What to Include in a Wedding Invitation: 20+ Wording Ideas & Examples

It’s the first glimpse your guests will get of your impending nuptials, so it’s important to get your wedding stationery right. But in your quest for the perfect invites, choosing the right wedding invitation wording can be tricky.

Perhaps you’re unsure of what to include in a wedding invitation and what to save for your wedding website, or you have questions over etiquette, such as whose name goes first on a wedding invitation.

For others, the dilemma may be that you’re seeking marriage invitation examples where children are not invited, or you just need some inspirational wedding invitation ideas.

Whatever your wedding invite wording woe, we have all the answers you could possibly need right here in our guide below, with expert tips from those artistic types in the know.

Wedding Invitation Wording: 20+ Marriage Invitation Sentences, Texts & Phrases

From wedding card invite wording that covers pretty much any scenario you’d need to tackle, to tips on writing your wedding invitations, our guide covers everything you need to know about crafting the perfect invites. And to make things even simpler, we’ve divided it up into sections, so you can skip to the part you need advice on below.

• What to Include on a Wedding Invitation?
• Whose Name Goes First on a Wedding Invitation?
• Formal Wedding Invitation Wording Examples
• Modern & Informal Wedding Invitation Wording Examples
• Wedding Invitation Wording for Specific Scenarios
• What Not to Include in Your Wedding Invitations
• Wedding Invitation Wording Tips

What to Include on a Wedding Invitation?

It’s all well and good having wedding invitations that look beautiful – but if they don’t include all the necessary information, you could be opening yourself up to a lot of queries and questions from guests. Not quite what you need when you’re knee-deep in wedding planning, right? 

To ensure you include all the relevant details of your day, we caught up with stationer Jess Firth of Jeccabox to get her comprehensive guide on what to include in your wedding invites.

“Each wedding is, of course, completely unique to a couple’s vision and ideals," she says, “but the following are either vital information or are featured within the majority of the invitation suites I put together.”

• Host names: Who is the invitation from?
• The couple’s names: Who is getting married?
• The date and time of the wedding
• The wedding venue location (and reception venue, if different)
• Expectations of arrival time, if required. For example, ‘Please arrive by 11am for a 12pm ceremony’
• RSVP details: Either a separate RSVP card or instructions for how to RSVP electronically (email, phone or via a wedding website, for example). Also include a date to RSVP by, asking guests to include their dietary requirements

Then, you may want to include some additional information that will help guests to plan ahead for the celebrations. These could be included on a separate card within your invitation suite, or you might want to direct guests to your wedding website where everything that is applicable below can be listed:

• Menu options: If you require guests to choose their food ahead of time, a menu will need to be included.
• Accommodation: Does the venue have rooms for guests to stay in that you are in charge of filling? Perhaps you’d like to include a list of local accommodation for guests who are travelling from further away. Also include whether or not your venue has parking.
• Gifts: Whether you have a gift list for guests to choose from or you’d like to ask for money towards your honeymoon, you may want to include a note or gift poem, sometimes with a QR code or link to more details online.
• Children: Many couples prefer to inform their guests that their celebrations are adult-only. Whether you choose a light-hearted poem or more formal wording, it’s often wise to include somewhere if children are not invited to avoid inevitable questions from parents.
• Order of proceedings: Some couples may choose to include more details about the order of proceedings, particularly if there are other events happening before or after the wedding day itself.

Whose Name Goes First on a Wedding Invitation?

Since it was traditionally the bride’s parents who would host and pay for the wedding, on more formal invitations, it’s the bride’s name that comes first. However, these days there are no set rules, and many couples choose to write their names in the order that friends and family often refer to them as.  

Formal Wedding Invitation Wording Examples

Here you will find wedding invitation wording examples that go down the more formal and traditional route. Feel free to use these as the basis for your wedding ceremony invitation wording and tweak the parts that don’t fit so well with your style as a couple.

1. Traditional Church Wedding Invitation Wording

This would usually come from the parents of the bride, as tradition dictates it was the bride’s parents who hosted the day (and footed the bill!).

This means the RSVPs would usually be sent back to their address, and a separate RSVP card would be included to prompt guests to reply quickly.

The text for a traditional wedding invitation to a church followed by a reception, would read as the following:

Mr & Mrs John Smith
request the pleasure of
[guest name]/your company
at the marriage of their daughter
Jessica
to Mr Edward Jones

[church name & location]
[date]
[time]

and afterwards at [reception venue location]

R.S.V.P by 30th June to [parents' address]

2. Traditional Civil Ceremony Wedding Invitation Wording

Many couples now choose to host a civil ceremony and reception under one roof, in which case you only need to list one venue on the invitation. It’s still best to include the words ‘followed by a reception’ so the guests know they’ll be welcome at both.

