When it comes to the wording of your invitations and the "proper" etiquette, it's easy to get confused. Many blogs and guides will tell you that you must do things a certain way. We don't believe in this mantra; it's your wedding, you do it your way.
But we recognise that you may need a little guidance along the way which could give you some inspiration for penning your own wording, with your own tone and style. All of our wedding invitations are entirely customisable from a wording perspective.
The Invitation
Let's start with the basics - when it comes to the main invitation portion, this will be what you'll need to include:
- Who's hosting
- Your names as you'd like them presented
- The wedding date
- Ceremony time (and arrival time if you want to make sure guests are there early)
- The ceremony venue and address
- The reception venue and address (if different to the above)
- What's to follow ("reception to follow", "dinner and dancing", etc)
- When the event will be over "carriages at midnight")
From here, it's how formal or informal you want your wording to be; whichever suits your day best. There also aren't any hard and fast rules about whose name should go first, go with whatever you're comfortable with.
Similarly, you may wish to opt for alternative wording when it comes to the date and time. You can opt for numerals only (07.12.19 at 2pm), or go for something a little more traditional (Seventh of December, Two Thousand and Nineteen, Two O'Clock in the Afternoon).
Here are some examples to get you started, with a few variations for a wedding being hosted by parents. All of these can be tweaked, combined and changed to suit.
Example Wording
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Together with their families
Megan Smith and Martin Glover
Request the pleasure of your company
at the celebration of their marriage
Saturday 7th December 2019
Two O'Clock in the Afternoon
Dumbleton Hall Hotel, Dumbleton, Evesham, WR11 6TS
Dinner and dancing to follow
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Mr & Mrs Smith
request the pleasure of your company
to celebrate the marriage of their daughter
Megan Smith to Martin Glover
Saturday 7th December 2019
Two O'Clock in the Afternoon
Dumbleton Hall Hotel, Dumbleton, Evesham, WR11 6TS
Reception to follow
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Mr & Mrs Smith, together with Mr & Mrs Glover
request the pleasure of your company
to celebrate the marriage of their children
Megan Smith and Martin Glover
Saturday 7th December 2019
Two O'Clock in the Afternoon
Dumbleton Hall Hotel, Dumbleton, Evesham, WR11 6TS
Reception to follow
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Please join us for the wedding of
Megan and Martin
Saturday 7th December 2019
Two O'Clock in the Afternoon
Dumbleton Hall Hotel, Dumbleton, Evesham, WR11 6TS
Reception to follow
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The honour of your presence
is requested to celebrate the marriage of
Megan Smith and Martin Glover
Saturday 7th December 2019
Two O'Clock in the Afternoon
Dumbleton Hall Hotel, Dumbleton, Evesham, WR11 6TS
Reception to follow
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You are cordially invited
to celebrate the wedding of
Megan Smith and Martin Glover
Saturday 7th December 2019
Two O'Clock in the Afternoon
Dumbleton Hall Hotel, Dumbleton, Evesham, WR11 6TS
Dinner and dancing to follow
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You are cordially invited
to celebrate the wedding of
Megan Smith and Martin Glover
Saturday 7th December 2019
Two O'Clock in the Afternoon
Dumbleton Hall Hotel, Dumbleton, Evesham, WR11 6TS
Dinner and dancing to follow
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There are often other aspects that also cause stress; one is handling gifts and the other is for not inviting children. We'll deal with gifts first.
Gift Poems
It's traditional for wedding guests to give the newly-weds gifts or money to commemorate the big day. In the past physical gifts would have been given a lot of the time but the modern couple often doesn't need a kettle, toaster, or microwave! So what are the best ways of making sure your guests don't feel obliged and that you don't feel rude in asking?
The ideal ice-breaker is a gift poem or honeymoon wish that can be included with your invitation.
Here are some of our favourites to break the ice and may even give you the inspiration to write your own!
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We're tying the knot and we just can't wait.
We knew it would happen on our very first date.
As we've got our home dressed up with accessories,
We don't really think that a wedding gift list is necessary.
But if you did want to give something to help us on our way,
Some money in a card would truly make our day!
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We’ve lived together for quite a while,
With all our pots and pans,
And as we don’t need homely gifts,
We have another plan!
We know it’s not traditional,
But it’s easier that’s for sure,
To have no wedding list at all,
Your attendance means much more!
For those of you who do insist,
We have a savings pot,
A small gift to add to this,
Would really mean a lot!
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We know it’s not traditional
And it’s not the way it’s done
But rather than a wedding list
We’d love a bit of sun!
So if you’d like to give a gift
And send us on our way
A donation to our honeymoon
Would really make our day!
