Wording The Invitation

Years ago, choosing the wording for a wedding invitation was simple. The bride's parents requested the honor of your presence at the marriage of their daughter and somebody's son on a certain day at a certain time. Nowadays, it's not so easy. With the added challenges of divorce, remarriage, and various individuals contributing funds to pay for the wedding, your invitation can end up four pages long! Here are some guidelines for wording a modem day invitation. In the interest of space, lines that normally would appear underneath each other are separated by a slash (/).

Standard wording: Mr. and Mrs. David Callahan / request the honor of your presence / at the marriage of their daughter / Sara Claire / to / Justin Winford Pierce (optional: son of Rosemarie and Parker Pierce).....

When both sets of parents are funding the wedding: Mr. and Mrs. David Callahan / and / Mr. and Mrs. Parker Pierce / request the honor of your presence / at the marriage of their children / Sara Claire and Justin Winford.

When the bride and groom are funding the wedding themselves: The honor of your presence / is requested at the wedding of/ Sara Claire Callahan / and / Justin Winford Pierce....

When the bride's parents are divorced, the invitation should be issued by the parent who raised her: Mrs. Meredith Smith Callahan / requests the honor of your presence / at the wedding of her daughter / Sara Claire .....

When divorced parents host the wedding together, omit the "Mr." and "Mrs." titles: Meredith Smith Callahan / and / David Raymond Callahan / request the honor of your presence / at the marriage of their daughter / Sara Claire...

If a divorced mother has remarried, use both of her last names: Meredith Callahan Romano / and / David Elliott Callahan / request the honor of your presence / at the marriage of their daughter / Sara Claire...

If a divorced parent and new stepparent are hosting the wedding: Mr. and Mrs. Clifford Romano / request the honor of your presence / at the marriage of Mrs.Romano's daughter / Sara Claire.... (or, at the marriage of their daughter, if the stepparent and bride are close).

When a parent is deceased, do not mention him/her on the wedding invitation. A mention can be made in another location - perhaps a note like, "In loving memory of David Callahan" on the wedding ceremony program.

When divorced parents fund a wedding together, but are not on good terms and do not want their names to appear together on the invitation, let one parent issue the invitation to the ceremony, and the other issue the invitation to the reception. Print two cards, and enclose together in one envelope, with all the normal accompanying RSVP cards, etc. The reception invitation can read: Mr. David ; Elliott Callahan / requests the pleasure of your company / at a reception honoring the newlywed couple / at Whispering Pines Country Club / Saturday, the fifth of May / at six o'clock...

When the groom's parents are divorced, and would still like to be included on the invitation: Mr. and Mrs. David Callahan / request the honor of your presence / at the marriage of their daughter / Sara Claire / to / Justin Winfield Pierce / son of/ Mrs. Rosemarie Pierce Beecher / and / Mr. Parker Stephen Pierce....

When the bride's mother goes by her maiden name, list the parents on separate lines: Ms. Meredith Smith / and / Mr. David Callahan / request the honor of your presence / at the marriage of their daughter / Sara Claire....

When relatives other than parents host the wedding, substitute the relationship for the words "their daughter." Mr. Jared Callahan / requests the honor of your presence / at the marriage of his sister / Sara Claire Callahan ....

When the bride has been married before, and still goes by her ex-husband's last name: Mr. and Mrs. David Callahan / request the honor of your presence / at the marriage of their daughter / Sara Callahan Morgan / to / Justin Winfield Pierce....

For sisters having a double wedding: Mr. and Mrs. David Callahan / request the honor of your presence / at the marriage of their daughters / Sara Claire / to / Justin Winfield Pierce / and / Ellen Genevieve / to / Sam Nicholas Lawler...