Wedding Invitation Wording Samples

You can have the most gorgeous invites ever, but when it comes down to it, they need to be informative. They should spell out all essential wedding info -- who's getting married, who's hosting and where, when and what time the ceremony will take place and where.

Traditional Wording

In its simplest form, this is the standard wording template:

Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan River [proper names of those hosting]
request the honor of your presence [request line]*
at the marriage of their daughter [list relationship of the bride to the host]
Elizabeth Anne [bride's first and middle names only]
to Joshua James Smith [groom's full name]
Saturday the sixth of May [day of the week, day and month of wedding]
at six o'clock in the evening [time of wedding and time of day]
Plaza Hotel [name of the location of wedding]
New York, New York [city and state where wedding will take place]
Reception to follow [reception line]

*Knot Note: If the bride's parents are hosting, it is customary to leave off the bride's last name. If the groom's parents are involved, the bride's last name should be included.

One set of parents is hosting your wedding:

Mr. and Mrs. John L. Smith 
request the honor of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter
Mary Ann
and
Edward Malcolm Jones

Both sets of parents are jointly hosting:

Mr. and Mrs. John L. Smith 
and
Mr. and Mrs. Mark Franklin Jones
request the honor of your presence
at the marriage of their children
Mary Ann Smith
and
Edward Malcolm Jones

The couple is hosting the wedding:

Ms. Mary Ann Smith 
and
Mr. Edward Malcolm Jones
request the honor of your presence
at their marriage

Everyone is hosting:

Ms. Mary Ann Smith 
and 
Mr. Edward Malcolm Jones 
together with their parents 
Mr. and Mrs. John L. Smith 
and 
Mr. and Mrs. Mark Franklin Jones 
request the honor of your presence 
at their marriage