If you've chosen the style of wedding invitations you'd like and perused our fab list of stationers available in Ireland, then it's time to decide on your wedding invitation wording. We've put together the perfect guide below to help you minimise stress and pick the words that will set the perfect tone for your wedding day, and communicate all the most important information.

Where to Start

Writing a wedding invitation can actually be fairly daunting. Many couples aren't sure of the etiquette and are a little confused as to how to address a wedding invite. There are so many options and just as many rules - it can be tough to wrap your head around the dos and don'ts! But there's really no cause for worry, this is what we're here for!

There are two questions you need to ask yourself before deciding on your wedding invitation wording:

• Is your wedding going to be a formal and traditional day or a more informal affair?
• Who is paying for hosting the wedding - is it you and your partner, or are your parents helping out with the bill? Perhaps it's a combination of you and your parents paying for the day.

The style of your wedding will set the tone for your wedding invitation wording. Formal language is best for traditional affairs, but if you're planning a more casual day, you have scope to be a bit more cheeky or inventive with your wording.

Wedding Invitation Wording: The 5 Essentials

These five details absolutely, positively must be referenced in your invitation:

• The specific part of the day that the invitation covers - include whether the invite is for the wedding ceremony and reception, reception only or evening reception only.
• The name and address of the ceremony and reception venue - you want people to be able to find you!
• The date and time of the wedding. It's a good idea to word the time as "3pm sharp" for civil ceremonies where the bride is not allowed be late.
• RSVP information - this should include details of where the reply should be sent. If you are not including an RSVP card, then an email address is the other really common option.
• RSVP deadline - this is usually four weeks before the wedding. When the final numbers are needed will depend on your venue or caterer.

Wedding Invitation Wording: 6 Optional Extras

These five details may or may not need to be included in your invitation:

1. If you're having a wedding gift registry, you may want to include details on the invitation. Try something like, "Your presence at our wedding is the greatest gift of all. However, if you wish to honour us with a gift, we have registered a list with (shop)," or for a more fun, less formal option, "We are extremely lucky to have love, laughter and house full of furniture, so if you'd like to help us celebrate with a gift, we have registered a list with (shop)." 
2. Information on the dress code. If you want your guests to wear something other than the standard wedding attire, then you will need to include it on the invitation. The dress code can be specified with a simple, "Dress: Formal" or "Dress: Smart Casual" at the end of the invitation.
3. The URL of your wedding website, if you've created one. This is an especially good idea if you're having a destination wedding. This way, you can direct your guests to the wedding website for more in-depth travel information (the closest airport, a list of hotels etc.) and avoid having to enclose it with your wedding invitation.
4. A prompt for dietary requirements. It's a good idea to ask guests to send information about dietary requirements via your invitation. The wording for this is, "Please let us know if you have any dietary requirements or restrictions."
5. A line to specify that yours is an adult-only or child-free wedding (we have a whole post on that). This could be, "Please note that this invitation is extended to adults only", or for a casual or informal invitation, "In order to allow all guests, including parents, an evening 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 evening off!" If children are invited to the ceremony, but not the reception, you can specify, "Wedding ceremony followed by adult-only reception."
6. A line to request money as a gift. It's an awkward one for sure, but you can do it politely and some guests will appreciate guidance on what you'd truly like. Try this: "Cash gifts are welcome but not expected, and will be put towards our honeymoon" or "Your presence at our wedding is the greatest gift of all. However, if you wish to honour us with a gift, a cash gift would be very welcome."

Wedding Invitation Templates

Here, we've put together some basic templates for wedding invitation wording, which can easily be customised. For example, you may also want to specify church wedding or civil ceremony in your invitation - we've simply used "ceremony" here. For LGBTQ+ couples, change up the son/daughter or bride/groom as they apply.

1. Basic Invitation Wording - Parents Paying for the Wedding

__________________ [names of those hosting]
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter
__________________ [bride's first and middle names]
to__________________ [groom's full name]
_________, the __ of ________ [day of the week, day and month of wedding]
at ____ o’clock [time of wedding] in the _________ [time of day]
___________________ [location of wedding ceremony]
_________, ____________ [city / town where wedding ceremony will take place]
followed by a reception at
___________________ [location of wedding reception]
_________, ____________ [city / town where wedding  reception will take place]
RSVP [date RSVP is needed by / how to RSVP] 

2. Invitation Wording - One or Both Sets of Parents Paying for Part of the Wedding

__________________ [names of the bride and groom]
together with their parents

[optional; add in parents names here]
request the honour of your presence at their marriage
_________, the __ of ________ [day of the week, day and month of wedding]
at ____ o’clock [time of wedding] in the _________ [time of day]
___________________ [location of wedding ceremony]
_________, ____________ [city / town where wedding ceremony will take place]
followed by a reception at
___________________ [location of wedding reception]
_________, ____________ [city / town where wedding  reception will take place]
RSVP [date RSVP is needed by / how to RSVP] 