Then while we’re relaxing
On the beach or by the pool
We’ll sit back and know
That it is truly thanks to you!
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We made a commitment, some time ago,
Together through life, we were destined to go.
To save you looking, shopping and buying,
Here is an idea, we hope you’ll like trying!
Come to our wedding, to wish us both well,
And please make a donation to our wishing well.
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Now we are to be Mr & Mrs
We don’t need a wedding list of dishes
We have two kettles, two toasters, two microwaves
And we have dreams for which we have to save.
If you would like to give us a gift
A cheque or vouchers would give us a lift
We like to think of it as our ‘Wishing Well’
Which will be filled with your love, we can tell!
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We haven’t got a gift list for all of you to see,
because as you all know we never can agree!
But if you’d like to help us start our married life,
cash or high street vouchers, would save a lot of strife!
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We’ve just moved home and have filled it with stuff,
From books to sofas, we’ve certainly got enough!
Instead of more wine glasses, we’d really love some cash,
So that we can book a perfect honeymoon and head off in a dash.
A romantic beach break would really do the trick,
As soon as we can afford it, we’ll be on that plane quick!
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As we’re getting married we thought it would be fun,
To move into a brand new home — we need to get it done.
As wedding gifts are bulky and we’re a little short on space,
Some money would be the ideal gift to help us buy our place!
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We’ll soon be saying ‘I Do’,
And for a gift, if you haven’t got a clue,
Then we’d really love some cash,
So that for our honeymoon we can splash,
Out on an amazing and romantic trip for two!
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We can’t wait to spend our wedding day with you,
We’ve been planning hard and spending money for a good year or two.
As we’re keen to start our married life in style,
An amazing honeymoon would really make us smile.
Instead of a gift list from a high street shop,
We’d really love some money so that on a beach we can flop!
Your financial donation would truly mean a lot,
So thank you for contributing to our honeymoon pot!
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Your presence without presents
is enough to make our day,
We haven’t made a wedding list
of gifts, in any way,
Should you wish to give us cash,
we surely won’t say no,
So we can buy the things we like
to help create our home.
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We are sending out this invitation
and hope you will join our celebration
If to send a gift is your intention
In modesty we would like to mention
We have already got a kettle and a toaster
Crockery, place mats and coasters
So rather than something we have already got
Can we request that you give us money for our saving pot?
Please don’t be offended
By this type of request
Because our day will be complete
Having you as our guest!
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We hope that gives you either a suitable option or the inspiration to pen your own poem or request. You can also direct people to your own online wish list if you're in the market for specifics! And always remember that many guests will appreciate your guidance when it comes to you prompting people for what you'd really like if they're kind enough to give a gift.
Alternatively - and we’ve seen this from a number of couples - you can forego any gifts or money in favour of donations to your favourite charities. If you need any help in putting together your request (or non-request!) of gifts and money, just let us know and we’ll be glad to help.
Now, lastly, we'll cover off another delicate subject in not wanting to invite children to your day.
Asking for no children at my wedding
This subject is probably one of the more delicate ones when it comes to putting the wording together for your invitation.
You may have one or many reasons for not allowing children to be present, either for the day itself or for the evening reception - but telling friends that their kids aren't welcome is a delicate balancing act that may be making you feel uncomfortable.
However there are ways of covering this subject delicately, with a few different options dependent upon the scenario below:
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We are very sorry, but due to restrictions at our venue, we cannot accommodate children.
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Due to safety reasons and / or limited space, we are unable to extend this invitation to children.
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Unfortunately, as much as we’d love to invite all of our friends’ children, we can only accommodate a few close family children. We hope that you will understand this decision and we very much hope you will still be able to join us on our special day.
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In order to keep numbers to a minimum, we can only invite a small number of children. We also thought you might like a day off!
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With respect, we would like our special day to be an adult only occasion.
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In order to allow all guests, including parents, a day of relaxation we have chosen for our wedding day to be an adult-only occasion. We hope this advance notice means you are still able to share our big day and will enjoy having the day off!
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Children outside of the bridal party are unfortunately not invited for the ceremony, but are more than welcome to attend the reception.
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We would like our special day to be an adult only occasion, however we would like to extend the invitation to your children at the evening reception.
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So whether you are restricted by numbers or on a budget, the short paragraphs above are a great, clear way to inform guests of your decision. These options may even give you the inspiration to pen your own passage specific to your situation.
In Summary
We hope that the examples of wording above give you a head-start when it comes to your invitations but, and we're keen to stress this again, it's your day, so do it your way!
If you have any questions at all and feel like you need a little guidance then we'll always be here to help out.