Wedding invitation wording carries more weight than its word count suggests. Those few lines tell guests how formal the day will be, who is hosting, and what kind of celebration to expect, all before anyone reads a single detail. The good news is that the conventions are simpler than they look, and every variation, from cathedral-formal to backyard-casual, follows the same structure.
This guide walks through every line of a wedding invitation with formal and modern wording for each: the host line in all its family configurations, the request line, the date and time, the reception line, and the RSVP. At the end you will find three complete invitations you can borrow outright.
The words are only half of the invitation; the other half is how they arrive. Greenvelope is a digital invitation platform built for exactly this pairing: its digital wedding invitations combine customizable designs with an animated envelope reveal and built-in RSVP tracking, so the wording you settle on below arrives with the presentation it deserves.
At a Glance
- The five building blocks every wedding invitation shares, whatever its style
- Formal and modern wording side by side for the request line, date, time, and hosts
- Host line wording for every family situation: one set of parents, both families, divorced parents, honoring a deceased parent, and the couple hosting
- How to word the reception line, the RSVP, and the details guests always ask about
- Three complete, copy-ready invitation examples from black-tie formal to backyard casual
Start With the Five Building Blocks
Almost every wedding invitation, whatever its style, is built from the same five parts. Get these right and the wording falls into place.
- The host line: whoever is inviting guests (traditionally whoever is hosting).
- The request line: the invitation itself, such as “request the pleasure of your company.”
- The couple’s names: the stars of the day.
- The date, time, and place: spelled out formally or written plainly.
- The reception line: what follows the ceremony, and where.
Formal vs. Modern Wording
The biggest decision is tone. Formal wording spells everything out and stays in the third person; modern wording is warmer and can use numerals and first names.
| Part |
Formal |
Modern |
| Request line |
request the pleasure of your company |
would love for you to join them |
| Date |
Saturday, the twelfth of June |
Saturday, June 12, 2027 |
| Time |
at half after four o’clock |
at 4:30 in the afternoon |
| Hosts |
Mr. and Mrs. John Smith |
Together with their families |
The Request Line: Honour, Pleasure, or Something Warmer
One old convention is still worth knowing. “Request the honour of your presence” (traditionally with the British spelling) signals a ceremony in a house of worship, while “request the pleasure of your company” is the formal choice for a secular venue. Neither is required, but if you use one, use the right one; the guests who know the difference will notice.
Beyond those two, the request line is yours to soften as far as the day calls for: “invite you to celebrate their marriage,” “would love for you to join them,” or simply “are getting married, and you are invited.” The only rule is that the register should match the rest of the invitation.
Who Hosts? Handling the Host Line
The host line has loosened up a lot, and there is no longer a single “correct” version. Pick the one that reflects who is celebrating and, if relevant, who is contributing.
- One set of parents hosting: “Mr. and Mrs. James Rivera request the honor of your presence…”
- Both families hosting: “Together with their families…”
- Both sets of parents named: “Mr. and Mrs. James Rivera and Dr. and Mrs. Anthony Cole invite you to the marriage of their children…”
- Divorced parents hosting together: list each parent on their own line with no “and” joining them, traditionally with the mother’s name first: “Dr. Elena Marsh” on one line, “Mr. James Rivera” on the next. If a parent is hosting with a new spouse, list that couple together on one line.
- Honoring a deceased parent: a late parent is remembered beside the couple’s name rather than as a host, since the host line implies an invitation being extended: “Sofia Rivera, daughter of James Rivera and the late Maria Rivera.”
- The couple hosting: “Ava Chen and Marcus Reid invite you to celebrate their marriage…”
Every format above works for any couple. For two brides, two grooms, or any couple at all, the conventions are identical; put the names in whatever order the couple prefers, and let alphabetical order settle any tie.
The Reception Line and the RSVP
If the celebration continues at the ceremony venue, one line is enough: “Reception to follow” for formal invitations, or something with more personality, such as “Dinner, drinks, and dancing to follow,” for modern ones. If the reception is elsewhere, add the venue and, for paper, a separate reception card; a digital invitation simply carries the second address and a map link on the same card.
