Wedding Wording

1/ The Host Line

This is the line that generally denotes who is hosting (or paying for) the wedding.

“Mr. & Mrs. Leroy Beckett cordially invite you to the wedding of their daughter” is an example of a traditional/formal host line where the bride’s parents are hosting. “Mr. and Mrs. Stephen O’Connor and Ms. Kate Sharp request the pleasure of your company at the marriage of their children” is also formal, and would denote that both sets of parents were co-hosting the wedding.

For informal ceremonies, or where the couple is planning and paying for their own wedding, “Together with their families” is rather lovely and quite common. You can also leave this blank if you would like, and just go straight in there with the names of the happy couple!

2/ The Happy Couple

You want to let people know whose wedding they will be attending!

Traditionally, the bride’s name will come first—but feel free to make your own rules here! You could try alphabetically if you want or in any other order you can think of—it’s your wedding.

Traditionally, and formally, the bride wouldn’t get a surname, as it is implied in the host line (for example, “Mr. and Mrs. Cooper Braithwaite request the pleasure of your company at the wedding of their daughter, Julia Ann, with Dr. Marc Thistlethwaite”). The parent’s were “giving” her away after all! It’s really not necessary in this day and age however, so do what feels best for you as a couple.

For informal cards, people often just use their first names.

3/ Request Text

This is where you will actually do the “inviting”, and where you let them know it’s a wedding and not another sort of party.

You can use something like “invite you to join us at our wedding” which is informal and relaxed, or “request the pleasure of your company at their marriage” which is a little more formal.

In certain cases, such as when you have used a host line like “Mrs. Sheila James and Mr. and Mrs. Benji Mason request the pleasure of your company at the marriage of their children…”, then you will leave this line blank.

4/ Wedding Venue

Usually you would type the name of the venue and a reference to the town or county only as can look more elegant, but its totally up to preference.

For example, “All Souls Church, Islington” or “Strathmore House, Manchester”. If necessary, you can always add a full venue address on your wedding details cards or wedding website.

5/ Date and Time

Formal cards often write out the full date and time such as “ON THE TWENTY-FOURTH OF APRIL, TWENTY TWENTY-FIVE AT THREE O’CLOCK IN THE AFTERNOON…”, whereas for an informal and relaxed feel you might prefer “3PM – 24.04.25”.

There are loads of ways to go here and it’s totally up to you what you prefer, although it is a good idea to keep the tone similar throughout your whole invitation.

Err on the formal side if you have gone formal with the rest of your card!

6/ Extra Details

This line is usually reserved for the reception information, e.g. “with a reception to follow” (“at … venue name” if your reception will be at a different location to the ceremony) and/or an r.s.v.p. address – either email or a full mailing address.

Additionally, you can use this space to detail a dress code, etcetera.