If the bride’s parents are hosting, use their names, otherwise you may choose to include the names of both sets of parents. A formal civil ceremony wedding invitation should read:

Mr & Mrs John Smith
and Mr & Mrs Alan Jones
request the pleasure of
[guest name]/your company
at the marriage of their children
Jessica and Edward

[location]
[date]
[time]

followed by a reception

R.S.V.P by 30th June to [parents’ address]

3. Formal Both Families Wedding Invitations Wording

Perhaps both sets of parents have helped contribute towards the wedding, or you would just like to reference both sets of families on your invitations – but how do you word invitations if both sets of parents are hosting? Below is an increasingly popular example:

Mr and Mrs John Smith
&
Mr and Mrs Alan Jones
invite you to celebrate the marriage of their children
Jessica and Edward

[location]
[date]
[time]

followed by a reception

R.S.V.P by 30th June to [parents’ address]

4. Formal Wedding Invitation Wording with Numbers as Words

Some couples might choose to go even more formal, where numbers and times are spelled out as words:

Together with their families,

Lydia Harrison
and
William Jones

invite you to join them
at the celebration of their marriage

Saturday, the twenty-first of October
Two thousand and twenty-three

At two-thirty in the afternoon

[ceremony location]

Dinner and dancing to follow at [reception location]

Modern & Informal Wedding Invitation Wording Examples

Whether you’re wondering how to word wedding invitations that come from the couple, as opposed to the parents, or are trying to navigate more modern family set-ups, these wedding invitation phrases and examples should help.

5. Traditional Informal Civil Ceremony Wedding Invitation Wording

If your parents have chipped in on the celebrations but not paid for the whole thing, you might want to incorporate an element of tradition but with less formal phrasing. If including both sets of parents’ names feels a bit clunky, ‘Together with their parents’ works well if both sets of parents are still together. 

Together with their parents,
Sarah Smith & Alan Johnson
invite you to celebrate their wedding!

[location]
[date]
[time]

followed by a reception

R.S.V.P by 30th June to [parents’ address]

6. Informal Both Families Wedding Invitation Wording

Want to make the wording inside your wedding invitations even more informal? ‘Together with their families’ is a nice alternative that acknowledges everyone, especially if any parents are widowed or separated. Here’s an example of an informal invitation from both sets of parents:

Together with their families,
Jessica Smith & Edward Jones
invite you to join them as they say, “I do!”

[location]
[date]
[time]

followed by a reception

R.S.V.P by 30th June to [couple's/parents’ address]

7. Divorced Parents Wedding Invitation Wording

It can be tricky to know how to word your wedding invitations if your parents are divorced or have remarried. If they are divorced but have kept the same surname, you would use both parents’ full names on the invite:

Mr John Smith & Mrs Beth Smith
request the pleasure of
[guest name]/your company
at the marriage of their daughter
Jessica
to
Mr Edward Jones

[location]
[date]
[time]

followed by a reception

R.S.V.P by 30th June to [parent's address]

8. Remarried Parents Wedding Invitation Wording

If your parents have remarried but are still hosting the wedding together, you would name them separately and use your mother’s new married name, like so:

Mr John Smith & Mrs Beth Howard
request the pleasure of
[guest name]/your company
at the marriage of their daughter
Jessica to 
Mr Edward Jones

[location]
[date]
[time]

followed by a reception

R.S.V.P by 30th June to [parent's address]

9. Stepparents Wedding Invitation Wording

If your parents split up a long time ago and have since remarried or met a new partner and your stepparent is a part of hosting the wedding instead of one of your biological parents, there are a couple of ways around this in your wedding invitation wording.

Use their separate names if they’re not married but, if the invitation is coming from your parent and stepparent, the wording should look something like this (the use of ‘his’ and ‘her’ is interchangeable depending on whether it’s your father or mother hosting.)

Mr & Mrs Paul Howard
request the pleasure of
[guest name]/your company
at the marriage of her daughter
Jessica Smith
to
Mr Edward Jones

[location]
[date]
[time]

followed by a reception

R.S.V.P by 30th June to [parents' address]

If both parents and respective stepparents are hosting, it’s always best to start with, ‘Together with their families’.

10. Widowed Parents Wedding Invitation Wording

Addressing a wedding invitation from a widowed parent can be sensitive. It’s traditional to just use the name of the parent who is requesting the company of the guest if they are hosting alone or haven’t remarried.

If they’ve remarried and you’re happy to have both names on your invitations, you’re best to follow the stepparent format above. If the invitation is from the father and he has not remarried, you’d just use his name. If it’s the mother that is the surviving parent, and she has not remarried, you’d use her married title.

