So you’re engaged, amazing! But now you need to order your invitations and you have no idea where to start or what to include on them? Don’t worry I have you covered, in this blog post I will be sharing what you need to include and how you need to word it. 

Invitations often get overlooked and yet they are one of the first things your guests will see on your big day and provide all of the essential information they need to know. 

What to include on your invitation? 

So let’s break down what is the essential information you need on your invitations?

• The Bride & Groom names 
• The wedding date
• The wedding Time (and reception time)
• The Wedding Venue and location
• The Reception venue and location (if it’s different to your ceremony venue)

Now we will go over how you can word these vital pieces of information. This is just advisory though, with the growing trend in minimal invitations couples are a lot less restrained by tradition these days. 

The Bride & Grooms names 

So this one is vital for the invitations, but there is a bit of etiquette involved as well. 

Usually the Bride's name will come first on the invitation. . 

The Bride Parents are hosting

If the Bride's parents are hosting the wedding and they have the same family name then you only include the Bride's first and middle name. 

If the bride has a different Surname then you would include the Brides Full name. For example:

Sally Marie and Jeffory Thomas Turner  Or  Sally Marie Smith and Jeffory Thomas Turner 

You would include the Groom's first middle and Surname regardless of who is hosting. 

The Bride and Groom are hosting

Here you would use both the bride and Groom's full name, first middle and Surname. For example: 

Sally Marie Smith and Jeffory Thomas Turner 

Usually you would avoid using just the first names, especially if they are popular names, but at the end of the day it’s up to you. 

Optional

Who are The wedding Hosts

This only really applies if the parents of the Bride or Groom are hosting the Wedding. If they are here are some tips on how to word your invitation. If someone else’s parents are hosting then its advisable to make it clear who the event hosts are. Here is a breakdown. 

The Parents of the Bride

Mr and Mrs Turner request the request the pleasure of your company at the wedding of their daughter Marie Sophia to Thomas Elliott Jones

Remember the Bride doesn’t add her surname if her parents are hosting, but the Groom has his full name. 

Both The Bride & Groom and their parents 

Together with their families Marie Sophia Turner and Thomas Elliott Jones request the pleasure of your company at their wedding

The Bride and Groom

Marie Sophia Turner and Thomas Elliott Jones request the pleasure of your company at their wedding

The Wedding date and Time

If you want a more formal invitation I suggest that you write the date and time out rather than using numerals. So it would be :

Saturday the thirteenth of May, two thousand twenty two at One O’Clock.

I personally prefer this layout as it looks lovely but you can go for numerals if you have a more informal event. 

Optional: Let your guests know when the event ends

It should also be mentioned that the invitation is the perfect place to let guests know when they should plan to leave. The best way to do this is to say “ carriages at midnight’. That way theres no abandoned guests after the venue has closed. 

The Wedding Venue & Location ( And Reception) 

This is a given but is also the most important part of the invitation, you don’t want guests arriving late because they got confused between St Michaels Church and St Andrews down the road. You want to include the full address with postcode. However you don’t need to include directions on your invitation, if you want to do this you would either put the information on your Details card or your Wedding website. 

You need to include the full address for the wedding ceremony along with the time then if the reception is in a different location you need to include that venue's full address and time separately. 

If a guest is only invited to the reception then only put this address and time on the invitation. You don’t need to include any ceremony information at all. 

Additional extras you can include

You can include a dress code on the invitation if you would like, but I would recommend putting this information on your details card or wedding website. 

So there you have it, not so scary right? There are lots of other things you can add in but as long as your guest knows where to be, when to be there and what day then you’re covered.