According to Emily Post – who wrote the book on how to live a life filled with graciousness, generosity and style – “the “rules” for selecting wedding invitations have loosened. Today, it is appropriate for invitations to have color, ribbons, lacy fold-overs and creative wording”. Inside, you can insert meaningful quotations, lyrics from “your song”, a favorite poem or any other phrase that gives your guests a sense of the style of your wedding, says Realsimple.com.
The wedding invitation can be as creative as you like as long as there are the customary elements such as the host line, request line, bride and groom line, date and time lines, location line, and reception and RSVP lines.
The host line is the first part of the invitation that tells the invited guest who is hosting the wedding/issuing the invitation. According to Martha Stewart Weddings, “evolving family structures and financial dynamics often make [The Host Line] the trickiest part of the process”. A traditional invitation may look like this:
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Allen
request the pleasure of your company
at the marriage of their daughter
Jill Elizabeth
to
Mr. Jonathan Andrew Perkins
Saturday, the seventh of April
two thousand twelve
at two thirty
St. John Cathedral
Indianapolis, Indiana
The example above is of the bride’s parents issuing the invitation but these days it could be both the bride and groom’s parents, a single parent, divorced parents that are remarried, the bride and groom themselves, or another couple hosting the wedding.
Here are a few examples of proper invitation etiquette should the individual(s) issuing the invitation be other than the bride’s parents:
Both the bride and groom’s parents are co-hosting:
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Allen
and
Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Perkins
request the honor of your presence
at the marriage of
Jill Elizabeth Allen
and
Jonathan Andrew Perkins
You would like to mention the groom’s names but they are not co-hosting:
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Allen
request the pleasure of your company
at the marriage of their daughter
Jill Elizabeth
to
Mr. Jonathan Andrew Perkins
son of
Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Perkins
The groom’s parents are hosting:
Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Perkins
request the honor of your presence
at the marriage of
Miss [Ms.] Jill Elizabeth Allen
to
their son
Mr. Jonathan Andrew Perkins
A single parent is hosting:
Mr. [Mrs.] Michael Allen
request the honor of your presence
at the marriage of his [her] daughter
Jill Elizabeth
Divorced parents, each remarried, are hosting:
Mr. and Mrs. Betty Dickens
and
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Allen
request the honor of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter
Jill Elizabeth Allen
The couple is hosting:
Miss. [Ms.] Jill Elizabeth Allen
and
Mr. Jonathan Andrew Perkins
request the honor of your presence
at their marriage
Another family member or friend is hosting:
Mr. and Mrs. Todd McIntyre
request the pleasure of your company
at the marriage of their niece
Miss. [Ms.] Jill Elizabeth Allen
to
Mr. Jonathan Andrew Perkins
There are many more options outside of the guidelines listed above. You will find examples of those by clicking the sources mentioned in our post. Follow the format that best fits your situation. You want to be socially correct but also comfortable with how the hosts are presented. It’s better if you need to break the “rules” to spare feelings, keep the peace and have a memorable celebration.
We love weddings at Classic Cleaners because a large portion of our business is helping brides and grooms look their best and feel confident on their wedding day. To learn more about why we are the only dry cleaning company in the Indianapolis area endorsed by the Association of Wedding Gown Specialists, visit our bridal and heirloom services page.
– S.O.