Below is an example of wedding invitation wording from a widowed parent:

Mrs Beth Smith
requests the pleasure of
[guest name]/your company
at the marriage of her daughter
Jessica Smith
to
Mr Edward Jones

[location]
[date]
[time]

followed by a reception

R.S.V.P by 30th June to [parent’s address]

11. Wedding Invitation Wording with the Couples as Hosts

It’s not always necessary to include your parents’ names on the invites – you can simply put yourselves down as the hosts. Feel free to tweak any of the above wedding invitation statements accordingly to reflect whether you’re having a church ceremony or civil celebration.

Contemporary couples that want something totally informal might write:

Jessica and Jane
are getting hitched!

[location]
[date]
[time]

dinner, drinks and dancing to follow

R.S.V.P by 30th June to [couple’s address]

Other wording might include:

• Join us to celebrate
• [Couple’s names] invite you to join them as they say, ‘I do!’
• Please join [couple’s names] as we tie the knot!
• [Couple’s names] invite you to share our joy as we get married

12. Wedding Invitation Wording from Your Children

This is a cute idea if you and your partner have children together already or have children from previous relationships that you want to include on your wedding invitations.

Here’s how to word your invitation if the children are from your current relationship:

Jennifer and Jacob Jones
invite you to join them
for the marriage of their parents
Jessica Smith & Edward Jones

[location]
[date]
[time]

followed by a reception

R.S.V. P by 30th June to [couple’s address]

If the children are from a previous relationship, they should be listed in age order from oldest to youngest, with the bride’s children appearing first (or in age order only for a same-sex marriage).

13. Informal & Fun Wedding Invitation Wording

If you want to show your fun side in your wedding invitation wording, you could say:

Lucia and Sammy
being the party animals they are…
invite you to sip fizz and dance the night away!

[location]
[date]
[time]

R.S.V.P by 30th June to [couple’s address]

Wedding Invitation Wording for Specific Scenarios

To help you nail your wedding invitation text, we answer some of your burning invite wording questions, whatever the scenario.

What’s the best wording for a second marriage?

If either of you have been married before and are tying the knot for the second time, there are no rules that state you can’t use any of the wedding invitation wording examples we’ve listed above. If you’ve found love for a second time, there’s absolutely no reason why your tone shouldn’t be as joyful and celebratory as if it were your first! 

It is more common in this situation, however, for couples to list themselves as the hosts, rather than their parents.

14. Informal Wedding Invitation Wording for a Second Marriage

Alice Jones
and
Jack Johnson
invite you to celebrate their wedding

[location]
[date]
[time]

followed by a reception

R.S.V.P by 30th June to [couple’s address]

What’s the best wording for a vow renewal?

A vow renewal after a number of years of being wed is a great opportunity for you to have fun with your invitation wording, especially if you chose something more formal first time around. Many couples choose a design that has a fun slogan, such as ‘We still do!’ or ‘Still the one!’ at the top.

15. Informal & Fun Wedding Invitation Wording for a Vow Renewal

Alice & Jack
invite you to join us
as we renew our vows
and celebrate 10 years of marriage!

[location]
[date]
[time]

R.S.V.P by 30th June to [couple’s address]

How to say no children on a wedding invite?

For couples who want an adult-only celebration, it’s absolutely worth specifying 'no children' on your invitations. Some people may assume their children are invited, even if they haven’t been named.

Address your invitations as normal with just the names of the adults invited and then add a line at the bottom reiterating that children aren’t invited. You can politely point out your choice on your invitation like so:

• Unfortunately, children are not invited – we hope you understand
• We have chosen to have a child-free wedding. We hope you are still able to celebrate with us
• Our wedding will be a child-free occasion. We hope you can still come and enjoy the day with us

LGBTQ+ wedding invitation examples

The exact same rules apply for LGBTQ+ couples, but since traditionally the name of the bride would come first, if there are two brides or two grooms, simply throw out the rulebook and do what works for you! It’s your wedding day, so you can choose exactly how you want your wedding invitations to look and sound.

16. Formal LGBTQ+ Wedding Invitation Wording

If one set of parents are paying for the wedding then etiquette dictates their names will go first, but otherwise it is your choice how you list your names. Alphabetically might solve any potential issues!

Together with their parents,
Edward Jones
&
Jack Andrews
request the pleasure of your company
at their wedding

[location]
[date]
[time]

followed by a reception

R.S.V.P by 30th June to [couple's/parents' address]

17. Informal LGBTQ+ Wedding Invitation Wording

If you'd rather the wording inside your wedding invitations feel less formal, stick to first names and go with the order that most people refer to you as, as a couple.

Jessie & Mabel
invite you to party with them
&
celebrate their love
at their wedding 

at [location]
on [date and time]

R.S.V.P by 30th June to [couple's address]

18. Cute LGBTQ+ Wedding Invitations Wording 

Why not introduce your new surname (whatever you're going for) on your wedding invitations?

