Question from Naomi:
My boyfriend and I are departing for a destination wedding on February 21, and having a formal reception back in our hometown for friends and family on Feb 28th. We will not be married when the invites go out and I am confused on how to word them properly. Please help.
Answer from Bridal Expert Angela:
Hi Naomi, and congratulations on your upcoming destination wedding.
You say the reception is formal, so the wedding invitation wording must therefore be formal. Your invitations should start with who is paying for the reception and their relationship to the bride…….Mr. and Mrs. Smith, request the honour of your presence at a wedding reception for their daughter Ann, bride elect of David, son of Mr. and Mrs. Jones, on (date, place, time). Add the usual RSVP, etc. You are inviting them to a wedding reception, not a wedding ceremony.
An alternate wording would be: "request the pleasure of your company at a wedding reception to celebrate the recent marriage of……" You can swap the wording around with these two examples and come up with whatever you are most comfortable with.
If you are having a less formal function, the wedding invitations can be worded as shown in this posting. With a formal function, I would suggest that the couple share their wedding day in some way with the guests—either through telling the guests about the wedding, and/or a table display of photos and other memorabilia.
If you have any other questions, feel free to email again.
Angela Fiebelkorn, Ask The Expert
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