10 Tips for wording formal wedding invitations
Today many Bride’s and Grooms are opting to go for more of a relaxed feel to the wording on their Wedding invitations. However, if you prefer to stay traditional and create a formal invitation, check out the below 10 tips to help you get started!
1. Spell it out:
If you have chosen to keep your invitations traditional and formal, almost every word on your wedding invitation will be spelled out. Things such as the wedding date, time, year, words and numbers in the venue’s address should all be spelled out in full. You may still use titles such as Mr. and Mrs. in their short forms.
2. Where do the commas and periods go?
A line break in a formal invitation acts a commas and periods. You can use periods in titles such as Mr. and Mrs. and you can also use commas when it comes to separating information in the middle of the line. Otherwise commas and periods are not needed at the end of a line on a formal invitation.
3. Are last names needed?
If you are including your parents names on the invitation (i.e. Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Mr. and Mrs. Johnson), then you do not need to include the last name for the bride or groom unless it is different from the listed last names of the parents.
4. Who comes first?
The bride’s name comes first, of course!
5. How do you indicate divorced parents on an invitation?
If including parents names on the invitation, the names of married couples will be featured on the same line together, and the names of divorced couples will be featured on separate lines.
6. What should I capitalize?
You do not need to capitalize the first word of each line. You should only capitalize the very first word of the invitation as well as all proper nouns (person, place or thing). You can also capitalize any line that is on its own if it would be the start of a new sentence.
7. Should I use “The honour of your presence”, or “the pleasure of your company” ?
When requesting the attendance of your guests, “the honour of your presence” is used when the Wedding will take place in a place of worship. Otherwise, “the pleasure of your company” is typically used.
8. Honor or Honour? Favor or Favour?
“Honour” and “Favour” are the British versions of “Honor” and “Favor” . The choice is ultimately up to you when choosing which version to use, just make sure that you are consistent throughout the invitations. However, the British spellings are more formal and more dignified.
9. What is the proper word to join the Bride and Groom’s names?
Using the word “to” between the Bride and Groom’s names indicate that it is a Christian wedding. The word “and” indicates a Jewish wedding. “And” can also be used on invitations given by the Bride and Groom rather than the parents.
10. Does “and” belong in the year?
The word “and” does not have to be included when writing out the year. When adding the word “and” in numbers, it actually represents a decimal point. The proper form would be “two thousand seventeen”, however “two thousand and seventeen” is becoming more and more popular. The choice is yours!
Graphically Yours,
Jenelle
