The wedding invitation is the first hint your guests will have about the style, tone and theme of your big day. Every aspect of it will have an impact, from the colours to the materials. Even the font will contribute to a great first impression and will inform your guests what to expect.
Choosing your words carefully
Of all the elements of your wedding invitation, the wording is probably the most important. As well as providing crucial information on practicalities, the text also confers information about the tone of the day and the theme of the wedding. Your words will say something about you, so it’s important to think carefully about them.
However, sometimes you can get tangled up in trying to be too clever. When writing your invitations, @PracticalWed says:
“No matter what beautiful form they come in (old fashioned post, email, on a balloon, sent by a flock of pigeons, unrolled as a poster) they still need to convey some basic information.”
So don’t get carried away with literary flourishes. You wouldn’t be the first to forget to tell your guests when and where the celebration is happening.
Traditional wording
Traditionally, it’s the bride’s family who hosts and pays for the wedding day. As a result, wedding invitations in the past often began with ‘Mr and Mr Smith request the pleasure of your company at the marriage of their daughter’.
More recently, it’s become common for the groom’s family to contribute to the wedding as well. In these cases a lot of couples opt in include both sets of names at the beginning of their invite. Using this sort of wording instantly tells your guests that the wedding day is going to adhere to tradition. They’ll probably expect a full sit down meal, a big white cake, a present table and all the bells and whistles of a traditional wedding day.
Keeping it casual
If you’ve decided to go for a less traditional, more casual wedding celebration, you may want to avoid formal text altogether. Instead of listing your parents as hosts of the wedding, why not host it yourselves?
You can also provide details of the wedding in a less formal way, thereby signalling to your guests that there’s no need to stand on ceremony on the day itself. After all, you’re writing to the people you love most in the world, so why use formal language anyway? Listing yourself and your partner as wedding hosts can also work well if one or both sets of parents are divorced or if your family background is more complex.
The language you use in your wedding invitation will help you tell your guests what sort of day to expect. Make sure you get it just right and set the perfect tone for your wedding.