Wording Your Wedding Invitations

Wording your wedding invitations can be a tricky business!

To help you get started we thought we’d compile a few useful hints & tips..

Before you begin, you’ll need to choose a font. We have a selection of different fonts to choose from but if you have a specific font in mind then we’ll do our best to find it!

Script fonts work beautifully in wedding stationery (we feel they capture the old fashioned idea of hand written letters) but contemporary fonts can look lovely too. Why not try mixing a contemporary, harder font with a script font?

Once you’ve chosen you font you can get started with the actual wedding invitation wording!

Here’s a few things to consider:

– Who are the invitations coming from?

Traditionally wedding invitations were sent from the Bride’s parents. Nowadays many couple choose to send the invitations from themselves as a couple instead, or ‘together with their families’.

– Names

Do you want to include the Bride’s full name (including surname?) or just her first & middle names (this is traditional if the invitations are coming from her parents & she shares their surname)? Sometimes couples even choose to use shorter nicknames in their invitations, particularly if their invitations are informal (for, example – Lou & Ben, rather than Louise & Benjamin.)

– Locations

Is everything happening at the same place or do you have more than one venue? (For example, a church & a separate location for the wedding reception.)

– Dates & times

How to write the date & time depends on your preference & the style of invitation you’re having. (We think it’s rather lovely when times are written out in full, for example ‘two o’clock in the afternoon’.)

– RSVP information

Do you need your guests to let you know if they can attend? If so, you probably have a deadline for when you need this information (if you’re not sure, ask your venue or any suppliers when they need the information & then add a couple of weeks. There are normally a few stragglers you’ll have to chase up!)

How would you like your guests to reply? We like the idea of providing your postal address so people can return an RSVP card (we’ve also found that including a pre printed card with each invitation speeds up people’s reply time!) If it’s more convenient you could include a reply email address or telephone number instead though.

– Any other information you need from you guests

If you’re providing your guests with food you’ll definitely need to ask about dietary requirements. Are you offering your guests a menu choice before the day? If you are then make sure you ask them to include this information in their reply.

– Evening reception

Are you inviting some guests to your evening reception only? If you are, make sure you clearly state what they’re being invited to!

Here are a couple of examples to provide a little inspiration:

(Sent from the Bride’s parents, written in font 12.)

(Sent from the Bride & Groom, written in font 10.)

A final tip:

A question we’re often asked here in the Hummingbird studio is how to politely let your guests know that their children are not invited! This is always a bit of a delicate issue –  you don’t want to offend anybody but you need to make it clear who is included in your invitation. Here are a few suggestions:

‘We’ve chosen for our wedding celebrations to be for adults only. We hope that you’ll take this as a chance to relax & enjoy the day!’

‘Although we would like to include children in our day, we’re only able to accommodate the children of our close family.’

‘Respectfully, we’re unable to include children in our celebrations.’

‘We hope you’ll understand that we’ve chosen for our wedding to be for adults only. We look forward to spending time with your little ones soon!’