What every wedding invitation includes
Whatever the style, the information runs in roughly the same order, from who is inviting to what happens afterwards:
- The hosts: whoever is issuing the invitation. Today that is usually the couple, but it may be one or both families.
- The request line: “request the pleasure of your company”, “invite you to celebrate” or something warmer in your own voice.
- The couple’s names, traditionally with the bride’s first, though any order is fine. Use the names your guests know you by.
- The date and time, written out in full on formal invitations (“Saturday, the twelfth of June”).
- The venue and town. The full street address can live on a details card or your wedding website.
- What follows: “Reception to follow” or “Dinner and dancing to follow”, so guests know to plan for the evening.
- How to reply, and by when. See our guide to choosing an RSVP deadline.
Dress code, accommodation, registry and transport rarely fit gracefully on the invitation itself. Put them on a separate card or, more simply, on the page your guests reply from.
Formal wedding invitation wording
Formal wording is written in the third person, spells out numbers and avoids abbreviations. “The honour of your presence” is traditionally reserved for ceremonies held in a place of worship; “the pleasure of your company” is used everywhere else.
Relaxed and modern wording
If your day is closer to a long lunch than a ballroom, let the wording say so. First person is fine, numerals are fine, and a little humour is fine, provided the practical details are still impossible to miss.
When parents or families are hosting
Traditionally the hosts’ names come first, followed by the couple. When both families are contributing, or when you simply want to include them, there are graceful ways to say so.
For divorced or remarried parents, list each hosting parent on their own line. If a parent has passed away and you would like to honour them, “daughter of Anna and the late Thomas Reid” is a gentle, widely used form.
Adults-only and other delicate notes
The envelope (or the names on a digital invitation) is the clearest way to say who is invited: only the people named are included. A short, kind line on the details card or RSVP page helps where it may not be obvious.
- Adults only: “We love your little ones, but our celebration will be adults only.”
- No plus-ones: “We have reserved one seat in your honour.” Then make sure the invitation shows only that one name.
- Unplugged ceremony: “We invite you to be fully present with us: phones away during the ceremony, please.”
- Gifts: leave registry details off the invitation itself and link them from your wedding website instead.
Each household’s invitation lists only the guests you added for them, so “adults only” and “no plus-ones” are built in rather than asked for.
Destination and weekend weddings
For a wedding guests must travel to, the invitation carries the main event, while a schedule of the whole weekend belongs on its own card or page. Send a save-the-date well before the invitation so guests can book flights.
Wording for a digital invitation
Digital invitations can carry the same formal wording as paper; the difference is everything that sits around it. Instead of a stack of enclosure cards, the schedule, venue map, dress code, travel and RSVP all live one tap away. That lets the invitation itself stay short and beautiful.
If you are sending the link by email or message, add a brief personal note in the message itself (“We would love you there. Your invitation is below.”) so it does not read like an automated email.
Weighing up the two? Read digital vs paper wedding invitations, or see how Vow Motion invitations work.
