Wedding Invitation Wording: 35+ Examples for Every Situation

Good wedding invitation wording answers five questions in a few graceful lines: who is hosting, who is getting married, when, where, and what happens next (reception, RSVP, website). The tone follows from your wedding. A black-tie evening in a ballroom calls for formal, spelled-out wording; a backyard barbecue wedding can sound like you talking. Below you will find copy-ready examples for every common situation, from traditional parent-hosted invitations to blended families, adults-only celebrations and digital invitations shared by link.

The basic structure of a wedding invitation

Almost every wedding invitation, formal or casual, follows the same order. Once you know it, you can mix and match the examples below.

• Host line: who is inviting the guests (parents, both families, or the couple).
• Request line: the invitation itself, such as "request the pleasure of your company."
• Names: the couple, traditionally with the bride's name first in a heterosexual ceremony. Same-sex couples often list names alphabetically or in whatever order reads best.
• Date and time: spelled out on formal invitations, numerals are fine on casual ones.
• Location: venue name, city and state. Full street addresses usually go on an insert or the wedding website.
• Reception line: what follows the ceremony.
• RSVP and website: how and by when guests should respond, and where to find details.

A few etiquette conventions are worth knowing. "Request the honour of your presence" (with the British spelling of honour) traditionally signals a ceremony in a house of worship, while "request the pleasure of your company" is used for secular venues. Formal invitations spell out dates and times ("Saturday, the twelfth of June," "at half past four o'clock"). And registry information traditionally stays off the invitation itself; it belongs on the wedding website.

Traditional and formal wording

Hosted by the bride's parents

This is the classic format, rooted in the tradition that the bride's family hosts the wedding.

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Allen Carter

request the honour of your presence

at the marriage of their daughter

Emily Rose

to

Mr. Daniel James Brooks

Saturday, the twelfth of June

two thousand twenty-seven

at four o'clock in the afternoon

Saint Mark's Episcopal Church

Charleston, South Carolina

If the bride's parents are divorced and both are hosting, list each on a separate line without "and" between them:

Ms. Linda Carter

Mr. Robert Carter

request the pleasure of your company

at the marriage of their daughter

Emily Rose

to

Daniel James Brooks

Hosted by both families

Many couples today have both sets of parents contributing, and the wording can reflect that.

Together with their families

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Carter

and

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Brooks

request the pleasure of your company

at the marriage of their children

Emily Rose Carter

and

Daniel James Brooks

Saturday, June twelfth

at half past five o'clock

The Grove at Magnolia Farm

Asheville, North Carolina

Dinner and dancing to follow

Hosted by the couple, formal

When you are paying for the wedding yourselves, or simply prefer to issue the invitation in your own names, the couple becomes the host.

The pleasure of your company is requested

at the marriage of

Ms. Emily Rose Carter

and

Mr. Daniel James Brooks

Saturday, the twelfth of June

at five o'clock in the evening

The Ritz-Carlton

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Wording when the couple hosts (modern version)

"Together with their families" is the most popular middle ground: it credits the parents without naming them, and it works no matter who is paying.

Together with their families

Maya Johnson and Chris Patel

invite you to celebrate their marriage

Saturday, September 18, 2027

at 4:00 p.m.

Lakeview Pavilion, Madison, Wisconsin

Reception to follow

Maya Johnson and Chris Patel

would love for you to join them

as they say "I do"

Saturday, September 18, 2027, at four in the afternoon

Lakeview Pavilion, Madison, Wisconsin

Wording for blended families

Blended families deserve wording that includes everyone who matters without turning the invitation into a family tree. Two approaches work well.

Name every parent and stepparent who is hosting:

Mrs. Karen Lee and Mr. David Lee

and

Mr. Michael Torres

invite you to celebrate the marriage of their daughter

Sophia Torres

to

Ethan Walker

Or keep it inclusive and simple:

With joy in their hearts

and together with their families

Sophia Torres and Ethan Walker

invite you to their wedding

If the couple has children of their own, including them is a lovely touch:

Sophia Torres and Ethan Walker

together with Lily and Noah

invite you to celebrate as they become a family

When a parent has passed away, you can honor them with a line such as "Emily Rose, daughter of Linda Carter and the late Robert Carter." Keep it on the invitation only if it feels right to your family; some couples prefer a tribute in the ceremony program instead.

Casual wedding invitation wording

Casual wording drops the formal titles and spelled-out numbers. It still includes all the essentials, just in a relaxed voice.

Jess and Marcus are getting married!

Join us on Saturday, October 9, 2027, at 3 p.m.

Willow Creek Barn, Boise, Idaho

Ceremony, dinner, and a whole lot of dancing

Please join us for the wedding of

Jess Morgan and Marcus Hill

Saturday, October 9 at 3:00 p.m.

Willow Creek Barn, Boise

Celebration to follow

Modern and fun wording

If your friends would recognize your voice in a text, they will recognize it here too. Just keep the date, time and place easy to find.

We said yes. Now we need you to say yes too.

Jess and Marcus are tying the knot

October 9, 2027, Willow Creek Barn, Boise

Come for the vows, stay for the tacos

Eat, drink and be married

Join Priya and Sam for a night of good food and better company

Friday, May 21, 2027, 6 p.m.

