Wedding invitation etiquette is important to adhere to for many different reasons. Even if your wedding is going to be casual, it's important to follow these tried and true methods of honoring the people who are funding the wedding, correctly inviting your guests and handling sticky social situations. Invitation etiquette is as simple as referring to sample invitations and taking note of their format and style.
Classic wedding invitations are worded in a specific way to honor the people who are helping you put on your wedding. Traditionally, this is the bride's parents and the wording of the invitation would go something like this:
Mr. and Mrs. Harry Klein request your presence at the marriage of their daughter Sandra Marie Klein to Mr. Robert Jacob Smith on Saturday, March 16th, two thousand and ten, at ten o'clock in the morning.
This information would be followed by the address of the ceremony. While this traditional wedding invitation format still works for some couples, others need to include the groom's parents or themselves as hosts of the wedding.
If the groom's parents are helping host the wedding, the first part of the invitation should read:
Mr. and Mrs. Harry Klein and Mr. and Mrs. John Smith request your presence at the marriage of their children Sandra Marie Klein and Robert Jacob Smith, etc.
If the bride and groom are hosting the wedding along with their parents, the invitation reads as follows:
Sandra Marie Klein and Robert Jacob Smith together with our parents invite you to share the beginning of our news lives, etc.
There are additional formats if the parents of the bride or the groom are divorced, if there are deceased parents or if there are other people besides parents hosting the wedding. Any basic wedding etiquette book will help you format your custom invitation.
The other important part of invitation etiquette is addressing wedding invitation envelopes properly. Wedding invitations include two envelopes, and each envelope is addressed in a slightly different way. The outer envelope includes the address and first names of the guests. The inner envelope just has the formal name of the guest.
For example, a married couple would receive an invitation with an outer envelope with "Mr. and Mrs. Hank Jones" and the inside envelope would say "Mr. and Mrs. Jones." Single guests should be addressed "Ms. Mary White" on the outer envelope and "Ms. White" on the inner envelope.
When in doubt, check with a wedding etiquette guide. Weddings are one of the few occasions in life where people put an emphasis on good manners and social customs. Be sure that you're treating your guests with respect with proper wedding invitation etiquette.
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