The RSVP line needs a deadline and a method. “Kindly reply by the sixteenth of May” suits a formal invitation; “RSVP online by May 16” suits a modern one. Set the deadline three to four weeks before the wedding, and the timing guide covers the full schedule around it. This is also where format quietly matters: with Greenvelope, the RSVP is built into the invitation itself, so guests reply in the same moment they open it, and hosts watch responses, meal choices, and plus-one counts collect in real time instead of chasing response cards.
Wedding Invitation Wording With Online RSVP
Most couples now collect replies online, and the invitation only needs one well-made line to carry it: where to reply, and by when. What trips couples up is register. “Visit our website” can read like an errand on a formal card, so match the RSVP line to the invitation around it rather than defaulting to the phrasing everyone uses. A few that work, from most formal to least:
- “The favor of a reply is requested by the sixteenth of May at [yourwebsite.com]”
- “Kindly reply at [yourwebsite.com] by May 16”
- “Please RSVP online by May 16 at [yourwebsite.com]”
- “RSVP by May 16: [yourwebsite.com]”
- “Let us know by May 16 at [yourwebsite.com]”
How to Ask Guests to RSVP Online
Three elements make an online RSVP request work for every guest. State the deadline, give the address exactly as it should be typed, and place the line where eyes finish, at the bottom of the invitation. If the guest list spans generations, add a graceful alternative so nobody is stranded: “or reply to Maria at (503) 555-0114.” A digital invitation removes the typing problem entirely; with Greenvelope, the reply button lives inside the invitation, so there is no address to retype and nothing to look up.
Wording for Online-RSVP-Only Invitations
If there are no response cards at all, say so plainly. Traditional guests will wait politely for a card that is not coming unless the invitation tells them otherwise, and clear beats clever here:
- “We are collecting all RSVPs online at [yourwebsite.com]; kindly reply by the sixteenth of May”
- “Please reply online only at [yourwebsite.com] by May 16”
- “No cards to mail this time: RSVP at [yourwebsite.com] by May 16”
And if replies lag as the deadline nears, the gap is usually recoverable; the tactics in our guide to getting more guests to RSVP on time exist for exactly that week.
How to List Your Wedding Website on the Invitation
The website goes at the bottom of the invitation or on a small details card, written bare: [yourwebsite.com], with no https and no www. It carries everything the invitation should not: registry, travel, lodging, schedule, and the questions guests would otherwise text you. The registry itself never appears on the invitation; the website is how guests find it without anyone having to say so. A short line of context tells guests why they are visiting:
- “For details and to reply: [yourwebsite.com]”
- “Travel, lodging, and the weekend’s schedule at [yourwebsite.com]”
- “Everything else lives at [yourwebsite.com]”
On paper, strictly formal invitations keep the URL off the main card and give it a small insert of its own. A digital invitation sidesteps the choice: the website links from a button, so the design stays clean no matter how long the address is.
How to Add Custom Questions to Your Wedding RSVP
The reply is the one moment every guest is paying full attention, so collect everything your caterer and planner will eventually ask for. The useful set is short: meal choice, dietary restrictions, the names attending under each invitation, and at most one question for fun, a song request being the classic. Hold the line at three or four questions, since every additional field costs completed replies, and phrase choices as choices: “Chicken, salmon, or garden risotto?” reads faster than “Please indicate your entrée preference.” Greenvelope hosts add these as custom RSVP questions on the invitation itself, so the answers land in the guest list, sorted and exportable, instead of in a text thread three weeks later.
Three Complete Examples
Here is how the pieces assemble at three levels of formality. Borrow any of them outright and swap in your details.
1. Formal, parents hosting
Mr. and Mrs. James Rivera
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter
Sofia Anne Rivera
to
Daniel Marcus Cole
Saturday, the twelfth of June
two thousand twenty-seven
at half after four o’clock
Grace Cathedral
San Francisco, California
Black tie
Reception to follow
2. Modern, both families hosting
Together with their families
Ava Chen and Marcus Reid
invite you to celebrate their marriage
Saturday, June 12, 2027
4:30 in the afternoon
The Foundry, Seattle, Washington
Dinner, drinks, and dancing to follow
Kindly RSVP by May 16
3. Casual, the couple hosting
We’re getting married!
Jordan Lee and Sam Alvarez
would love for you to be there
Saturday, June 12, 2027, at 4:30 p.m.
