Following the post, A Guide to Your Wedding Stationery, I received quite a few emails asking for additional assistance on how to word wedding programs.  Sounded simple, but what I quickly realized is that with the ever evolving definition of family, invitations can become very challenging for the DIY bride. So we’ve sought out the most tricky of situations and provided the appropriate wording for each.

IF YOUR WEDDING IS BEING GIVEN BY YOUR MOTHER & FATHER:

Mr. and Mrs. Patrick A. Jones
request the honor of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter
Veronica Jones
to
Bradley Ian Joseph
at the Venetian Club
Saturday, the Fourth of October
Six o’clock in the evening

IF YOUR WEDDING IS BEING GIVEN BY YOU & THE GROOM:

Veronica Jones
and Bradley Ian Joseph
request the honor of your presence
at their marriage
(etc.)

IF YOUR WEDDING IS BEING GIVEN BY YOUR MOTHER & YOUR FATHER IS DECEASED: 

Mrs. Patrick A. Jones
requests the honor of your presence
at the marriage of her daughter
Veronica Jones
(etc.)

>>>If your mother has remarried, use her present husband’s name:

Mr and Mrs. Franklin C. Jamison
request the honor of your presence
at the marriage of her daughter
Veronica Jones
(etc.)

IF YOUR WEDDING IS BEING GIVEN BY YOUR MOTHER & YOUR PARENTS ARE DIVORCED:

use your mother’s maiden name plus your fathers last name

Mrs. Rose Nelson Jones
requests the honor of your presence
at the marriage of her daughter
Veronica Jones
(etc.)

IF YOUR WEDDING IS BEING GIVEN BY YOUR FATHER & EITHER OF YOUR PARENTS ARE DIVORCED OR YOUR MOTHER IS DECEASED:

Mr. Patrick A. Jones
requests the honor of your presence
at the marriage of his daughter
Veronica Jones
(etc.)

>>>If your father has remarried:

Mr. and Mrs. Patrick A. Jones
request the honor of your presence
at the marriage of his daughter
Veronica Jones
(etc.)

IF YOUR WEDDING IS BEING GIVEN BY YOUR DIVORCED PARENTS & EACH HAS REMARRIED:

Mr. and Mrs. Patrick A. Jones
and
Mr. and Mrs. Kevin L. Morrison
request the honor of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter
Veronica Jones
(etc.)

When finalizing the wording of your wedding invitations, keep in mind that the examples above follow the formal traditional invitation wording used most often with religious or interfaith ceremonies.  If you’re not the traditional kind or planning a secular ceremony, consider including opening statements such as “With Joy in Their Hearts” or “Celebrate the Love of…”.  You might also want to consider changing traditional statements such as “request the honor of your presence at the marriage of…” to something more playful like “laugh, dance, dine, and celebrate the wedding of…”

Be as casual or formal as your wedding vision requires but remember not to get so caught up in the details that you forget that your wedding planning process is supposed to be fun. If you need assistance penning the text of your invitations or can’t think of suitable wording to fit your particular situation email us or leave a comment below.