Emily Post’s Wedding Etiquette

Some parents are paying for part of the wedding and some aren’t helping at all… between the two of you their may be 5 or more parent names to list.

Wedding invitations are a way to announce and invite someone to a wedding. They are not an announcement of who is paying for the wedding.

If you feel the need to list everyone that is “sponsoring” your wedding… think about using a wedding program. This can be a very sentimental expression of your love and thankfulness for their support.

Programs are a interesting addition to the wedding package… these can be done as simple or formal as money allows.

If you have parents and grandparents walking in separately, and an officiate that you know closely, programs are very appropriate. You can print them for less than $10.

What if the groom’s parents are hosting?

Mr. and Mrs. Jason Smith

request the honor of your presence

at the marriage of Miss Deloris Jones

to their son

William Jason Smith

Another way is to word the invitation so that the couple is hosting their own wedding:

The honour of your presence

is requested at the marriage of

Ms. Joanne Smith

and

Mr. Mark Jones

If the Grooms Parents Hosting

Mr. and Mrs. Mark Johnson

request the honour of your presence

at the marriage of

Joanne Alice Smith

to their son

Richard Johnson

On

Saturday, the Second of April

Two Thousand and Two

at half past three o’clock

Valley Center Club

Any Town, Any State

Traditionally, the parties that are hosting the wedding (paying) should do the announcing of the wedding… that is usually the brides parents.

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The casual home wedding is one to which only the immediate family and close friends are invited. These “quiet” weddings generally take place when there has been a recent death in the family, or merely from a preference for a small affair.

Casual wedding invitation wording can be quite a bit different from formal invitations.

For these, a short note is written generally by the bride-elect.
Note that the invitations speak of “marriage” while the replies say “wedding.” Marriage is the act of marrying, while wedding is the marriage ceremony. It is a very fine thread that denotes the distinction; nevertheless it is marked.

For the usual home marriage, invitations, which read as follows, may be sent:

“Mr. and Mrs. Nelson Brown request the pleasure of Mr. and Mrs. Smiths company at the marriage of their daughter on the afternoon of Wednesday, the thirteenth of October, at four o clock, at One hundred and forty-four Madison Square, Boston.”

You can see more ideas here for:

Informal Garden Wedding Invitation Wording

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Weddings range all the way from simple informal garden affairs to large formal pageants. Use Informal Garden Wedding Invitation Wording to make the occasion most meaningful to you.

Small home wedding with only members of the immediate families present, and whatever decorations, music, and refreshments seem suitable. Such a wedding is the least expensive in time and money, and can follow the individual wishes of the couple more freely than other types.

photo credit: ladybugbkt

Informal chapel wedding to which only immediate relatives and close friends are invited/with the couple receiving their guests in the foyer or garden following the ceremony. Although there may be no reception as such, the immediate wedding party may go somewhere for a wedding breakfast afterwards if they wish.This type of wedding can be easily arranged, kept as simple as the couple desires, is inexpensive, and can be quite lovely.

One modification of this is for the wedding to take place following a regular service in the bride’s church, to which the guests come as soon as the previous service is over. This is convenient for organist, minister, and many guests. The altar is already decorated, and extra arrangements are kept to a minimum.

Small wedding in church, home, or garden to which members of the two families and friends are invited, followed by a reception, that may include a longer guest list, if desired. The reception may take place in the church parlors, in the home, a garden, or in some other suitable place nearby.

The longer guest list may be for the ceremony itself with only a few chosen friends and family members invited to the reception that follows in another place. When the reception is held at the place of the ceremony, all those attending the ceremony are invited to the reception as well.

The home, garden, or club wedding and reception for everyone in the same location. In this type of wedding there is a flow from the ceremony to the receiving line to the refreshment tables with all guests participating. This may be an elaborate affair of The Father of the Bride variety, or it may be a simple ceremony under the trees in the yard or at an altar improvised inside.

A sit-down wedding breakfast, a buffet supper, or simple refreshments of the stand-up sort, around whatever menu is appropriate, is chosen depending upon the number of guests, the accommodations, personnel to serve, and of course the budget.

Whom to Invite and How To Word The Informal Wedding Invitations

It is usual for the family of the bride to invite the guests to the wedding. As soon as the decision has been made as to the type of wedding it will be, the bride and her family, in consultation with the groom and his parents, make out the list of persons to be invited.

If the wedding s to be a small home or garden affair, with only members of the immediate families present, the matter is a simple one except in problems of close relatives by blood or marriage who have been cut off from the family by distance, divorce, or estrangement.

It is wise to invite all such family members as is at all possible. To exclude them from such an important occasion is often to widen the breach and to make for feelings of guilt and uneasiness among those present.

Whether or not they are included, the decision should be the joint responsibility of all the family members planning the wedding.

Members of the immediate family and close friends may be invited to the small home, garden or informal chapel wedding, personally by the bride or her mother, by word of mouth, telephone, or informal note, whichever is most convenient. In this case, announcements of the wedding are sent to all other relatives and friends as soon as the ceremony has been performed.

Mr. and Mrs. Henry Banning

will give in marriage

their daughter

Margaret

to

Mr. Arthur Frank Warner

Monday afternoon June the sixth

Nineteen hundred and nine

at half past four o’clock

In The Garden of the Brides Parents

or

Because you have shared in our lives
with your Friendship and Love, We
Loveley Girl Smith

and
Wonderful Guy Jones
ask you to join us for an garden ceremony
to celebrate our Love
on Saturday, the fifth of April
two thousand and eight
at four in the afternoon
Riverside Garden

5555 Central Avenue
Anywhere, Montana

What is so much fun about these types of Informal Garden Wedding Invitation Wording is that you really have so much leeway. Let your creative spirit shine through!

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