Nimanto

Guide

What to include in a wedding invitation

By Nimanto · · 4 min read

The short answer

A wedding invitation has six parts in order: who is inviting, who is marrying, the date and time, the venue with its address, what follows the ceremony, and how to reply by when. Dress code, accommodation, the registry, a map and the schedule of functions belong on insert cards or, in a digital invitation, on their own pages.

The six lines every wedding invitation needs

Every wedding invitation, however plain or ornate, answers the same six questions: who is hosting, who is getting married, when, where, what happens afterwards, and how to reply. Write those six first; everything else is decoration or an insert.

  • The host line: the parents, both families, or the couple themselves.
  • The request: "request the pleasure of your company" for a civil wedding, "request the honour of your presence" for a religious one, or a plain "invite you to".
  • The couple's names, in the order the families have agreed.
  • The date and time, written out in full on a formal invitation.
  • The venue, with the city; the full address goes on a map or an insert.
  • The reception line and the reply details.

The wording of each line, with examples for every style of host, is in Wedding invitation wording.

What goes on the main card

The main card carries the six lines above and nothing else. Its job is to look like a wedding invitation and to be read in ten seconds. Dress codes, hotels, registries and travel notes crowd it, so they move to inserts or pages.

Together with their families

Priya Reddy and James Carter

invite you to celebrate their wedding

Saturday, the fourteenth of March, 2027, at four o'clock

The Orangery, Kew Gardens, London

Dinner and dancing to follow

A short line about the reception is fine on the main card; a full timetable is not.

What goes on an insert card, or on a page

Inserts carry the practical details: a reply card with its deadline, directions and parking, hotels with a room block, the dress code, the wedding website, the registry, and the schedule when there is more than one function. A digital invitation gives each of these its own page under the invitation.

  • Reply card: the deadline, the meal choice if there is one, and a line for the names. RSVP wording and deadlines.
  • Where to stay: hotels, the room block code and the booking deadline, plus airports and transport for a destination wedding.
  • Gift registry: a page of its own, never the main card. The gift registry page.
  • Schedule: each function with its own date, time, venue and dress code, and who is invited to which. Schedule and functions.
  • Map: one tap to directions on a phone replaces the printed map card.

The dress code: where and how to state it

Put the dress code in the bottom corner of the main card, or on the details insert, in two or three words: Black tie, Cocktail attire, Garden party, Traditional dress welcome. If guests need help, a line on the details page explains it; the card does not.

For a multi-day Indian wedding give a dress code per function: "Haldi: yellows, sangeet: your brightest, wedding: traditional". The schedule is the place for that, not the cover.

What to leave off a wedding invitation

Leave off the registry, any mention of gifts or money, the reception menu, the names of the wedding party, your phone number, and "no children". Each has a better place: the registry has its page, children are handled by the address line, and the menu belongs on the reply card if guests must choose.

Honeymoon funds and cash gifts are a line on the registry page, worded as the family would say it, never on the invitation itself.

Keep the main card to one typeface and two sizes. If a line does not fit, it is probably an insert.

What a digital wedding invitation includes that paper cannot

A digital wedding invitation keeps the same six lines on its cover, then adds pages for the schedule, the map, where to stay, the registry, an album and the reply card, all behind one link. Guests reply per function, get a reminder before the day, and see any change the moment you make it.

That is why a digital invitation can look sparer than a printed one: the cover is just the invitation, and the practical details wait one tap below it. Digital wedding invitation etiquette.

Questions people ask

Should the registry go on the wedding invitation?

No. The registry goes on an insert card, the wedding website or the registry page of a digital invitation. Guests look for it; they do not need to be told on the invitation itself. A line such as "Your presence is the only gift we need" is fine if you mean it.

How do I say the reception is at a different place?

Add a line after the ceremony details: "Reception to follow at The Barn, Ashford Manor", with the time if there is a gap. If the gap is long, say what guests might do in it on the details page.

Do I write the time as 4 pm or four o'clock?

Formal invitations write it out: "at four o'clock in the afternoon". Relaxed invitations use "4:00 pm" or "4 pm". Half past is "half after four" on a very formal card. Whichever you choose, use it everywhere on the invitation.

How do I include both sets of parents?

Name the bride's parents first, then the groom's, each on their own line, or open with "Together with their families" and name nobody. Divorced parents each get their own line, with step-parents named alongside if they are hosting.

Where does the schedule of a multi-day wedding go?

On its own insert or page, one function per block with date, time, venue and dress code, and a note of who is invited to which. The main card announces the wedding day; the schedule carries the rest.