Words tool · Free to use
Wedding invitation wording
Say who is hosting, type the names the way you want them printed and in your order, and see the wording laid out three or four ways, with a save-the-date, a reception card and a reply card to match.
How do you word a wedding invitation?
Say who is inviting, who is marrying, what to, when and where, and by when to reply. Who hosts decides the opening: your own names, one family, both families, or parents and stepparents together. The rest follows the same order whichever you choose, and the names go in exactly as the people on them want to be named.
Your wording
- Type both names, the way you want them printed.
- Add the date.
How the layouts are built
- Hosts first: the people hosting, then the request, then your two names, the date, the time and the place.
- Names first: your two names, then “together with” the hosts, then the request and the rest.
- Short: your names, the date and time, and the place, in about four lines.
- Hosts last, when parents are hosting: your names and the day first, and the hosts at the foot.
How this is calculated, beside the other free tools
Formal wording says “request the honor of your presence”; plain wording says “invite you to their wedding”. A date in words is spelled out in full, and a time in words reads “half past four in the afternoon”. None of these is the one right way; each is a choice.
Illustrative example — not a customer result
For the labeled example, with invented names, both families host and a parent who has died is remembered among the hosts. Hosts first, it reads: Grace and Emeka Okafor / and / Lucia Reyes / and the late Tomás Reyes / request the honor of your presence / at the marriage of / Amara Okafor / and / Daniel Reyes / Saturday, the sixteenth of October / two thousand twenty-seven / at half past four in the afternoon / The Old Exchange / Charleston, South Carolina / Reception to follow.
Where this stops
The tool sets out the words you give it. It does not check names, titles or spellings, and it adds no titles of its own, so type each name the way the person wants it printed and ask them to check it. A religious ceremony may have wording of its own; ask your officiant.
Common questions
Who is named first on a wedding invitation?
Whoever you want to lead. The hosts first is one way, your own names first is another, and a short card with the facts is a third. The tool sets out each, with the names in the order you type them, so you can see which reads as your family.
How do I word an invitation when parents are divorced or remarried?
Give each household its own line, in the order you choose, and join them with “and”. Choose Parents and stepparents together, type each line as the people on it want to be named, and check the spelling with each of them before you order the cards.
How do I remember a parent who has died?
Two ways are offered. Among the hosts, the line reads “and the late …”, beside the parent’s family. On its own, a line at the foot reads “In loving memory of …” in the formal wording or “Remembering …” in the plain. Ask the family which they would like.
Should the date be written in words?
Either way works. Words read as more formal (“Saturday, the sixteenth of October”), numbers as plainer (“Saturday, October 16, 2027”). Choose one and use it on the invitation; the save-the-date in numbers is easier to read at a glance.
When should the reply card say to reply by?
Early enough to chase late replies and send your caterer a final count on time. The RSVP deadline tool works that date out from the caterer’s deadline, and this tool offers it for the reply card when you have used both in this browser.