Wedding Invitations

How do I word the invitation if my parents are divorced?

• If they are divorced and single parents are hosting?
  • List them each separately. You can put them on separate lines to give them equal respect, and if they're not close omit the word "and" joining their names:
  • Mr. Thomas Graft and
    Ms. Mary Weiss
    invite you to join in the celebration of their daughter...
  
  
• If they are divorced and only one parent is hosting?
  • If only one parent is hosting, only that name is necessary: Mr. Thomas Graft
    requests the pleasure of your company at the marriage of his daughter...
• If they are divorced and remarried?
  • Mr. & Mrs. Thomas & Susan Graft
    Mr. & Mrs. Nelson & Mary Weiss
    request the pleasure of your company
    at the marriage of their daughter...
• Or omit formal titles to shorten:
  • Thomas & Susan Graft and Nelson & Mary Weiss
    request the pleasure of your company
    at the marriage of their daughter...
• If they are divorced and remarried, but not close?
  • See above, but omit the "and" joining the two sets of parents (you might decide to do that anyway to make the host line more succinct).

How do I word my invitation if a parent is deceased?

• Wording can be very hard if a parent is deceased. If it's your mother who is widowed, a traditional approach is:
  • Mrs. James Marshall
    invites you to celebrate the marriage of her daughter...
• Another option:
  • Joan Evelyn Marshall
    daughter of Jane Marshall
    and the late James Marshall
    request the pleasure of your company...
• If your parent is widowed and remarried, the following wording works well:
  • Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Brown
    request the pleasure of your company
    at the marriage of the daughter of Mrs. Brown
    and the late Thomas Marshall
    Joan Evelyn Marshall
    to
    Adam James Walker...

Should we include the groom's parents on the invitation?

• In most traditions, if they're not hosting the wedding, you don't need to put their names on the invitation (a key exception is Jewish weddings in which the groom's parents are always honored). That said, it can be a nice gesture of family unity to include them and is essential if they're hosting the wedding.  
• If the bride's parents are hosting:
  • Mr. and Mrs. James Marshall
    request the pleasure of your company
    at the marriage of their daughter
    Joan Evelyn
    to
    Mr. Adam James Walker
    son of Mr. and Mrs. Jeremy Walker...
• If the groom's parents are hosting:
  • Mr. and Mrs. Jeremy Walker
    request the pleasure of your company
    at the marriage of
    Joan Evelyn Marshall
    to their son
    Adam James Walker...

If both sets of parents are hosting:

• Together with their parents
  Mr. and Mrs. James Marshall
  and
  Mr. and Mrs. Jeremy Walker
  Joan Evelyn Marshall
  and
  Adam James Walker
  request the pleasure of your company at their marriage...
• Or, simply write "Together with their parents" and omit the parents' names.

How do I word my invitation if we're hosting our own wedding?

• The most popular option is:
  
• Together with their parents
  Joan Evelyn Marshall
  and
  Adam James Walker
  request the pleasure of your company
  at their marriage...

Reprinted courtesy of:  www.hellolucky.com