Thirty-One Guests, One Big Day: Writing Out Numbers For Wedding Invites

When it comes to wedding invitations, there are many ways to write the date and time. The traditional way to write the date is to spell it out completely, rather than using numerals. For example, if your wedding is on Saturday, October 26th, 2024, you would write: Saturday, the twenty-sixth of October two thousand twenty-four. If your wedding is on the 31st of a month, there is a hyphen between the tens and the ones place in the date. The time of day should be written out as four o'clock or half after four o'clock instead of 4:00 p.m. or 4:30 p.m..

Spell out the date

When writing out the date for a wedding invitation, there are a few things to keep in mind. Firstly, the traditional way to write the date is to spell it out completely, using words instead of numerals. For example, if your wedding is on Saturday, October 26th, 2024, you would write: "Saturday, the twenty-sixth of October two thousand twenty-four".

• The day of the week should be capitalised (unless your wedding invitation's font is all uppercase or lowercase). There should be a comma after the day of the week. For example: "Saturday,"
• If the date falls between the 21st and 31st of the month, use a hyphen between the tens and the ones place. For example: "the twenty-first" or "the thirty-first".
• The month is capitalised and written out in full, without any abbreviations. For example: "of October"
• The year is usually written on a separate line and is lowercase. There is no comma between the month and the year, and no "and" between the thousands and the hundreds. For example: "two thousand twenty-four"
• You can choose to include or omit the day of the week and the year, depending on your preference. However, including them provides clearer information for your guests.

For a more casual wedding, you have the option to write the date more informally. For instance, if your wedding is on Sunday, May 17th, 2025, you could simply write: "Saturday, May 17th, 2025". Alternatively, you may use numerals as a design choice, such as "Saturday, 8/15/2026".

Remember to maintain consistency in the formatting of the date across all enclosures in your wedding invitation suite, including the response card. For instance, if you're using the traditional wording and your RSVP deadline is April 17th, it would be written as: "Kindly respond by the seventeenth of April".

In summary, when spelling out the date for a wedding invitation, consider the formality of your wedding and invitation, and aim for clarity and consistency in your formatting choices.

Use numerals

If you're opting to use numerals when writing the date on your wedding invitation, there are a few things to keep in mind. Firstly, ensure that you use upper-case letters for the names of days and months, but lower-case letters for numbers. For example, if your wedding is on the 31st of October, you would write "Saturday, 31 October".

When writing out the year, it is recommended to spell it out for formal invitations, such as "two thousand and twenty-three". However, using numerals for the year, such as "2023", is also acceptable, especially for more casual weddings.

If your wedding is taking place on the 31st of the month, remember to use a hyphen between the tens and the ones place in the date. For example, "Saturday, 31-10-2023".

When it comes to the time of the wedding, you have a few options. For a more casual invitation, you can simply write the time using numerals, such as "4:00 pm" or "16:00". However, if you want to maintain a more formal tone, it is recommended to spell out the time in full. So, instead of "4:30 pm", you would write "half after four o'clock" or "half past four o'clock".

Remember, the key to writing out numerals on a wedding invitation is to maintain consistency and ensure that the format matches the tone and style of your wedding.

Include the day of the week

When writing the date on a wedding invitation, it is recommended that you include the day of the week. This is especially important if you are not including the year in your date, as it gives your guests more information to work with.

The day of the week should be capitalised (unless your wedding invitation's font is all uppercase or lowercase). For example, if your wedding is on a Saturday, you would write:

"Saturday, the thirty-first of October, two thousand twenty-four."

Note that there is a comma after the day of the week, and no comma between the month and the year. The year is usually written on a separate line, and there is no "and" between the thousands and the hundreds.

If you are hosting a more casual wedding, you can write the date more informally, for example:

"Saturday, October 31st, 2024."

Here, you would use numerals and not spell out the numbers. This format also does not include the day of the week.

Remember to be consistent with your date formatting on any enclosures in your wedding invitation suite, such as the response card. For example, if the RSVP deadline is November 14th, you could write:

"Kindly respond by the fourteenth of November."

Or, for a more informal tone:

"Please reply by November 14th."

Including the day of the week in your wedding invitation date is a helpful way to provide clear information to your guests, ensuring they arrive on the correct day and at the correct time.

Write the time as 'half after'

When writing the time on a wedding invitation, there are several different ways to format it. The choice of format depends on the level of formality of the wedding and the invitation.

For a formal wedding invitation, it is customary to write out the time in full, using words instead of numerals. For example, if the wedding is taking place at 3:30 p.m., you would write "half after three o'clock". The time should be written in lowercase, and the phrases "in the morning", "in the afternoon", or "in the evening" can be included for clarity, especially if the wedding is scheduled for 8, 9, or 10 o'clock.

It is worth noting that formal wedding invitations traditionally use the phrase "half after" instead of "half past" or "thirty" when referring to times on the half-hour. So, for a 31st wedding, you would write "half after five o'clock" or "half after five in the evening".

• Half after four o'clock
• Half after six in the evening
• Half after twelve noon

If you are having a more casual wedding, you may opt for a more relaxed and informal approach to writing the time. In this case, you can use numerals and abbreviate the time, such as "4:30 p.m." or "5:30 p.m.". Just remember to maintain consistency in the level of formality between the date and time formats on your invitation.

Specify the time of day

When writing the time of day on a wedding invite, there are several different ways to format the time depending on how traditional or formal the event is.

For formal and traditional wedding invitations, it is customary to write out the time of day using words, rather than numerals. For example, for a wedding beginning at 3:30 p.m., the invite would read: "half after three o'clock". If the time is on the hour, you would simply write: "three o'clock".

It is also worth noting that formal wedding invitations traditionally use the phrase "half after" (not "half past") for times on the half-hour, and the time should be written in lowercase letters.

For weddings taking place at 8, 9, or 10 o'clock, it is necessary to include "in the morning", "in the afternoon", or "in the evening" to avoid confusion. For all other times, it is not essential to include these phrases, but it is considered good form to do so. Noon can simply be written as "noon", and midnight as "midnight".

For more casual weddings, it is acceptable to write the time of day using numerals, such as "4pm" or "5:30pm". However, remember that the date and time should match in formality—don't write out the date fully and then use numerals for the time.

• 4:00 p.m.: "four o'clock" or "four o'clock in the afternoon" (formal); "4pm" or "4pm in the afternoon" (informal)
• 4:30 p.m.: "half after four o'clock" or "half past four o'clock" (formal); "four-thirty in the afternoon" (also acceptable); "4:30pm" or "4:30pm in the afternoon" (informal)
• 6:00 p.m.: "six o'clock in the evening" (formal); "6pm" (informal)
• 12:00 p.m.: "noon" (formal and informal)

Frequently asked questions