The Art Of Wedding Invitation Dates: A Guide To Perfecting Your Big Day's Details

There is a specific way to write the date and time on a wedding invitation. The traditional way is to spell out the date 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. The day of the week should be capitalised, and there should be a comma between the day and the date. The year is usually written on a separate line and there should be no comma between the month and the year.

Spell out the date

When writing the date on a wedding invitation, there are a few different ways to format it. The traditional way is to spell out the date in full, 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

Day of the Week

The day of the week should be capitalized (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," not "Saturday".

Date

If the date falls between the 21st and 31st of the month, use a hyphen between the tens and the ones place. For example, "twenty-sixth," not "twenty sixth".

Month

The month should be capitalized and written out in full, with no abbreviations. For example, "October," not "Oct."

Year

The year is usually written on a separate line from the day and month. There should be no comma between the month and the year. There is no hyphen between "two thousand", but there is a hyphen between the tens and the ones in the year. For example, "two thousand twenty-four," not "two thousand and twenty-four".

Additional Tips

Note that you don't have to include the day of the week or the year, but it is recommended for clarity. If you're having a more casual wedding, you can write the date more informally, such as "Saturday, May 17th, 2025".

Remember to be consistent with your date formatting on any enclosures, like RSVP cards. For example, if you're using the traditional wording and your RSVP deadline is April 17th, write it as "Kindly respond by the seventeenth of April". For a more informal approach, you could say, "Please reply by April 17th".

Include the day of the week

Including the day of the week on your wedding invitation is a great way to provide clarity for your guests and ensure they arrive on time for your big day. Here are some tips and guidelines for including the day of the week in your wedding invitation:

Capitalisation and Formatting

The day of the week should be capitalised. For example, if your wedding is on a Saturday, you would write "Saturday," followed by a comma. However, if your wedding invitation font is all uppercase or lowercase, you can omit capitalisation. The year is usually written on a separate line from the day and month and is not capitalised.

Traditional and Formal Weddings

For formal and traditional weddings, it is customary to spell out the day of the week in full. For example, "Saturday, the twenty-sixth of October two thousand twenty-four". The day of the week is then followed by the numerical date, fully written out without abbreviations, and the year on a separate line.

Casual and Informal Weddings

If you're having a more casual wedding, you can be more relaxed in your wording. For example, "Saturday, May 17th, 2025". You may also use numerals as a design choice, such as "Saturday, 8/15/2026".

Consistency

Remember to maintain consistency in your date formatting throughout your wedding invitation suite, including any response cards. For example, if you use the traditional wording for the invitation, carry that through to the RSVP card: "Kindly respond by the seventeenth of April".

Other Considerations

While including the day of the week is recommended, it is not mandatory. You may choose to omit it, especially for more informal weddings. Additionally, consider the overall design and layout of your invitations when deciding how to format your dates and times. Working with a stationer can help you determine the best wording and layout for your invitations.

Write out the time

When writing out the time on a wedding invitation, there are a few things to keep in mind. Firstly, the level of formality of your wedding and invitation will dictate the style of your wording. Formal invitations tend to follow traditional etiquette, whereas casual invites can be more relaxed and informal.

For formal invitations, you should write out the time in full, with no numerals. For example, if your wedding begins at 3:30 p.m., you would write this as "at half after three o'clock" or "at half past three o'clock". Note that "half after" is considered more traditional than "half past". If your wedding starts on the hour, you would write "three o'clock". The time should always be written in lowercase letters.

You should also specify whether the wedding is taking place in the morning, afternoon, or evening. Morning is considered to be up until noon, afternoon is from noon to 5 p.m., and evening is any time from 5 p.m. onwards. For example, "at seven o'clock in the evening". You should not write "a.m." or "p.m." on a formal invitation.

For a more casual wedding, you can be more flexible with your wording. You can write the time as "4pm" or "5:30pm". Just remember to match the style and formality of the time with that of the date. For example, if you write out the date in full, write out the time in full as well.

Finally, consider the layout of your invitations and how the time and date will look together on the card. Working with a stationer can help you figure out what works best visually and stylistically.

Use half after instead of half past

When writing out the time on a wedding invitation, it is best to stick to traditional etiquette. This means that you should always write out the numbers and include "o'clock" when writing the time. For example, write "half after four o'clock" instead of "four thirty".

It is also considered more traditional to use the phrase "half after" instead of "half past". So, for a wedding that begins at 3:30 p.m., you would write "half after three o'clock".

If you are writing a more casual invitation, you can be more flexible with the wording. For example, you could write "3:30 p.m." or "half past three o'clock". However, it is important to maintain consistency in the formatting of the date and time. If you write out the date in full, you should also write out the time in words rather than using numerals.

It is also worth noting that you should never include "am" or "pm" on a wedding invitation. Instead, you can indicate the time of day by including morning, afternoon, or evening. For example, "half after four o'clock in the afternoon".

By following these guidelines, you can ensure that your wedding invitations are both clear and elegant.

Include the year

When writing a wedding date on an invitation, it is important to include the year. While it is not mandatory to include the year, it is recommended. The year is usually written on a separate line from the day of the week and the month. For example, if your wedding is on Saturday, October 26th, 2024, you would write "Saturday, the twenty-sixth of October, two thousand twenty-four".

There are a few things to keep in mind when writing out the year. Firstly, the year should be written in numerals, such as "two thousand twenty-four" instead of "2024". There should be no "and" in the year, so it should be written as "two thousand twenty-four" rather than "two thousand and twenty-four". Additionally, nothing in the year should be capitalized.

The format for writing the year may vary depending on the invitation style. For example, if you are using an all-caps font, you would write the year in capital letters as well. However, if you are writing the time and date information in lowercase letters, you would write the year in lowercase as well.

It is also important to maintain consistency in the date formatting throughout the invitation and any enclosures, such as the response card. For example, if you are using traditional wording and your RSVP deadline is April 17th, 2025, you would write "Kindly respond by the seventeenth of April, two thousand twenty-five".

Frequently asked questions