3. Invitation Wording - Couple Paying for the Wedding

__________________ [names of the bride and groom]
request the honour of your presence at their marriage
_________, the __ of ________ [day of the week, day and month of wedding]
at ____ o’clock [time of wedding] in the _________ [time of day]
___________________ [location of wedding ceremony]
_________, ____________ [city / town where wedding ceremony will take place]
followed by a reception at
___________________ [location of wedding reception]
_________, ____________ [city / town where wedding  reception will take place]
RSVP [date RSVP is needed by / how to RSVP] 

4. Wedding Invitation Including the Name of the Guests

__________________ [names of those hosting]
request the honour of the presence of
__________________ [guest names]
at the marriage of their daughter
__________________ [bride's first and middle names]
to__________________ [groom's full name]
_________, the __ of ________ [day of the week, day and month of wedding]
at ____ o’clock [time of wedding] in the _________ [time of day]
___________________ [location of wedding ceremony]
_________, ____________ [city / town where wedding ceremony will take place]
followed by a reception
___________________ [location of wedding reception]
_________, ____________ [city / town where wedding  reception will take place]
RSVP [date RSVP is needed by / how to RSVP] 

5. Full Weekend Wedding Invite

__________________ [names of those hosting]
request the honour of the presence of
__________________ [guest names]
to celebrate the marriage of their daughter
__________________ [bride's first and middle names]
to__________________ [groom's full name]
_________, the __ of ________ [day of the week, day and month for the first day]
through _________, the __ of ________[day of the week, day and month of wedding for the last day]

at  ___________________ [location of wedding venue]
_________, ____________ [city / town where wedding will take place]
RSVP [date RSVP is needed by / how to RSVP] 

6. Evening Invitation Only

__________________ [names of those hosting]
request the honour of the presence of
__________________ [guest names]
at an evening reception to celebrate the marriage of their daughter

_________, the __ of ________ [day of the week, day and month of wedding]
at ____ PM [time of reception] at
___________________ [location of wedding reception]
_________, ____________ [city / town where wedding  reception will take place]
RSVP [date RSVP is needed by / how to RSVP] 

7. Modern, Semi-formal Wedding Invitation

This one works well for divorced or remarried parents, or if both families are contributing towards the wedding.

Together with their families,
__________________
and __________________ [couple's full names] 

are delighted to invite  __________________ [guest's name] 

to celebrate their marriage
_________, the __ of ________ [day of the week, day and month of wedding]
at ____ [time of wedding]
___________________ [location of wedding ceremony]
_________, ____________ [city / town where wedding ceremony will take place]
followed by dinner, drinks and dancing at
___________________ [location of wedding reception]
_________, ____________ [city / town where wedding  reception will take place]
RSVP [date RSVP is needed by / how to RSVP] 

8. Fun, Laid-back Wedding Invitation

Join us for a wonderful day of laughter and merriment
_________, the __ of ________ [day of the week, day and month of wedding],

beginning with a ceremony
at ____ o’clock [time of wedding] in the _________ [time of day]
___________________ [location of wedding ceremony]
_________, ____________ [city / town where wedding ceremony will take place]
followed by dinner, drinks and killer dance moves at
___________________ [location of wedding reception]
_________, ____________ [city / town where wedding  reception will take place]
RSVP [date RSVP is needed by / how to RSVP] 

9. Wedding Invitation for a Second Marriage

__________________ [names of the bride and groom]
request the honour of your presence at their marriage
_________, the __ of ________ [day of the week, day and month of wedding]
at ____ o’clock [time of wedding] in the _________ [time of day]
___________________ [location of wedding ceremony]
_________, ____________ [city / town where wedding ceremony will take place]
followed by a reception at
___________________ [location of wedding reception]
_________, ____________ [city / town where wedding  reception will take place]
RSVP [date RSVP is needed by / how to RSVP] 

Wedding Invitation Wording: Informal Alternatives

Here, we've put together some informal variations on the formal wording, "request the honour of your presence":

• "request the pleasure of your company to celebrate the marriage of" which has a slightly more relaxed tone, yet is still formal.
• "invite you to celebrate the marriage/wedding of" is a less formal option.
• "invite you to the wedding celebration of" is another one that works well as a less formal option.
• "invite you to share in the festivities" also works well for informal weddings or for couples who are having a party after getting married at an earlier date.
• "would love you to join them in celebrating their wedding" is suitable for casual and informal weddings, and sets the tone for a fun wedding.

Adding Personality to your Wedding Invitations

Every year, couples push the boundaries of what can be included in a wedding invitation, we've seen lots of fun and original invitations among our real weddings. Check out the biggest stationery trends and our latest paper-inspired features for lots of ideas for making your wedding invitations your own!

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