How to Match Your Invitation Wording to Your Wedding

As one of the first ways that guests experience your wedding, invitations are important for setting the tone guests should expect. And one of the best ways to do that is through your wording.

In other words, if you want guests to know what type of wedding you are having, it can be literally written on your invitation with your wording.

This is the fifth in a five article series: How to Choose the Right Wedding Invitations for Your Wedding Theme.

1. How to Choose a Wedding Theme That’s Meaningful to You
2. How to Show Your Personality With Your Invitations
3. How to Blend Cultures on Your Wedding Invitations
4. How to Use Your Color Palette on Your Wedding Invitations
5. How to Match Your Invitation Wording to Your Wedding

Invitation Wording: Numbers vs Words

This is the easiest way to communicate how formal or casual your wedding is. For formal weddings, write out the date and time of your wedding. More casual weddings can use numbers instead:

Saturday, the eighth of June
Two thousand thirteen
at five o’clock in the evening

vs

Saturday, June 8, 2013
at 5 p.m.

Invitation Wording: Add a Quote

If you are having  a wedding with lots of personal and romantic details, you may want to share some of that feeling by adding a quote or verse to your invitation.

Quotes can tie in with your theme as well. Quotes work especially well for book or storybook weddings. Plus there are poems and novel text to work with many different types of weddings themes.

You can add quotes to your invitation itself or through a wrap or tag around your invitation for an extra special touch.

Invitation Wording: Fun with Your RSVP

When your wedding is fun or nontraditional, you don’t have to be stuck with the ”accepts with pleasure/declines with regret” lines on most RSVPs. You can have more fun with it.

You can even incorporate your wedding theme in the RSVP wording, with theme appropriate wording.

Just make sure that the RSVPs aren’t so clever that guests don’t know if they are saying yes or no, or so elaborate that they have to write an essay to respond.

Some fun ideas:

will celebrate
___in body

___in spirit

M__________

___can’t wait!

___can’t make it

M__________

___deal me in

___I fold

Invitation Wording: Dressing Up or Down

Whether it’s “black tie optional” or “cowboy boots encouraged”, guests really do want to know what to wear.

So even though it may not be the most traditional thing to do, if you have a particular attire for your wedding in mind, let your guests know. They’ll have more fun and you’ll have more fun because everyone will feel more comfortable.

Invitation Wording: No Kids

This issue has been coming up more and more: How do you politely tell your guests to leave their children at home? The most traditional way to do this is to include an inner and outer envelope, with the inner envelope specifically naming who is invited, or “and guest” if the invited person can bring a guest.

However, the inner/outer envelope is not being used by many couples these days. In that case, you can simply add “Adult only” to your invitations. But I prefer adding something like “Reception is an adult-only affair” to the RSVP, where it will most likely be read and understood.

To make it even clearer, some of our couples include a line “We have reserved ____ seats in your honor”, with the number written or printed in. This also keeps a stricter control of your wedding guest list, especially if you feel that some of your guests may bring uninvited guests.

For more information and step by step advice on getting your personality in your invitations, download our free styleguide: 7 Designer Secrets for Meaningful and Memorable Wedding Invitations.

{Photo credits: numbers: wedding booklet invitation: Imbue You Wedding; thisisnthappiness.com; invitation quote: Imbue You Wedding; RSVP via Sparkle & Hay; cowboy boots: Kate McElwee Photography via Niche White; boy in suit: Fine Handmade Clothing}

Written by imbueyouido.com, the blog of Imbue You and Imbue You Wedding. Thanks for reading!