Wedding Announcement Samples: Sample Ideas & Examples

Wedding Announcement Samples That Actually Work

Okay so wedding announcements are basically what you send to people AFTER you get married, not before. A lot of people confuse these with save-the-dates or invitations but nah, these go out after the fact. I learned this the hard way back in spring 2023 when a bride called me literally crying because her aunt was upset she “wasn’t invited” when actually the couple had a tiny destination wedding and sent announcements to everyone else. That’s kinda the whole point though.

When You Actually Need Wedding Announcements

You need these when you had a small wedding, an elopement, a destination thing, or basically any situation where you couldn’t invite everyone you know. Also if you got married quickly without time to plan a big event. Or if you’re doing that thing where you get married at the courthouse and have a reception later. The announcement tells people “hey we got married” without making them feel bad they weren’t there because… well, basically nobody was there or it was super intimate.

What really annoyed me about wedding announcements for years is that people overthink them SO MUCH. Like they agonize over every single word when honestly, you just need to communicate the basic facts in a nice way.

The Basic Format Everyone Should Know

Most traditional announcements follow this structure and you can adapt it however you want:

• Parents’ names (optional these days)
• Announcement of the marriage
• Couple’s names
• Date of marriage
• Location (city/state, not the full venue address)
• Future address if you want people to know where to send gifts

That’s it. You don’t need to mention the actual venue name usually, just the city. Nobody needs to know you got married at the Rosewood Country Club unless you really want to share that.

Traditional Formal Announcement Samples

If your parents are hosting or if you just want to go the traditional route, here’s what that looks like:

Sample 1 – Parents Announcing:

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Chen
are pleased to announce
the marriage of their daughter
Jennifer Marie
to
Michael James Thompson
son of Mr. and Mrs. William Thompson
Saturday, the fifteenth of June
two thousand twenty-four
Portland, Oregon

See how formal that is? The dates are spelled out, everything is centered, very traditional. This works if your families are more conventional or if you’re going for that classic vibe.

Sample 2 – Couple Announcing Themselves:

Sarah Elizabeth Moore
and
David Alexander Price
are delighted to announce their marriage
on Saturday, October 7, 2024
Savannah, Georgia
At home after November 1st
123 Maple Street
Charleston, South Carolina 29401

This one includes the new address which is helpful if you want people to know where to send cards or gifts. I always recommend including this because otherwise people will message you asking for it.

Modern Casual Announcement Samples

Okay but most couples I work with don’t want that super formal thing anymore. They want something that sounds like them. Here’s where you can get creative:

Sample 3 – Elopement Announcement:

We eloped!

Rachel Green and Ross Geller
said “I do”
on a beach in Maui
August 20, 2024

We couldn’t be happier and can’t wait to celebrate with you soon!

See how much more relaxed that feels? You can totally do this. My cat literally walked across my keyboard while I was designing something similar for a client once and I almost sent her a version with “jjjjjjjj” in the middle of the text.

Sample 4 – For a Destination Wedding:

Amanda Torres & Christopher Bailey
got married in Italy!

September 3, 2024
Lake Como

We had an intimate ceremony with close family
and are so excited to share our joy with all of you

This one addresses the elephant in the room right away – yes it was small, yes it was far away, no hard feelings.

Samples for Different Family Situations

This is where it gets tricky and honestly where I spend most of my consultation time because family dynamics are… complicated.

Sample 5 – Divorced Parents (both sets):

Mrs. Patricia Moore and Mr. James Moore
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Klein
together with
Mr. Thomas Anderson and Mrs. Carol Anderson
Mr. and Mrs. David Sullivan
announce the marriage of
Emily Grace Moore
to
Nathan Christopher Anderson
June 24, 2024
Denver, Colorado

Yeah it gets long but this way everyone’s acknowledged. You list the bride’s mom first, then her dad with his spouse if remarried, then same for the groom’s parents.

Sample 6 – Deceased Parent:

Mrs. Helen Martinez
announces the marriage of her daughter
Sofia Marie
daughter of the late Mr. Carlos Martinez
to
James Robert Wilson
May 12, 2024
Austin, Texas

This honors the deceased parent without making it sad. It’s just a fact stated respectfully.

Quick Courthouse Wedding Samples

During summer 2021 SO many couples did courthouse weddings because of you-know-what and then sent announcements. These were some of my favorites to work on because people were just happy to be married and didn’t care about perfection.

Sample 7 – Simple Courthouse:

We did it!

Lauren Phillips & Marcus Johnson
are married

Ceremony held July 8, 2024
at the courthouse in Nashville, Tennessee

Reception to follow in 2025 – details coming soon!

This sets expectations that a party is coming later which is smart because then people know they’ll get to celebrate with you eventually.

