The short answer
Invitation wording starts with who is hosting: the two of you, one or both families, or everyone together. Name the hosts, then the request to attend, your two names, the date and time, the place, and what follows the ceremony. Choose the names, the order and how formal to be with your families; there is no one layout, and stepparents or a parent who has died can be included.
How do you word an invitation by who is hosting?
The first line says who is inviting the guest, and it can be anyone you choose. If the two of you are hosting, your names can come first, or the invitation can open with the request: "Together with their families, Sam Rivera and Alex Chen invite you to their wedding." If one or both families are hosting, their names lead, and yours follow the request.
Hosting on an invitation is a matter of who you want named, not who paid. Ask your families how they would like to appear, and settle it before you write the rest, since the host line decides the grammar of the lines under it.
- The two of you, with or without "together with their families"
- One family as hosts, with the other named after your names
- Both families as hosts, one line each
- All the parents named, including stepparents
- No host line at all, opening with the request
How do you include stepparents and divorced parents?
When parents are divorced or have remarried, each household can have its own line, in the order the families agree. A parent and stepparent can share a line, such as "Ana and David Brooks", or each parent can be named on their own. If names would make the host lines crowded, "Together with their families" names nobody and leaves nobody out.
Ask each parent how they would like their name to appear before you print, and show them the draft. A name written the way someone uses it matters more to them than the layout, and asking avoids a surprise at the stationer’s proof.
How do you remember a parent who has died?
If you want a parent who has died named on the invitation, one option is a line under your name, such as "child of Ana Rivera and the late José Rivera", using son, daughter or child as you prefer. Another is a line on the program, a moment in the ceremony or a note on your wedding website, which leaves the invitation for the people hosting.
Talk to the rest of the family before you decide, since a surviving parent or siblings may feel strongly either way. Whatever you choose, check the spelling and the wording with them.
How should your names be written on the invitation?
Write your names as you use them: full names, first names only, with or without titles, with the name each of you will use after the wedding or the one you use now. The order of your two names is your choice. If the invitation names your parents, your own first and middle names can stand alone, since the host line already gives the family names.
If either of you uses a title, such as Dr. or Mx., decide whether to use titles for both or neither, so the line reads evenly. Check each spelling, accent and hyphen with the person before the proof is approved.
How do you write the date and time on an invitation?
A formal invitation can spell the date and time out: "Saturday, the sixteenth of October, two thousand twenty-seven, at half past four in the afternoon". A plain one can use numerals: "Saturday, October 16, 2027, at 4:30 p.m." Either is fine; choose one style and use it on the save-the-date, the invitation and the reply card.
Check the weekday against the date in a calendar before you approve the proof, and write the time guests should be seated if it differs from the start. If the reception is at another place or time, put it on its own line or its own card.
What goes on the reception card, reply card and save-the-date?
A reception card names the place and time of the reception when it is not on the invitation. A reply card asks for a reply by a date, with a line for names, whether each person will attend, and meal choices if you are offering them. Set the reply-by date from your vendors’ final-count deadline rather than from a rule; the RSVP deadline tool works it back for you.
A save-the-date carries less: your names, the date, the town and a line saying an invitation will follow. If you have a wedding website, its address can go on the save-the-date and the reply card, so guests can reply or find details there.
Invitation wording sheet
Use one row for a decision or deliverable. Keep unanswered items visible. Download the blank worksheet to open in Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets.
On a small screen, swipe the worksheet sideways to see the remaining columns.
| Line | Your wording | Checked by |
|---|---|---|
| Host line | — | — |
| Request line | — | — |
| Your names | — | — |
| A line remembering someone, if any | — | — |
| Date | — | — |
| Time | — | — |
| Place | — | — |
| Reception line or card | — | — |
| Reply-by date | — | — |
| Website or details | — | — |
A message you can make your own
Change the wording to suit you, fill in anything in brackets and keep the questions that apply. You decide what to send and send it yourself.
We are writing the invitation wording and want to get your names right. Could you tell us how you would like your name to appear, whether you would like to be named as a host, and whether there is anyone you would like remembered on the invitation or in the program? We will show you the draft before anything goes to print.
Common questions
Who is named first on a wedding invitation?
Whoever you choose leads a wedding invitation: the people hosting, such as one or both families, your own two names, or no names at all, opening with "Together with their families". The hosts can also sign it off at the foot instead. Ask your families how they would like to appear before you write the rest, since the first line shapes the lines under it.
What does "together with their families" mean on an invitation?
"Together with their families" on an invitation says the two of you are inviting guests with your families’ support, without naming the parents. It suits families with stepparents or divorced parents, and couples hosting themselves, because it names nobody and leaves nobody out.
How do you word an invitation when parents are divorced?
When parents are divorced, each household can have its own host line, in the order the families agree, with a stepparent beside a parent if they would like. If that makes the lines crowded, "Together with their families" names nobody. Show each parent the draft before you print.
Should the reception go on the invitation or a separate card?
The reception can go on the invitation if it follows straight after the ceremony at the same place, as a line such as "Dinner and dancing to follow". If it is somewhere else or later, a separate reception card keeps the invitation readable. Both are fine; it depends on how much the card has to say.
How do you write the time on a wedding invitation?
Write the time on a wedding invitation spelled out, such as "half past four in the afternoon", or in numerals, such as "4:30 p.m.". Use the same style on the save-the-date and the reply card, and give the time guests should be seated if it is earlier than the start.
Can you name a parent who has died on a wedding invitation?
You can name a parent who has died on a wedding invitation, such as "child of Ana Rivera and the late José Rivera" under your name. You can also remember them in the program, the ceremony or on your website instead. Talk to the family first and check the wording with them.