The future
Mrs & Mrs Brooker-Drake
invite you to celebrate with them

[location]
[date]
[time]

followed by a reception

R.S.V.P by 30th June to [couple's address]

How do you word evening-only wedding invitations?

Sometimes there just isn’t enough room at the venue (or cash in the budget) to invite everyone to the whole day. If you’re wondering how to word your evening wedding invitations, we’ve got two helpful wedding invite wording examples below that work for British wedding invitations.

“I still see a mix of formal and less-formal wording – but there are so many great variations of fun ways to word your wedding invites now,” adds Jess. “For example, I love, ‘Lauren and Thomas invite you to join them for bevs and a boogie to celebrate their marriage’.”

19. Formal Evening-Only Wedding Invitation Wording

Mr & Mrs John Smith
request the pleasure of
[guest name]/your company
at a reception to celebrate the marriage of their daughter
Jessica
to
Mr Edward Jones

[location]
[date]
[time – e.g. from 7pm]

R.S.V.P by 30th June to [parents’ address]

20. Informal Evening-Only Wedding Invitation Wording

An informal evening-only invite would look like:

Jessica and Edward
invite you to an evening of drinks and dancing
to celebrate their wedding!

[location]
[date]
[time e.g. from 7pm]

R.S.V.P by 30th June to [couple’s address]

How do you mention gifts on a wedding invitation?

“Asking for gifts has to be done in a way that feels most comfortable for the couple,” says Jess. “I personally think it’s always nice to acknowledge that a guest’s presence is enough of a gift, but we all know the vast majority of a couple’s loved ones will want to celebrate them with a present of some kind, so being clear about what would be most appreciated is always best.

“If you’re planning a big honeymoon, ask for money towards it or even create a gift list of experiences that you plan to do on your trip that loved ones can buy for you – think ‘cocktails at sunset’ or ‘champagne at the airport’. If you’re saving to buy a new home, be clear about this too and explain that that’s what any monetary gifts will go towards.”

One of the most common ways to ask for money on your wedding invitations is to include a little poem. Otherwise, you might want to share your gift preferences with one of the below example phrases:

• Your presence is the best gift, but if you’re thinking of a little something extra, cash contributions for our honeymoon or future adventures would be awesome!
• For those who have asked, we’ve put together a gift list with [Name of company], which you can find at [link].
• Your love and support are more than enough, but if you’d like to get us a gift, we’ve created a list of things we need and love at [link].

What Not to Include in Your Wedding Invitations

Going back to the point of what to include on your wedding invitation versus what to include on your wedding website or in a separate physical card, ultimately all your guests really need to know is when and where, and so Rachel and Jamie of The Illustrated Invitation advise couples to “keep the actual invite as uncluttered as possible.

“Your RSVP card or wedding website is also the place to let guests know about more unusual, less-thought-about things such as whether the bar is card-payment only, if there are restrictions on confetti or if the venue has limited parking,” they add.  

Adding the entire gift list is also a no-go. Instead, direct people to an online link via a QR code or website address.

Wedding Invitation Wording Tips

Before you design and send your wedding invites, ensure you’re feeling as stationery savvy as possible with our top tips on wording your wedding invitations

Consider your wording before choosing your design

“I’d always advise putting together the information you want to include within your wedding invites before starting to design, so you have a rough idea of how many pieces you may need and how you want things laid out,” says Jess. “Even if you don’t have an idea of the visual at this stage, knowing what you want to include in your stationery will be beneficial when reaching out to stationery designers.”

Proofread, proofread, proofread!

It may sound obvious, but triple-checking the wording, timings and spellings on your wedding invitations is so important, especially if you’re opting for something custom-made.

We’d always suggest getting a second – and maybe even a third – pair of eyes over your wedding invitation text. Perhaps ask the more detail-orientated members of your wedding party to give them a once-over before approving it with your stationer or sending them to print.

We’d also advise giving yourself a few days away from looking at them and taking another look with a fresh pair of eyes later on.

Ensure there’s clarity

Don’t leave anything to chance when writing the wording for your wedding invitations – avoid phrases such as ‘in the morning’ and ‘in the evening’, for example, when timings are open to interpretation.

Being vague with timings, directions and instructions will only result in people not being in the right place at the right time, or cause your guests to ask you even more questions ahead of the big day – neither of which are ideal!

Be aware of tradition

Traditional wedding invitation wording isn’t for everyone but it’s important to be mindful about what the ‘done thing’ is when it comes to the content of your wedding invitations.

Details of where to look for the wedding gift list can be included, for example, but never include the whole thing on the invite itself. While other traditional etiquette to be aware of includes referring to 12pm as ‘noon’, using the full legal names of both partners and avoiding symbols, unless it’s being used for design purposes.