Appropriate Wording for Traditional Wedding Invitations

Writing the content for your wedding invitations is one of the most challenging parts of creating invites, especially for traditional or formal weddings. This can even get more complicated if you have to consider special situations wherein you have to make sure your wording is respectful and appropriate for all parties concerned.

Host line
Traditionally, the bride's parents are the ones who will issue the wedding invitations and whose names will be written in the host line. However, with evolving family structures and financial dynamics, the host line of a wedding invitation is often the trickiest part of wording invites. Here are some guidelines that couples can take note of when wording their invitations:

- Divorced parents. If the bride's parents are divorced but are still hosting the wedding together, you should include both of their names in the wedding invitations. The mother's name (if not remarried, should include her first name, maiden name, and married name) should be the first one to be mentioned, should be followed by the father's name underneath, and should not be separated with "and".

Example:
Mrs. Elizabeth Williams
Mr. Richard Williams
request the honor of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter
Hannah Williams

Stepparents. Traditionally, the names of the stepparents are not included in the wedding invitations. However, it is also acceptable to add their names. You should mention the mother (and her husband) first, followed by the father (and his wife) without an "and" in between.

Example:
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Lopez
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Williams
request the honor of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter
Hannah Williams

Deceased parent. Although, it is not required to include the name of a deceased parent in a wedding invitation, it is still okay to include their names. In this case, it is best to omit courtesy titles.

Example:
The pleasure of your company is requested
at the marriage of
Hannah Williams
daughter of Richard Williams and the late Elizabeth Williams

Social titles
For a traditional or formal wedding, you need to include social titles or courtesy titles such as Mr. and Mrs. in the invites. If the parents hold courtesy titles aside from Mr. and Mrs., you need to spell these out. Parents with a courtesy title should also be mentioned first. For example, you should choose Doctor Richard Williams and Mrs. Elizabeth Williams or Doctor Elizabeth Williams and Mr. Richard Williams.

Other traditional wording rules
When wording your wedding invitations, you should also indicate the location of the ceremony or reception. You need to decide whether you will invite them to the church ceremony only, the reception only, or to both venues.

Examples:
Place of worship - Request the honor of your presence
Secular location - Request the pleasure of your company
Informal reception only - Invite you to join them at the wedding reception of