Wedding invitation wording: examples for formal, casual, religious and courthouse weddings

What goes on a wedding invitation, in order

• The host line: who is inviting — the couple, their parents, or “together with their families”.
• The request line: “request the honour of your presence” or “invite you to celebrate”.
• The couple’s names, the way you want to be addressed.
• Date and time, spelled out on formal invitations: “Saturday, the twelfth of June, two thousand twenty-seven, at five o’clock in the evening”.
• The ceremony venue and city, and the reception if it’s somewhere else (“Reception to follow”).
• The RSVP line: the deadline and how to reply.
• Extras, only if needed: dress code, wedding website, adults-only.

Formal wedding invitation wording examples

• “Together with their families, Emma Rose Carter and Daniel James Brooks request the honour of your presence at their marriage.”
• “Mr. and Mrs. Robert Carter request the honour of your presence at the marriage of their daughter Emma Rose to Daniel James Brooks.”
• “Emma Carter and Daniel Brooks invite you to celebrate their marriage on Saturday, June 12, 2027, at five o’clock in the evening.”
• “The pleasure of your company is requested at the marriage of Emma Carter and Daniel Brooks.”
• “Dinner and dancing to follow.”

Casual and modern wedding invitation wording

• “We’re getting married! Come celebrate with us.”
• “After nine years, two apartments and one very patient dog, we’re saying I do.”
• “Emma & Dan. 06.12.27. Bring your dancing shoes.”
• “Good food, great people and a party you won’t want to miss.”
• “Some days are worth celebrating together. This is one of them.”

Religious and courthouse wedding invitation wording

• Christian: “Love is patient, love is kind (1 Corinthians 13:4). With joy in their hearts, Emma and Daniel invite you to witness their marriage at St. Mark’s Church.”
• Scripture: “So they are no longer two, but one flesh (Mark 10:8). Please join us as we begin our life together.”
• Courthouse: “We’re saying ‘I do’ at City Hall with a few of our favorite people. Lunch to follow at Lucia’s.”
• Reception after eloping: “We tied the knot! Now let’s celebrate. Join us for dinner and drinks on June 12.”
• With children: “Olivia and Jack invite you to the wedding of their parents, Emma and Daniel.”

Funny wedding invitation wording

• “We’re getting married! Yes, really. No, it’s not a prank.”
• “Emma and Dan have decided to put up with each other forever. Come witness it.”
• “Good food, a dance floor and a best man speech nobody has proofread.”
• “Eat, drink and be married. We’ll handle the married part.”
• “Tacos, vows and a very long playlist. RSVP before the tacos run out.”

Who hosts: parents, the couple or “together with their families”

The host line names whoever is hosting. When the bride’s parents host, their names open the invitation: “Mr. and Mrs. Robert Carter request…”. When both families are involved, the couple’s names come first after “together with their families”, today the most common US wording. When the couple hosts, it simply opens with their names. Divorced parents go on separate lines, without “and”, and a parent who has passed away can be honored with “daughter of Robert Carter and the late Ann Carter”. “Honour” with a u is the traditional spelling for a ceremony in a house of worship; “the pleasure of your company” is used for secular ceremonies and receptions.

A complete wedding invitation example

“Together with their families, Emma Rose Carter and Daniel James Brooks invite you to celebrate their marriage on Saturday, June 12, 2027, at five o’clock in the evening, The Willow Barn, Hudson, New York. Dinner and dancing to follow. Kindly reply by May 15.”

RSVP, registry and kids: the extra lines

The RSVP line needs a date: “Kindly reply by May 15”; here is more wedding RSVP wording. Registry details traditionally stay off the formal invitation and go on the wedding website; see wedding registry wording for lines that don’t feel awkward. For an adults-only wedding, address the invitation to the adults by name and add a warm line on the website: “We love your little ones, but our celebration will be adults only.”

Wedding invitation wording mistakes to avoid

• Mixing formal and casual wording in the same invitation.
• Leaving out the day of the week, or “in the evening” when the time could be read two ways.
• Printing registry details on the invitation itself.
• Squeezing in a long poem: two lines are plenty; the rest belongs on the website.
• Forgetting the RSVP deadline, so replies trickle in the week of the wedding.

How to put your wording on a free digital invitation

In the QRinvites editor the wording comes in parts: the “Header line” is your headline (“We are getting married”), the Story section takes free text for how you met or for your full invitation wording, and “Parents and godparents” adds one line per family, such as “Daughter of Marta and Julián”. The date, the venues with their maps, the dress code and the RSVP button with its deadline already have their own blocks, so your wording can be shorter than on paper. It’s free, with no ads, and you can write your invitation without an account; to see where each block goes, open the sample invitation. New to digital invitations? Start with free digital wedding invitations.