One of the most worrying conundrums that brides and grooms usually encounter on the run-up to their wedding day is how to word and address their wedding invitations. While in the past everything was pretty much cut and dry, changing times have called for greater variety in how to address and word formal wedding invitations. Below we have listed different invitation formats as well as the various ways in which to address wedding invitations.
Wedding Invitation Formats
- The traditional format for a wedding invitation where both parents are married is as follows: Mr and Mrs John Borg request the pleasure of your company at the marriage of their daughter Emma to Mr Oliver Galea at St John’s Co-Cathedral, Valletta on Sunday 26th May 2018 at 3 o’clock and afterwards at Palazzo Parisio, Naxxar.
- If the bride’s parents are divorced but are still co-hosting the wedding, the format changes with the introduction of the mother’s first name if she has not remarried: Mr John Borg and Mrs Lydia Borg request the pleasure of your company at their marriage…If the bride’s mother has remarried then the wedding invitation should read: Mr John Borg and Mrs Lydia Baldacchino request the pleasure of your company at the marriage of …
- If the bride and groom are the host and hostess, the wedding invitation should read as follows: Mr Oliver Galea and Miss Emma Borg request the pleasure of your company at their marriage…
- In cases where a same-sex couple are hosting, the format of the wedding invitation would be: Miss Sarah Gauci and Miss Francesca Caruana request the pleasure of your company at their marriage…
How to Address Guests on Wedding Invitations
While a number of people don’t find a lot of difficulty when it comes to the format of the wedding invitation itself, many get stuck when it comes to addressing their guests.
- If, for example, you have a married couple where the husband holds a doctorate you would send a wedding invitation to: Dr and Mrs Kevin Cutajar; however, the same does not happen if the wife is a medical doctor or lawyer and her husband is not. Therefore, according to tradition, even if the wife is holds a doctorate, the invitation would still be addressed to: Mr and Mrs Kevin Cutajar. That said, Americans have sparked a new trend where they address a couple according to rank, therefore, if the wife is a doctor and the husband isn’t, Americans would write: Dr Sarah Cutajar and Mr Kevin Cutajar for example. American etiquette also dictates that if both parties are doctors, you can refer to them as The Doctors Cutajar or Doctors Sarah and Kevin Cutajar.
- If a woman holds an official position and her husband does not, then she is addressed first as she outranks her husband, therefore, you would address an invitation to a female politician and her husband as: The Honourable Mrs Mary Farrugia and Mr James Farrugia.
- When you know the name of a guest’s plus one but he or she is not married to the guest you know better, you should send the invitation to the guest you know best, but write the plus one’s name on an indented line.
- If you are inviting a family, you would write: Mr and Mrs Joseph Galea and family, however, according to British tradition, children over the age of 13 should receive their own invitation to your wedding.
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