Texoma Bride Guide | Issue 007 | Summer/Fall 2020

INVITATIONS
THE ANATOMY OF A WEDDING INVITATION
The wording on your wedding invitation should reflect the formality, location, and hosts of
your wedding. There are many different approaches-- simple, traditional, and even fun -- that
allow you to express the type of event your guests can expect. Our advice is to come up with
wording that makes sense to you and your partner, and causes minimal conflicts with your
family.
THE HOST LINE:
As the opening of your invitation, this is where you specify who is throwing the party.
INVITATION:
This is where you let people know what is going on. “The honor of your presence” is only used
if the ceremony is taking place in a house of worship. “The pleasure of your company” is used in
all other venues.
Depending on how you wish to word the invitation, this line and the name line can switch.
NAMES:
This lets your guests know who is getting married. Traditionally, the bride’s name goes first,
and only the first and middle names are printed followed by the groom’s full name on a
different line. But the rules are changing, and it is up to you what you put here. If you’re slightly
embarrassed by your middle name, leave it off.
CEREMONY INFORMATION:
This is the crucial part of the invitation. This lets your guests know the date, time and
location of your wedding. It is useful to list the address of the venue, but sometimes this is
excluded.
RECEPTION INFORMATION:
If your reception is in the same location as your ceremony, your job is easy. Just include
‘Reception to Follow’ on your invitation. This lets your guests know they won’t have to drive
anywhere following the ceremony.
However, if your ceremony and reception are at two different locations, you just need to add a
couple extra words to your invitation, for example ‘Reception immediately following the
ceremony,’ and include the name of the reception venue. We also recommend including an
insert with directions to the venue, as well as providing your guests with maps from the
ceremony to the reception venue at the ceremony.
Although there are many ways to create invitations, some things never change.
For example, you should not include your gift registry information on your save
the dates or invitations. Your family and wedding party can fill in any inquisitive
guests, and you can also put in on your personal wedding website if you have
one.
Speaking of wedding websites, it is perfectly acceptable to put the link on your
save the dates, just not your invitations.
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