The Foundry, Brooklyn, New York

After eight years, two apartments and one very spoiled dog,

Alex and Jordan are making it official

Saturday, August 14, 2027

Sunset Point, Lake Tahoe

Adults-only and dress code lines

Keep these lines short and positive. Put the adults-only note on the RSVP card, wedding website or digital invitation rather than in the main invitation text, and address the envelope (or the message) only to the people who are invited.

We love your little ones, but our celebration will be adults only.

We have reserved two seats in your honor.

Adults-only celebration. Thank you for understanding.

Dress code lines usually sit at the bottom right of a formal invitation or on the website. Use a recognized term so guests know what to expect:

Black tie

Cocktail attire

Garden party attire, block heels recommended

Dress code: beach formal. Leave the ties at home.

Reception-only invitations

Hosting a small ceremony and a bigger party later, or eloping and celebrating afterward? Make it clear that guests are invited to the celebration, not the vows.

Please join us for a reception

in celebration of the marriage of

Hannah Kim and Luis Ortega

Saturday, July 10, 2027, at 7 p.m.

The Garden Room, Portland, Oregon

We eloped!

Now let's party.

Hannah and Luis invite you to celebrate their marriage

Saturday, July 10, 7 p.m., The Garden Room, Portland

Destination wedding wording

Destination invitations need a bit more context: the dates may span a weekend, and guests need travel and lodging details. Put the logistics on your website and keep the invitation itself elegant.

Together with their families

Olivia Grant and Ben Fischer

invite you to join them in paradise

for their wedding celebration

Friday, March 5 through Sunday, March 7, 2027

Tulum, Mexico

Travel and accommodation details at oliviaandben.com

Pack your bags.

Olivia and Ben are getting married in Maui

Saturday, June 19, 2027

Welcome drinks Friday, farewell brunch Sunday

Timing matters even more for destination weddings. Our guide on when to send wedding invitations covers the longer lead times.

The RSVP line

The RSVP line tells guests how and by when to respond. Give a specific date, and make responding as easy as possible.

The favor of a reply is requested by the first of May.

Kindly reply by May 1, 2027.

Please RSVP by May 1 at emilyanddaniel.com

Let us know you're coming by May 1. Tap the link to RSVP.

For an RSVP card, the classic format is "M ______ (guest names), accepts with pleasure / declines with regret." If you want guests to choose a meal or note allergies, add one line for that. For more phrasing ideas and how to chase late replies politely, see how to ask guests to RSVP.

The website and registry line

Traditional etiquette keeps registry information off the invitation. The graceful workaround is to point guests to your wedding website, where the registry lives alongside travel, hotel and schedule details.

For more details, please visit www.emilyanddaniel.com

Travel, accommodations and more at www.emilyanddaniel.com

If you do want to mention gifts directly, on the website or digital invitation rather than the printed card, keep it warm:

Your presence is the greatest gift. For those who have asked, we have put together a small registry.

We are lucky to already have a home full of everything we need. If you would like to give a gift, a contribution to our honeymoon fund would mean the world.

Wording for a digital invitation shared by link

Digital invitations follow the same structure, but the reader experience is different. Guests usually see your message first in a group text, iMessage, WhatsApp or email, and then tap through to the invitation page. That means you need two pieces of copy: a short message to send with the link, and the invitation itself.

The message that goes with the link:

Hi Aunt Carol! We're so excited to invite you to our wedding on June 12 in Charleston. All the details are here, and you can RSVP right on the page: [link]

Save your spot! Emily and Daniel are getting married on June 12, 2027. Open the invitation and let us know if you can make it by May 1: [link]

It's official: you're invited! Our wedding invitation is here, with the schedule, location and RSVP: [link]

On the invitation page itself, you can keep the traditional wording at the top and put the practical details below it, since there is no space limit:

Together with their families

Emily Carter and Daniel Brooks

invite you to celebrate their marriage

Saturday, June 12, 2027, at 4:30 p.m.

The Grove at Magnolia Farm, Asheville, North Carolina

Dinner and dancing to follow. Please RSVP below by May 1.

A digital invitation also lets you do what paper cannot: add an add-to-calendar button, the location, a schedule for the weekend and a registry or wishlist link in one place, and update details on the same link if something changes. With Invitedd's digital wedding invitations, guests open the link in their browser and RSVP with their name, no app or account needed. If you are still weighing formats, our comparison of digital vs paper wedding invitations walks through the trade-offs.

Frequently asked questions

Whose name goes first on a wedding invitation?

Traditionally, the bride's name comes first. When both families or the couple are hosting, there is no fixed rule; many couples simply choose the order that sounds best.

Can I put registry information on the invitation?

Etiquette says no for the invitation itself. Put it on your wedding website or the digital invitation page, where guests can find it when they look for it.

Putting your wording together

Pick the host line that matches your situation, choose a tone, and fill in the essentials: names, date, time, place, reception and RSVP. Read it out loud once; if it sounds like your wedding, you are done. Then decide how it will reach your guests. If you want to share your invitation by link, you can create your invitation with Invitedd for free and add RSVP tracking and automatic reminders for a one-time fee per event. Keep our wedding checklist nearby for everything that comes next.