--- title: "Wedding invitation wording for every kind of family" description: "Wedding invitation wording you can copy: from the bride's parents, from both families, from the couple, and short lines for a digital card. Plus evening-only wording and the lines that finish an invitation." url: https://ourguestlist.co.uk/guides/wedding-invitation-wording site: Our Guest List --- # Wedding invitation wording for every kind of family _Updated 2026-10-30_ **The short answer.** Wedding invitation wording follows one order: who is inviting, the request, the couple's names, then the date, time and place. Who is inviting sets the tone, so start there: the bride's parents, both families, or the couple themselves. Keep the invitation to those lines, a reply-by date and any dress code, and put travel, places to stay and the gift list on the wedding website. ## The order every invitation follows 1. **Who is inviting.** The parents, both families, or the couple. 2. **The request.** "Request the pleasure of your company" is formal; "invite you to celebrate" is warm. 3. **The couple's names.** First names alone are fine when the hosts' names above carry the surnames. 4. **The day, the time and the place.** Write the date out in full on a formal invitation. 5. **What follows.** "And afterwards at the reception" if there is one, then how to reply. > **Tip:** Traditional UK invitations say "request the pleasure of your company" for every wedding, a church service included. Keeping "the honour of your presence" for a place of worship is an American convention. ## Wording when the bride's parents are hosting **Formal** > Mr and Mrs David Mensah request the pleasure of your company at the marriage of their daughter Abena to Mr Kwame Asante. **Formal, a church service** > Mr and Mrs David Mensah request the pleasure of your company at the marriage of their daughter Abena to Mr Kwame Asante, at St Mary's Church. **Warm** > David and Efua Mensah would love you to join them for the wedding of their daughter Abena to Kwame. **One parent hosting** > Mrs Efua Mensah requests the pleasure of your company at the marriage of her daughter Abena to Mr Kwame Asante. ## Wording when both families are hosting **Together with their families** > Together with their families, Abena Mensah and Kwame Asante invite you to celebrate their marriage. **Both sets of parents named** > Mr and Mrs David Mensah and Mr and Mrs Kofi Asante request the pleasure of your company at the marriage of their children Abena and Kwame. **By family name** > The Mensah and Asante families joyfully invite you to the wedding of Abena and Kwame. ## Wording when the couple are hosting **Formal** > Abena Mensah and Kwame Asante request the pleasure of your company at their marriage. **Relaxed** > Abena and Kwame are getting married, and we'd love you to be there. **Short and warm** > We're getting married! Please join us to celebrate. Love, Abena and Kwame. **Playful** > Abena and Kwame invite you to eat, drink and dance with them as they say I do. **Faith-based** > With joy in our hearts and thanks to God, we invite you to witness our marriage. Abena and Kwame. ## Short lines for the invitation itself A digital invitation has room for one line above the names, so it needs to be short. These all fit on one line, and the full details sit on the page behind it. **Classic** > Together with their families **Formal** > Request the pleasure of your company **Warm** > Invite you to celebrate their wedding **Simple** > Are getting married **Joyful** > Joyfully invite you to their wedding ## When there is more than one event If guests are invited to different parts of the day, the wording should only promise what each guest is invited to. Never put the whole day on an invitation that goes to evening guests. **Evening only** > Abena and Kwame invite you to join them for the evening celebration of their wedding, from 7pm. **Several events** > Abena and Kwame invite you to their engagement on Friday and their wedding on Saturday. Your invitation shows the events you're invited to. On Our Guest List each event has its own guest list, so a guest only sees the events they are invited to, and replies to each one separately. See [how to manage a multi-day guest list](/guides/multi-day-wedding-guest-list), or [start free](/start) and try your own wording on a real invitation. ## Lines for the end of the invitation **Reply by** > Please reply by 1 May so we can plan the day. **Dress code** > Dress code: black tie. **Gifts** > Your presence is the only gift we need. If you would like to give something, a contribution to our first home would be lovely. **No children** > We love your little ones, but this will be an adults-only celebration. There are more ways to say the last one in [how to say no children on a wedding invitation](/guides/wedding-plus-ones-and-children). ## Questions people ask ### Whose names go first on a wedding invitation? Whoever is hosting. Traditionally that is the bride's parents, then the couple's names follow. If both families or the couple themselves are hosting, their names lead instead. On the couple's own line, the bride's name has traditionally come first, but either order is fine, and for two brides or two grooms, choose whichever order sounds best. ### Should you put the gift list on a wedding invitation? Traditionally the gift list isn't on the invitation itself. Put the details on your wedding website, and if you mention it at all, one gentle line at the end saying their company matters most and where to find the list is enough. ### Do you write 'Mr and Mrs' on a wedding invitation? On a formal invitation from the parents, yes, followed by the husband's first name or both first names. On a relaxed invitation, first names are fine. ### What do you say instead of 'request the honour of your presence'? "Request the pleasure of your company", which is the UK's formal wording for every wedding, in a church or anywhere else. For something warmer, try "invite you to celebrate their wedding" or "would love you to join them". ## Send yours with Our Guest List Each guest gets their own invitation on WhatsApp or iMessage and answers every event separately. [Create your free wedding invitation](https://ourguestlist.co.uk/start). Your first 50 guests are free. No payment details needed. ## More guides - [Wedding RSVP wording for every situation](https://ourguestlist.co.uk/guides/wedding-rsvp-wording.md) - [Nigerian wedding invitation wording: traditional and church](https://ourguestlist.co.uk/guides/nigerian-wedding-invitation-wording.md) - [WhatsApp invitation messages to copy for every occasion](https://ourguestlist.co.uk/guides/whatsapp-invitation-messages.md)