Wedding Invitation Alternate Wording

One of the trickiest parts of designing and creating my own wedding invitation suite was trying to figure out the wording. The traditional stuff? Just didn’t work for us. For one thing, we were paying for the wedding ourselves PLUS we’re middle-aged so the whole Parents As Hosts thing? Not happening. And that meant nixing the opening “Mr. and Mrs. So-in-So request your presence” stuff. Also, we’re hosting a pretty laidback affair and the suggested wording for most wedding invitations was just too uppity and stuffy for us. And Google? No help. So it was up to me to create informal and contemporary wedding invitation wording. And you lucky dogs… I’m sharing my ideas with you!

First up, if you love the traditional wedding invitation wording, no worries – use it. My girl Martha has an excellent round-up of suggested and proper wedding invitation wording options. Just copy and paste, y’all. For those of you interested in something a little different… read on.

Image Courtesy of: Minted

First, if the parents (or anyone else) help pay for a portion of the wedding, it is common courtesy to list them as the wedding’s hosts. However, you don’t have to be all formal about it. Try these options:

• Bride’s name, Groom’s name, and their parents…
• The couple and their parents…
• The parents of Bride and Groom and the couple…
• The Bride’s family last name + the Groom’s family last name invite you…
• Bride’s name + Groom’s name together with their families invite you…

And feel free to use first names but be aware that some people on your guest list may not know your first names well enough to associate them with you. This is especially true if your parents are inviting their friends or family (and you barely know them).

OUR WORDING: “Cris Stone + The Boy”

Image Courtesy of: Minted

Next is the section where you actually let people know you’re getting married. Usually, this is tied up with the parent’s hosting thing and reads something like, “Parents A and Parents B request your presence at the marriage of Bride and Groom.” You don’t have to be so fancy schmancy. Here are some other options:

• We would love to invite you to the wedding of…
• We’re getting married! Won’t you join us as we exchange our vows…
• Swing by and help us celebrate our wedding vows…
• We’d be delighted if you’d join us…
• Please join us as we exchange our wedding vows…

Basically, you need to tell people that there’s going to be a wedding and then you need to indicate how happy you’ll be if they show up. That’s all. Do it in your own words and you’ll be golden.

OUR WORDING: “We joyfully welcome your company as we exchange our vows”

Image Courtesy of: Minted

The next part is the one with all the important information – location, time, and date. Don’t get too fancy with this one as you’ll want to make it clear to the invites the WHERE, WHEN, AND WHAT TIME. Otherwise, they WILL call you. Just include it though you can still have a bit o’ fun with it:

• 26 MAY 2012 at the crack of noon in the old mission on Runaway Road…
• At the stroke of midnight on May 26 2012 in the grand ballroom at the golf club on Runaway Road…
• Under the Runaway Road bridge at 3PM on May 26 2012…
• It’s all happening at the Skate-o-Rama at 765 Runaway Road on May 26 2012 at 2AM…
• May 26 2012 at 5PM at the couple’s home at 345 Runaway Road…

For the record, you don’t need to include the year with the date (it’s just nice for a keepsake) but you DO need to include the exact address WITH ZIP CODE. People need to be able to MapQuest or GPS it quickly or THEY WILL CALL YOU (see a pattern here?).

OUR WORDING:  “May 26 2012 at 4:30 in the afternoon under the oak tree (exact address)”

Image Courtesy of: Minted

The final part is optional and includes the reception information. If you are not having a reception – don’t put anything here. If you’re only inviting some people to the ceremony and others to the reception, leave the reception information off the wedding invitation. Include a separate reception card (or invitation) with the reception details in the envelope of the people invited to both and only the reception card for the people invited to just the reception. If everyone’s invited to everything – include a line and the necessary information at the bottom of the wedding invitation. Again, INCLUDE AN EXACT ADDRESS (if the reception is in a separate location than the ceremony). Otherwise, THEY WILL CALL YOU. Here are some examples:

• Reception to follow at the taco truck on Fifth Avenue…
• A meal and merriment to follow…
• Join us after the ceremony for a reception by the pool…
• Hang out with us after for a night of dining, dancing, and delight…
• Meet us for BBQ, Beer, and Booze in the salon right after the vows…

This is also the place to add any RSVP information (if you’re NOT doing a separate RSVP card), email information, dress code, and/or your wedding website. Include anything that you think your guests would want to know about your wedding. However, no matter how casual the wedding, it is NEVER OKAY to include registry or gift information ANYWHERE on the wedding invitation or RSVP. NEVER OKAY. EVER. Put it on your wedding website and on your shower invites and Facebook page but never, ever include it in your wedding invitation suite. Tulle Nation has spoken.

OUR WORDING: “Feasting and Fun to Follow”

Image Courtesy of: Minted

I hope this was helpful to you – I know I was frustrated with this part of the wedding invitation process and really wished that someone had shared their ideas with me. Are any of you planning on alternative wording for your wedding invitations? Struggling to come up with just the right thing? Wanna share? We’re here to help!