512 Alder Lane, Portland, Oregon
Dinner and lawn games to follow
RSVP online by May 16
Wording and design should arrive as one considered piece, and this is where a platform earns its keep. Greenvelope offers a stunning collection of wedding invitation designs that covers every theme, style, and taste, and every template is fully customizable, so the register you chose above pairs with coordinating colors, fonts, and an animated envelope opening your guests won’t forget.
Black Tie Wedding Invitation Wording
Black tie changes three things about the wording. The register goes fully formal: third person, spelled-out date and time, and the correct request line for the venue, “honour of your presence” for a house of worship, “pleasure of your company” anywhere else. The dress code is stated plainly, in two words, where eyes finish: “Black tie” on the final line or the lower corner, never in the body text and never with an exclamation point. And the hour matters, since black tie traditionally begins after six o’clock, so an evening time confirms what the dress code promises. The first complete example above is a black-tie invitation in full; to soften the requirement without losing the register, “Black tie optional” or “Formal attire requested” both do the job.
Intimate Wedding Invitation Wording for Small Weddings
A small wedding earns plainer, warmer language, and the wording has one extra job: signaling gently that the guest list is short, so nobody has to ask about plus-ones. Phrases like “an intimate ceremony,” “a small celebration with our nearest,” or “with just our families and closest friends” do that work in passing. In return, the details can be specific in a way a two-hundred-guest wedding never manages:
With just our families and closest friends
Maya Torres and Elena Brooks
invite you to their wedding
Saturday, June 12, 2027, at five o’clock
The Farmhouse at Willow Bend, Hood River, Oregon
Vows in the orchard, dinner at one long table
RSVP by May 16 at [mayaandelena.com]
Bilingual Wedding Invitation Wording
Bilingual invitations work in one of two structures. Mirrored wording carries the full text in both languages, stacked or side by side, and is the right choice when each family reads a different language. Lead-and-essentials keeps one language primary and repeats only the load-bearing lines in the second: names, date, time, venue, and the RSVP. Whichever you choose, write each language in its own conventions rather than translating line by line; formal Spanish, for example, has stock phrasing of its own, and days and months are not capitalized. A lead-and-essentials example:
Junto con sus familias / Together with their families
Camila Ortiz y Michael Doyle
tienen el gusto de invitarle a celebrar su matrimonio
have the pleasure of inviting you to celebrate their marriage
sábado, 12 de junio de 2027 | Saturday, June 12, 2027
a las cinco de la tarde | five o’clock in the evening
Hacienda Los Olivos, Santa Barbara, California
Confirme su asistencia antes del 16 de mayo | RSVP by May 16 at [camilaymichael.com]
Keep names and honorifics identical in both languages, and have a native speaker read the final card; a mistranslated formal phrase is the one error every guest on that side of the aisle will catch. Every Greenvelope template’s text is fully editable, accented characters included, and hosts sending to a split list can send each language version to the guests who need it.
Don’t Forget the Details Line
Below the essentials, a short line or two keeps guests informed and cuts down on questions: dress code, whether children are invited, and how to RSVP. With a digital invitation you can also link straight to directions, a registry, or an FAQ page so the card itself stays uncluttered, and Greenvelope lets hosts add custom RSVP questions for meal choices and dietary needs, so the invitation gathers the answers a caterer will eventually ask for.
Ready to pair your wording with a design? Browse Greenvelope’s wedding invitation collection to find a style that matches the tone you have chosen.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do we have to spell out the date and time?
Only if you want a formal tone. Spelled-out dates and times read as traditional and black-tie; numerals are perfectly acceptable for modern or casual celebrations.
How do we word the host line if step-parents are involved?
List the people who are hosting in the order that feels right to your family, or sidestep the question entirely with “Together with their families.” There is no single correct formula anymore.
How should divorced parents be listed on a wedding invitation?
List each parent on their own line without an “and” joining them, traditionally with the mother’s name first. If a parent is hosting with a new spouse, list that couple together on one line.
How do you word the invitation when the couple is hosting?
Skip the host line and lead with the couple’s names, followed by a warm request line such as “invite you to celebrate their marriage.” No host line is needed when the couple is extending the invitation themselves.
Where should the RSVP details go?
Traditionally on a separate response card, but a digital invitation collects RSVPs automatically, so a single line pointing guests to the online reply is all you need.
Related Resources
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