Sample 8 – Intimate Family Only:

With love and gratitude

Jessica Ann Brown
and
Daniel Mark Foster

were married in a private ceremony
with immediate family
December 15, 2024
Boston, Massachusetts

We look forward to celebrating with our extended family and friends
at a reception in spring 2025

Religious or Cultural Specific Samples

Depending on your background you might want to incorporate specific wording or… I don’t know, sometimes people want Bible verses or cultural elements and that’s totally fine.

Sample 9 – With Religious Element:

By the grace of God

Mary Elizabeth Thompson
and
John Michael Roberts
were united in marriage
on the twenty-eighth of September
two thousand twenty-four
Sacred Heart Church
Chicago, Illinois

Sample 10 – Interfaith Couple:

Rebecca Goldstein
and
Ahmed Hassan
joyfully announce their marriage

September 9, 2024
San Francisco, California

Our families came together to celebrate
our union and our future

Photo Announcements vs. Text Only

Here’s something nobody tells you – photo announcements are way more popular now than text-only ones. Like probably 80% of the announcements I help with include photos. You can do a postcard style with your photo and then simple text, or a flat card with a photo on one side and details on the other, or even a folded card situation.

For photo announcements you can be even more casual with the text because the photo does half the work:

Sample 11 – Photo Card Style:

Just Married!

Megan & Tyler
August 18, 2024
Napa Valley, California

That’s literally all you need if you have a gorgeous photo. People will get it.

Timing and Who Gets Them

Send announcements within a few months of your wedding. Like ideally within 3 months but honestly up to 6 months is still acceptable. Any longer and it starts feeling weird? I had a client once send them a year later and people were confused whether it was an anniversary announcement or what.

Send them to:

• Anyone who wasn’t invited to the wedding
• Distant relatives who you wanted to know but couldn’t accommodate
• Work colleagues you didn’t invite
• Old family friends
• Anyone who should know about your marriage but wasn’t at the event

Don’t send them to people who were actually at your wedding because that’s redundant and kinda weird. They were there, they know.

Some Wording Tips That Matter

Use “announce” or “are pleased to announce” or “are delighted to announce” for formal ones. For casual you can say “We got married!” or “Just married!” or “We did it!” or whatever sounds like you.

You don’t have to explain WHY you had a small wedding. You don’t owe anyone an explanation. Just announce the marriage and move on.

If you’re including your new address, you can say “At home after [date]” or “Residing in” or just list the address. This is totally optional though – some couples don’t want their address on something that’s gonna be mailed to a bunch of people.

For the date, you can spell it out formally (the fifteenth of June, two thousand twenty-four) or use numbers (June 15, 2024) depending on how formal you’re going. Numbers are fine for casual announcements, spelled out is more traditional.

Digital Announcement Samples

Okay so printed announcements are lovely but digital is totally acceptable now too, especially if you’re on a budget or if your wedding was really last-minute. Email or even a nice social media post can work.

Sample 12 – Email Announcement:

Subject: We’re Married!

Dear friends and family,

We’re thrilled to share that we got married on October 21, 2024 in a small ceremony in Seattle, Washington.

While we couldn’t have everyone with us on our special day, you’ve all been such an important part of our lives and we wanted you to know.

We’re so grateful for your love and support.

With love,
Katie and Ben

This feels personal and warm without being too formal. You can attach a photo too obviously.

What Not to Do

Don’t send announcements and expect gifts. That’s not the point. Some people will send gifts anyway which is nice but you’re not supposed to include registry info with announcements because that looks like you’re asking for presents from people who weren’t invited to your wedding which is… tacky.

Don’t apologize for having a small wedding in your announcement. You don’t need to say “Sorry you weren’t there” or anything like that. Just state the facts happily.

Don’t wait too long. If you send announcements a year later people will be like “wait when did this happen” and it’s awkward.

Don’t forget to proofread. I once had to reprint 200 announcements because the date was wrong and the couple didn’t notice until after they were printed. That was an expensive mistake.

Newspaper Announcements

Some people still do newspaper announcements which is kinda old-school but if your parents or grandparents would love to see it in print, go for it. Most newspapers have specific formats they want you to follow so you’ll need to check with them directly. Usually it’s similar to the formal samples I showed you earlier but with some biographical info about the couple thrown in.

Sample 13 – Newspaper Style:

Martinez-Williams

Isabella Martinez and Christopher Williams were married October 5, 2024 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Roberto Martinez of Albuquerque. She graduated from University of New Mexico and works as a teacher. The groom is the son of Mrs. Patricia Williams of Denver and the late Mr. Thomas Williams. He graduated from Colorado State University and works as an engineer. The couple resides in Santa Fe.

See how that includes more background? Newspapers like that stuff. I personally find it a bit much but some families really want it so whatever makes people happy I guess.

The whole announcement thing doesn’t have to be stressful honestly. Pick a style that matches your vibe, include the basic info people need, and send it out. Done. You’re gonna overthink it way more than anyone who receives it will think about it, trust me on that one.