Figuring out wedding invitation wording–especially in situations involving divorce or death–can be extremely confusing. At a time when emotions are running high and you’re trying your best to not only include those you love in your big day, but deal with the financial awkwardness that can sometimes arise when figuring out who is hosting what, the last thing you want to do is have to worry about whether or not your wedding invitation wording is wrong.
Try our new wedding invitation wording generator to help you find your PERFECT wording.
While there are some very general yet still confusing rules for wedding invitation wording (click the link to read all about them), there are times when some very unique situations can throw even the most skilled etiquette experts for a loop. I’ve outlined a few of those tricky wedding invitation wording issues, below, which will hopefully help shed some light on different options you have for various setups. One thing I will say is that even though wedding invitation wording can feel like a math equation with some basic rules you should definitely try to follow, there are some situations (like the reader submitted question at the end of this piece) that call for intuition vs. tradition. At the end of the day YOU and your groom and your families should feel comfortable with what is written, and nobody else. If something sounds off to you even though some experts say it’s “right,” don’t follow it. Trust your instincts and go with the wedding invitation wording that feels good. That’s the bottom line.
Do you have a hard-to-figure out situation that you need wedding invitation wording for? Let us know in the comments section and we’ll try our best to help! In the meantime, here are a few example of potentially tricky situations, and some options for how to word them.
Looking for more wedding invitation info? Find out how much wedding invitations cost here as well as other practical wedding invitation advice.
Situation: The hosting parents are divorced and not remarried, and the mother kept her married name
Ms. Lydia Doe
Mr. William Doe
request the pleasure of your company
at the marriage of their daughter
Jane Mary Doe
to
John Michael Smith
Saturday, the twentieth of June
two thousand and fifteen
at half-past six o’clock
The Gramercy Hotel
New York, NY
Situation: The hosting parents are divorced and both are remarried.
(Note that the mother still comes first in all divorced situations).
Mr. and Mrs. Casey Jones
Mr. and Mrs. William Doe
request the pleasure of your company
at the marriage of their daughter
Jane Mary
to
John Michael Smith
Saturday, the twentieth of June
two thousand and fifteen
at half-past six o’clock
The Gramercy Hotel
New York, NY
Situation: Both sets of parents are hosting
Mr. and Mrs. William Doe and
Mr. and Mrs. Adam Smith
request the pleasure of your company
at the marriage of their children
Jane Mary Doe
to
John Michael Smith
Saturday, the twentieth of June
two thousand and fifteen
at half-past six o’clock
The Gramercy Hotel
New York, NY
Situation: A living parent is hosting
If the father of the bride is hosting…
Mr. William Doe
requests the pleasure of your company
at the marriage of his daughter
Jane Mary
daughter of the late Mrs. Lydia Doe
to
John Michael Smith
Saturday, the twentieth of June
two thousand and fifteen
at half-past six o’clock
The Gramercy Hotel
New York, NY
If the mother of the groom is hosting along with the bride’s parents…
Mr. and Mrs. William Doe
together with
Mrs. Margaret Smith
request the pleasure of your company
at the wedding of their children
Jane Mary Doe
to
John Michael Smith
son of the late Mr. Adam Smith
Saturday, the twentieth of June
two thousand and fifteen
at half-past six o’clock
The Gramercy Hotel
New York, NY
Situation: Both parents are deceased
If the bride’s parents are deceased…
The pleasure of your company is requested
at the marriage of
Jane Mary Doe
daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. William Doe
to
John Michael Smith
Saturday, the twentieth of June
two thousand and fifteen
at half-past six o’clock
The Gramercy Hotel
New York, NY
If the groom’s parents are deceased…
Mr. and Mrs. William Doe
request the pleasure of your company
at the marriage of their daughter
Jane Mary
to
John Michael Smith
son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Adam Smith
Saturday, the twentieth of June
two thousand and fifteen
at half-past six o’clock
The Gramercy Hotel
New York, NY
Situation: This was recently submitted as a comment from a user. The bride’s father remarried and is now deceased, however the bride is close with her stepmother. The bride’s mother never remarried.
If you want to include everybody regardless of who is contributing, one option would be…
Together with their families
Jane Mary Doe
&
John Michael Smith
joyfully request the pleasure of your company
at their wedding celebration
Saturday, the twentieth of June
two thousand and fifteen
at half-past six o’clock
The Gramercy Hotel
New York, NY
If the bride’s mother is hosting…
Ms. Lydia Doe
requests the pleasure of your company at the marriage of her daughter
Jane Mary
daughter of the late Mr. William Doe and his wife, Cynthia
to
John Michael Smith
Saturday, the twentieth of June
two thousand and fifteen
at half-past six o’clock
The Gramercy Hotel
New York, NY
If both the bride’s mother and step-mother are contributing (or as another way to include everybody)…
Ms. Lydia Doe
together with
Mrs. Cynthia Doe
request the pleasure of your company
at the wedding of their daughter
Jane Mary Doe
to
John Michael Smith
son of the late Mr. William Doe
Saturday, the twentieth of June
two thousand and fifteen
at half-past six o’clock
The Gramercy Hotel
New York, NY
OR
The honour of your presence is requested at the marriage of
Jane Mary Doe
daughter of Ms. Lydia Doe
and the late Mr. William Doe and his wife, Cynthia
to
John Michael Smith
Saturday, the twentieth of June
two thousand and fifteen
at half-past six o’clock
The Gramercy Hotel
New York, NY
If all parents are contributing, this is an unique option but I think it can work…
Ms. Lydia Doe along with
Mr. and Mrs. Adam Smith and
Mrs. Cynthia Doe, wife of the late Mr. William Doe
request the honour of your presence at the wedding of their children
Jane Mary Doe
to
John Michael Smith
Saturday, the twentieth of June
two thousand and fifteen
at half-past six o’clock
The Gramercy Hotel
New York, NY
OR
Ms. Lydia Doe
Mrs. Cynthia Doe and
Mr. and Mrs. Adam Smith
request the honour of your presence at the wedding of their children
Jane Mary Doe
daughter of the late Mr. William Doe
to
John Michael Smith
Saturday, the twentieth of June
two thousand and fifteen
at half-past six o’clock
The Gramercy Hotel
New York, NY
