Wedding Etiquette: Invitation Wording

Wedding Invitations.
One of the most significant aspects of your wedding preparations is the invitation.  And I am not just saying that because I am a designer!  The invitation provides your guests with important information about your big day. 
Despite the wide variety in wedding ceremony types, most invitations differ only slightly from the more formal traditions and keep the same general anatomy:

How that we understand a few more details about how wedding stationery is laid out and the importance of each item, it is easy to see how we can follow and break the rules to match any wedding atmosphere.  Below are a few examples that I often give to my brides as they prepare their own wording.

FORMAL: 

BRIDE'S PARENTS HOSTING:

Mr. & Mrs. Jonathan Whittaker
request the pleasure of your company
at the marriage of their daughter
Ashlee Jane Whittaker
to
Calvin Samuel Gray
Saturday, the seventh of July
two thousand and sixteen
four o'clock in the afternoon 
Villa Siena

890 W. Elliot Road

Gilbert, Arizona 85233

 Reception to follow 

BOTH PARENTS ARE HOSTING:

Mr. & Mrs. Jonathan Whittaker

together with Mr. & Mrs. Oliver Gray
request the pleasure of your company
at the marriage of their children
Ashlee Jane Whittaker
and
Calvin Samuel Gray
Saturday, the seventh of July
two thousand and sixteen
four o'clock in the afternoon 
Villa Siena

890 W. Elliot Road

Gilbert, Arizona 85233

 Reception to follow 

COUPLE IS HOSTING:

The honor of your presence is

requested at the marriage of
Ashlee Jane Whittaker
and
Calvin Samuel Gray
Saturday, the seventh of July
two thousand and sixteen
four o'clock in the afternoon
 Villa Siena

890 W. Elliot Road

Gilbert, Arizona 85233

 Reception to follow

CASUAL:

Again, even casual invitations follow a the same anatomy as the formal invitation examples, but the word selection creates the casual atmosphere.  "Pleasure" & "company" replace "honor" & "presence", and reception specifics are given (dinner, dancing, appetizers, etc). See some examples below:

CASUAL AND PERSONAL

Together with their families
Ashlee Jane Whittaker
and
Calvin Samuel Gray
request the pleasure of your company
at the celebration of their marriage

Saturday, the seventh of July
two thousand and sixteen
four o'clock in the afternoon 
Villa Siena

890 W. Elliot Road

Gilbert, Arizona 85233

Dinner, Dancing & Merriment to follow

CASUAL AND SWEET

Because you have shared in their lives
and supported their love

Ashlee Jane Whittaker
and
Calvin Samuel Gray

invite you to join them
at the celebration of their marriage

Saturday, the seventh of July
two thousand and sixteen
four o'clock in the afternoon 
Villa Siena

890 W. Elliot Road

Gilbert, Arizona 85233

Dessert reception to follow

FUN & PLAYFUL:

There are even more fun ways to "break" the rules of wedding traditions so long as you keep with the general anatomy.  Below are some examples of playful and humorous invitations

CATCHY WITH SOME SLANG

Ashlee Jane Whittaker

and
Calvin Samuel Gray

are tying the knot!

Saturday, the seventh of July
two thousand and sixteen
four o'clock in the afternoon 
Villa Siena

890 W. Elliot Road

Gilbert, Arizona 85233

 Dessert and Dancing to follow

RHYMES WITH FAMILY

Please join us
For a celebration of love, friendship,
laughter, and family as

Ashlee Jane Whittaker
and
Calvin Samuel Gray

join hands in marriage

Saturday, the seventh of July
two thousand and sixteen
four o'clock in the afternoon 
Villa Siena

890 W. Elliot Road

Gilbert, Arizona 85233

Memory making and dinner to follow