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Wording of Invitations

by NYCityWeddings.com

The traditional wedding invitation. It's been around for hundreds of years and its purpose is to invite guests and let them know when and where your wedding is being held. Simple enough. But how to word it properly is enough to strike fear into the hearts of future brides and grooms. Yes, there are certain conventional wording and spelling rules of etiquette that should be followed, but - taken a step at a time - they are not all that difficult to grasp. Here is a sample invitation separated into individual lines for you to follow:

Formal invitation issued by the bride's parents

(INVITATIONAL LINE)
Mr. and Mrs. Francis Patrick Donnelly
("Mr." and "Mrs." abbreviated; "and" spelled out; use full name of bride's father)

(REQUEST LINES)
request the honour of your presence at the marriage of their daughter
(Traditional "u" spelling in "honour")

(BRIDE'S NAME)
Erin Marie
(No title; use last name if different from parents)

(JOINING WORD)
to
(Use "and" in different variations of the invitation)

(GROOM'S NAME)
Mr. Paul James Walsh       
(Groom's full name, preceded by his title)

(DATE LINE)
Saturday, the twenty-fifth of September      
 (Day of week, date and month spelled out)

(YEAR LINE)
two thousand and four     
 (Year spelled out)

(TIME LINE)
at half after three o'clock       
(Not half past three o'clock, three-thirty or 3:30 pm; if wedding takes place at eight, nine or ten o'clock, insert the phrase "in the morning" or "in the evening" on this line to avoid confusion.)

(LOCATION)
Church of Saint John
("Saint" always spelled out)

(ADDRESS)
234 Milton Avenue
(Street address unnecessary if enclosing direction card)

(CITY AND STATE)
Huntington, New York
(No zip code)

Now that you've gotten the basics down, here are some of the many variations in use today:

Wedding and reception held at the same location

Mr. and Mrs. Frank Donnelly
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of their daugther
Erin Marie
to
Mr. Paul James Walsh
Saturday, the twenty-fifth of September
two thousand and four
at half after three o'clock
Fair Oaks Country Club
23 Manor Lane
Huntington, New York
and afterward at the reception


Bride's and groom's parents co-host the wedding

Mr. and Mrs. Frank Donnelly
and
Mr. and Mrs. Walter Edward Walsh
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of
Erin Marie Donnelly
and
Paul James Walsh

etc.


Bride and groom issue their own invitation

Miss Erin Marie Donnelly
and
Mr. Paul James Walsh
request the honour of your presence
at their marriage
etc.


(or)

The honour of your presence
is requested
at the marriage of
Miss Erin Marie Donnelly
to
Mr. Paul James Walsh
etc.

Bride's widowed mother (or father) issues the invitation

Mrs. (Mr.) Francis Patrick Donnelly
requests the honour of your presence
at the marriage of her (his) daughter
Erin Marie
to
Mr. Paul James Walsh
etc.


Bride's mother is divorced

Mrs. Kathleen Donnelly
requests the honour of your presence
at the marriage of her daughter
Erin Marie
to
Mr. Paul James Walsh
etc.


Bride's mother is divorced and remarried

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Andrew Taylor
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of Mrs. Taylor's daughter
Erin Marie Donnelly
to
Mr. Paul James Walsh
etc.


Roman Catholic Weddings (Nuptial Mass)

Mr. and Mrs. Frank Donnelly
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter
Erin Marie
and
Mr. Paul James Walsh
in the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony
Saturday, the twenty-fifth of September
two thousand and four
at half after ten o'clock in the morning
Saint Anthony's Roman Catholic Church
150 Brook Avenue
Huntington, New York


Jewish Weddings

Mr. and Mrs. Mark Stein
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter
Rebecca
and
Mr. David Greenberg
Sunday, the fifteenth of May
at six o'clock
Temple Emmanuel
Nine Broad Street
Great Neck, New York

(or)

Mr. and Mrs. Mark Stein
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Greenberg
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of
Rebecca Stein
And
David Greenberg
etc.
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