but real life is messier.

If bride’s parents are divorced but both hosting:

Mrs. Sarah Peterson
and
Mr. Jonathan Peterson
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter

Mom’s name goes first (if she kept the married name). They’re on separate lines with “and” between. Do NOT put “and” on the same line because that implies they’re still married.

If one or both parents remarried:

Mrs. Sarah Peterson and Mr. Michael Chen
and
Mr. Jonathan Peterson and Mrs. Linda Peterson
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter
Emily Grace

If a parent is deceased but you want to honor them:

Mrs. Sarah Peterson
requests the honour of your presence
at the marriage of her daughter
Emily Grace
daughter of the late Mr. Jonathan Peterson

Or you can just mention it in a different way: “Emily Grace Peterson, daughter of Sarah Peterson and the late Jonathan Peterson…”

Same-Sex Wedding Wording

The rules are basically the same, you just need to decide whose name goes first. Alphabetical order works, or whoever’s family is hosting goes first, or honestly just whatever sounds better when you say it out loud.

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Martinez
and
Mr. and Mrs. David Chen
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of their sons
Michael Martinez
and
James Chen

For a more modern same-sex wedding:

Together with their families
Sarah Elizabeth Moore
and
Jennifer Anne Williams
invite you to celebrate their marriage

Including Both Parents’ Names with Different Last Names

This comes up ALL the time now—either mom kept her maiden name or it’s a blended family situation or whatever.

Ms. Sarah Mitchell and Mr. Jonathan Peterson
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter
Emily Grace Peterson

Just put both full names with their correct titles. Ms. for unmarried or if she prefers it, Mrs. if she uses his last name.

Reception Wording on the Invitation

If your ceremony and reception are at the same place, you just add at the bottom:

Reception to follow

Or if you wanna be fancy: Dinner and dancing to follow

If reception is at a different location:

Reception immediately following
The Greenhouse Loft
1234 Main Street
Chicago

Some people do a separate reception card in the invitation suite, which I actually recommend if you have limited ceremony space but invited everyone to the reception—that way you can be clear about… wait, I’m getting off track.

Request Line Variations

The “request the honour of your presence” line has tons of variations depending on your vibe:

• request the pleasure of your company
• invite you to celebrate
• joyfully invite you
• would love for you to join them
• invite you to share in their joy
• together with their families, invite you

That last one (“together with their families”) is perfect when both families are contributing but you don’t wanna list eight different names on the invitation. It’s like the diplomatic solution I suggest when there’s gonna be drama otherwise.

Dress Code Wording

You can include dress code on the invitation itself (usually lower right corner) or on a details card. Don’t overthink this:

• Black tie – tuxes and floor-length gowns
• Black tie optional – tuxes welcome but dark suits fine
• Formal attire – suits and cocktail dresses
• Cocktail attire – suits and knee-length dresses
• Semi-formal – basically same as cocktail
• Garden party attire – sundresses and lighter suits
• Beach casual – you get it

Or you can be specific: “Please join us in garden attire—florals encouraged!” or “Wear your dancing shoes and party attire.”

Addressing the Whole “Adults Only” Thing

Okay so you DON’T put “adults only” or “no children” on the actual invitation because it’s considered rude. What you do is address the envelopes only to the adults: “Mr. and Mrs. John Smith” not “The Smith Family.” Then on your website or details card you can say something like:

We love your little ones, but our wedding will be an adults-only celebration

Or: Please enjoy an adults-only evening

I had a bride in summer 2021 who literally wrote “NO KIDS SERIOUSLY” on her invites and I was like… okay we’re not doing that. People still brought their toddlers anyway because people don’t read, but at least the invitation wasn’t actively hostile about it.

Bilingual Invitations

If you’re doing bilingual invites, you have options. You can do side-by-side (English on left, Spanish on right), or you can do the main invitation in one language and include a separate card in the second language.

Side-by-side example structure:

Mr. and Mrs. Carlos Hernández | El señor y la señora Carlos Hernández
request the honour of your presence | solicitan el honor de su presencia
at the marriage of their daughter | en la boda de su hija

This takes up more space obviously, so you might need a larger invitation size. Also make sure whoever’s translating actually speaks the language fluently because Google Translate is gonna mess up the formal phrasing.

Unique Situations and Wordings

When the couple has kids together already:

Emily Peterson and Daniel Rodriguez
together with their children
Sophia and Lucas
invite you to celebrate their marriage

Destination wedding wording:

Emily and Daniel
invite you to join them in paradise
as they exchange vows
Cancún, Mexico
June 15, 2025

Elopement announcement (sent after the wedding):

We did it!
Emily Peterson and Daniel Rodriguez
were married in an intimate ceremony
June 15, 2025
Big Sur, California

Or more formal: Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Rodriguez announce their marriage on the fifteenth of June, two thousand twenty-five

Religious Ceremony Wording Additions

Catholic weddings often include:

at the Nuptial Mass uniting their daughter instead of just “at the marriage of”

Jewish weddings might say:

at the marriage of their daughter Emily Grace to Daniel James, son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Rodriguez

Including both sets of parents’ names is traditional in Jewish ceremonies. Also you might add the Hebrew date.

For a Hindu wedding you might include:

request the honour of your presence
at the wedding ceremony of their daughter

And specify the different events if you’re inviting people to the whole weekend of celebrations.

Title and Name Specifics That Trip People Up

Alright so this is detail-oriented but important:

• Use “Mr.” for men, never “Master” unless they’re under 18 (and who’s putting kids’ names as hosts anyway)
• “Mrs.” for married women who took husband’s name
• “Ms.” for unmarried women or women who kept their name
• “Dr.” if someone’s a doctor (medical or PhD, their choice)
• Military titles can be used: “Lieutenant James Morrison, United States Navy”
• “The Reverend” for clergy, not “Reverend” or “Rev.”

If bride is a doctor: Dr. Emily Peterson and Mr. Daniel Rodriguez

If both are doctors: The Doctors Peterson and Rodriguez or Dr. Emily Peterson and Dr. Daniel Rodriguez

One thing about military titles—they go before the name and you spell out the service branch. My cat knocked over my coffee right onto a set of invitations once while I was addressing them for a military couple and I literally had to reprint 150 envelopes, but that’s not really relevant here.

Numbers and Dates: Formal vs. Casual

Formal invitations spell EVERYTHING out:

• Saturday, the fifteenth of June (not June 15th)
• two thousand twenty-five (not 2025)
• half after four o’clock (not 4:30)
• in the afternoon (for times before 6pm) or in the evening (after 6pm)

Casual invitations can use numbers:

• Saturday, June 15th, 2025
• 4:30 PM or 4:30 in the afternoon

Street addresses in formal invites: spell out “Street,” “Avenue,” etc. Numbers under twenty get spelled out: “Twelve Oak Street” but “1234 Main Street” is fine for larger numbers.

What NOT to Include on the Invitation Itself

Save this stuff for your website or details card:

• Registry information (big no-no on the invitation)
• Hotel blocks
• Detailed directions
• Wedding website (though some people do include it now)
• Meal choices (put on RSVP card)
• Long stories about how you met

The invitation is just the essential info: who, what, when, where. Everything else goes on inserts or online.

Timing and Year

One debate I see constantly: do you include the year? For formal invites sent less than a year in advance, you can skip it since it’s obvious. But I always recommend including it because people save invitations and it’s nice to have the complete date. Plus if you’re sending save-the-dates way in advance, definitely include the year so nobody shows up twelve months early or late.

Also, you don’t need to put the day of the week if you’re being super casual, but it helps people realize “oh this is a Saturday” without checking their calendar.