Punctuation Primer: Wedding Invitation Edition

When it comes to wedding invitations, punctuation is just as important as the paper and font choices. The general rule is to avoid punctuation unless it's after a courtesy title, such as Mr. or Mrs. However, line breaks can act as commas and periods, and commas are used to separate information within a line. For a formal invitation, it is also important to spell out almost every word, including the date, time, and year, as well as words in the venue's address like Court, Avenue, and Street.

Capitalisation and punctuation

Capitalisation

• Capitalise proper nouns, including names, days of the week, months, and addresses (e.g., street names, cities, and states).
• For very formal invitations, consider using both partners' full legal names. Nicknames can be used on less formal pieces, like save-the-date cards.
• If the bride's parents are hosting, the bride is traditionally referred to by her first and middle names, while the groom is referred to by his first, middle, and last name.
• When including titles, spell out the title "Doctor" but use the abbreviation for "Mr."
• When writing out dates and times, capitalise the first letter of the year (e.g., "Two thousand and eighteen").

Punctuation

• Line breaks can act as commas and periods in wedding invitation wording.
• You may use periods in titles like "Mr." and "Mrs."
• Commas can be used to separate information within a line.
• Avoid using punctuation, except after courtesy titles.
• Avoid capitalising the first word of each line; instead, only capitalise the first word of a sentence.
• Avoid using symbols, except for an ampersand between the names of the couple if the font allows.

Spelling out dates and times

Dates

The traditional way to write the date on a wedding invitation 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". Here are some other things to keep in mind:

• The day of the week should be capitalised (unless your wedding invitation's font is all uppercase or lowercase), and there should be a comma after it.
• If your wedding is on the 21st to the 31st of a month, use a hyphen between the tens and ones place in the date (e.g. "twenty-first").
• The month is capitalised and written in full, with no abbreviations.
• The year is usually on a separate line from the day and month, with no comma between the month and year. There is no "and" when spelling out the year, but there is a hyphen between "two thousand" and between the tens and ones numbers in the year.
• You're not required to include the day of the week or the year, but it is recommended.
• For a more casual wedding, you can write the date more informally, e.g. "Saturday, May 17th, 2025".
• Try to be consistent with the date formatting on any enclosures in your invitation suite, including the response card.

Times

As with dates, there are several ways to write the time of day on your invitations. For more traditional invitations, you would write out the time fully, with no numerals. So, if your wedding begins at 3:30 p.m., you would write: "half after three o'clock". Here are some other guidelines:

• If the time is on the hour, you would simply write: "four o'clock".
• Formal wedding invitations traditionally say "half after" (not "half past") for times on the half-hour.
• The time should be written in lowercase letters.
• You don't have to write "in the morning", "in the afternoon", or "in the evening" unless the wedding is at 8, 9 or 10 am or pm, where there could be confusion over whether it's morning or evening.
• If you want to include these phrases, note that any time after 5 pm is considered evening, and between noon and 4:30 pm is the afternoon.
• For a more casual event, you can write the time as "4pm" or "5:30pm". Just remember that the date and time should match in formality—don't write out the date fully and then use numerals for the time.
• If your wedding is at noon or midnight, simply write "noon" or "midnight" without adding "o'clock" or "in the afternoon/evening".

Combining Dates and Times

• "Saturday, the twenty-ninth of December two thousand twelve at seven o'clock in the evening"
• "Saturday, the fifteenth of September, two thousand twenty-one, at half after four in the afternoon"
• "Saturday, July 9, 2016, at two thirty in the afternoon"
• "Friday | 07 Sep 12 | 3:30 p.m."

Abbreviations and symbols

It is also important to note that line breaks act as commas and periods in wedding invitation wording. You may use periods in titles, such as "Mr." and "Mrs." and commas if separating information in the middle of a line.

Host line and request line

The host line is where the name(s) of the event host(s) appear. The hosts are typically the people who are paying for the wedding. Depending on who is hosting, the wording will vary slightly. It could be one set of parents, both sets of parents, the couple and their parents together, or just the couple.

• Mr. and Mrs. Charles William Grimes request the honour of your presence at the marriage of their daughter.
• Mr. and Mrs. Charles William Grimes and Mr. and Mrs. James Arthur Fox request the honour of your presence at the marriage of their children.
• The honour of your presence is requested at the marriage celebration of...
• Together with their families, [Bride] and [Groom] request the honour of your presence at their marriage celebration.

The request line is where you invite your guests to join your wedding celebration. Traditionally, couples include formal wording in the request line to denote a formal religious ceremony, whereas wedding invitations for modern celebrations tend to use more casual language.

• Request the honour of your presence.
• Request the pleasure of your company.
• Invite you to join.
• Love the pleasure of your company.

Couple's names

When it comes to the couple's names, there are a few different ways to format them depending on the couple's preferences and the formality of the wedding. Here are some options:

Formal Wedding Invitation Wording

For a formal wedding invitation, the couple's names are usually written in full, including middle names. The bride's name traditionally comes first, followed by the groom's name. However, for same-sex couples, the names can be listed in alphabetical order or based on what looks best with the invitation design. Punctuation is not typically used, except after courtesy titles.

> Mr. John Smith and Mrs. Emily Smith request the honour of your presence at their wedding...

Or

> The honour of your presence is requested at the marriage of Mr. John Smith to Mrs. Emily Smith...

If the couple is hosting the wedding themselves, the titles are optional:

> John Smith and Emily Smith request the honour of your presence at their wedding...

Informal/Casual Wedding Invitation Wording

For an informal or casual wedding invitation, it is acceptable to use first names only and to be more creative with the wording. Here are some examples:

> Jack and Emily invite you to share in their joy as they tie the knot...

Or

> Eat, drink, and be merry as Jack and Emily celebrate their love...

Modern Wedding Invitation Wording

Modern wedding invitations often put the couple's names front and centre at the top of the invitation. The wording can be more straightforward and playful, almost like a text message. Here's an example:

> Jack Smith & Emily Smith would love to eat wedding cake with you...

Other Considerations

• If one or both members of the couple have a title, such as "Doctor", this can be included in the wording.
• For same-sex couples, the traditional rule of the woman's name first does not apply. The names can be listed in the order that sounds best.
• It is important to consider the length of the names and try to keep the wording concise to avoid overwhelming the design.

Frequently asked questions