Wording for Wedding Invitations
The wording for wedding invitations varies with the style and formality of your wedding ceremony. There is popular, traditional phrasing that is most often used with formal weddings and then there are the true free-spirited letterpress wedding invitations where the couple makes up their own phrasing to suit their style. Perhaps the most important factor to consider when wording your wedding invitation is the overall setting of the ceremony. Most often, the tone of the invitation is the only thing guests have to rely on for indication of attire and the wording used should be of the sort that clearly conveys whether they should wear ball gowns or grass skirts.Wording for Wedding Invitations: Formal Weddings
Formal weddings are where tradition lies and for that reason there is a somewhat strict formula to adhere to when preparing your invitations. If there is to be a reception with a full meal following the ceremony this should be indicated on the invitation. If there will be a reception but no meal, find a way let this be known so that your guests know what to expect. For example: “Reception to follow for the greeting of the new couple and cutting of the cake.”As for the bulk of the formal wedding invitations, only a handful of phrases should be used with little room for deviation. If you find an eloquent word that you think will fit your ceremony perfectly, by all means use it as long as it doesn’t make your invitation too wordy or awkward. In general, formal wedding invitations should be worded along the lines of: “Mr. and Mrs. John Smith and Mr. and Mrs. Jack Jones request the honor of your presence at the marriage of their children, Clara Smith and Kevin Jones Saturday, the twenty-fifth day of May at six o’clock in the evening at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Brooklyn, New York”
Whether or not to spell out dates and times is at your discretion, but spelling them out gives the tone of very formal while using numerals will give a slightly more relaxed tone but still relatively formal. Again, phrasing such as the parents’ names and the like can be modified or excluded, but this is the general idea.
Wording for Wedding Invitations: Casual Weddings
Casual wedding invitations offer a great deal more freedom in the wording for wedding invitations. You can pretty much say anything you want to say, so long as all of the pertinent information is included. If you are doing an extremely casual wedding or a theme wedding, be sure to make some indication as to attire on your invitation so that unsuspecting guests don’t arrive overdressed and then feel uncomfortable for the duration.As with formal wedding invitations, be sure to indicate whether or not there will be a reception and/or a meal. You do not want 200 hungry guests showing up expecting a full dinner service when you only have pigs in a blanket and crackers with a cheese ball.
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