Wether you're going for the classic formal wording or a more relaxed approach be sure to include the following information in your wedding invitations:
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names of the bride’s parents or other hosts (optional)
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both the bride and grooms names as you'd like them to appear on the invitations
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where the ceremony is taking place
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time, date, month and year of the wedding ceremony
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location of the wedding reception if different to the ceremony
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address, email address or telephone number to which guests should reply
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an rsvp reply date
Here are a few examples of day invitation wording depending on the style or approach you may prefer!
DAYTIME INVITATIONS
FORMAL WORDING EXAMPLE - Brides parents hosting
Mr & Mrs James Thatcher
request the pleasure of your company
at the marriage of their daughter
Miss Jane Thatcher to Mr Colin Taylor
At (time), at St Mary’s Church, Milton,
on (date), (month), (year)
Followed by a reception at (reception venue).
Please RSVP by (rsvp date) to (rsvp address)
FORMAL WORDING EXAMPLE - Both parents hosting
Mr & Mrs Thatcher
and
Mr & Mrs Taylor
request the pleasure of your company
at the marriage of their daughter
Jane Thatcher
to Colin Taylor
on (date), (month), (year),
at (time)
At (time), at St Mary’s Church, Milton.
Please RSVP by (rsvp date) to (rsvp address)
RELAXED WORDING EXAMPLE - Bride & Groom hosting
Jane Thatcher
& Colin Taylor
Would love you to join them as they
celebrate their marriage!
At (time), at St Mary’s Church, Milton,
on (date), (month), (year)
Followed by dinner & dancing at (reception venue).
Please send your rsvp back by (rsvp date)
to (rsvp address)
RELAXED WORDING EXAMPLE - Both parents hosting
Together with thier parents
Jane & Colin
Request the pleasure of your company
at their wedding!
At (time), at St Mary’s Church, Milton,
on (date), (month), (year)
Followed by dinner & dancing at (reception venue).
Please send your rsvp back by (rsvp date)
to (rsvp address)
EVENING INVITATIONS
The main variables that will change between the invitations for your day guests and the invitations you'll send to your evening guests will be the locations and timings. Most people include the reception venue only for their evening guests plus a time they would like their evening guests to arrive from. Please see the examples below to see how the wording will differ from your day invitations to your evening invitations.
FORMAL WORDING EXAMPLE - Evening invitation
Mr & Mrs James Thatcher
request the pleasure of your company
at an evening reception to celebrate
the marriage of their daughter
Miss Jane Thatcher to Mr Colin Taylor
At (reception venue) From 7pm onwards
on (date), (month), (year)
RELAXED WORDING EXAMPLE - Evening Invitation
Jane Thatcher
& Colin Taylor
Would love you to join them at an evening reception
to celebrate their marriage!
At (reception venue) from 7pm onwards
on (date), (month), (year)
Followed by drinking, dancing & merriment
RSVP CARDS
The wording of your wedding RSVP can be uniquely yours, there’s no right or wrong way to word your RSVP. There are, however, some common elements that you should include – and some popular ways to phrase the various sections of your wedding RSVP to make it easy for your guests to read and quickly fill in.
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RSVP By Date. Ask your guests to RSVP by a specific date, or you may find yourself chasing RSVPs down from wayward guests.
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Accept or Decline? Ask your guests whether or not they can come to your wedding (and any other associated events happening before or afterwards).
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One song to get your guests on the dancefloor. A great way of getting your wedding guests involved and making sure the dance floor will be buzzing!
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Menu Preference. This section will depend on what you’re serving at the reception. If you’re opting for a buffet, chances are you can leave this section off altogether. If you have multiple menu options ask me about creating a list of menu options on the back of your rsvp cards so that your guests can record their options and send them back to you.
ACCEPT ALTERNATIVES
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Accept with pleasure
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Delighted to attend
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Yes Please!
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We'd love to
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Can't wait
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We will see you there!
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Count me in
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Let the good times roll
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Wouldn't miss it for the world
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Free booze? Yes please!
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Excited to celebrate with you
DECLINE ALTERNATIVES
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Decline with regret
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Regretfully cannot join you
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Sorry, wish we could be there
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Sorry to miss out
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Sad to miss all the fun
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I'll be there in spirit
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Sorry, we can't make it
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Show must go on without me
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Sitting out
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Bummer, can't make it
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Raising a toast from afar