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Invitation wording helper
Fill in who's hosting, the names, date and place, and get two or three versions of your invitation wording to copy, adapt and print.
Your invitation wording
Your edited wording
Saved separately from the options below, so changing your details won't overwrite it.
Your wording
Worth adding or checking
Details card or website
Print this on a separate card, or add it to your wedding website.
Before anything is printed, check every name, date, day and time, and ask someone else to read it too.
How to use the invitation wording helper
- Choose what you're sending: a whole-day invitation, an evening invitation or a save-the-date, and the tone you'd like.
- Add your names as they should appear, then who's hosting: the two of you, one family, both families, or your own host line.
- Fill in the date, time and venues, and the reply-by date and how guests should reply. Anything you leave out is simply left off the wording.
- Compare the versions and copy the one you like, or choose "Edit this wording" to change it freely.
- Print a proof to see it centred on a card, and share it with your stationer or anyone checking it for you.
A worked example
Example
Priya and Tom are hosting their own wedding on Saturday 12 June 2027 at Bridgeford Hall, with the ceremony at half past two and replies due by 1 May. In the classic tone, the traditional version reads:
Priya Shah and Tom Okafor
request the pleasure of your company
at their marriage
at Bridgeford Hall, Little Bridgeford
on Saturday the twelfth of June 2027
at half past two
RSVP by the first of May
at priyaandtom.co.uk
Switching to formal writes the year and time in full ("two thousand and twenty-seven", "at half past two in the afternoon") and offers a version with a line to handwrite each guest's name. Relaxed gives "Saturday 12 June 2027 at 2.30pm". Their note that it's an adults-only celebration goes on the details card, not the invitation.
Before you send anything to print
- Check with your stationer. They'll have their own layouts and may suggest small changes to fit the design, so share your wording early.
- Proofread names, dates and times. Check the spelling of every name, the date and day of the week, the times, the venue names and the reply-by date, and get someone else to check too. A mistake on a full print run is an expensive one.
- Set the reply-by date from your caterer's deadline. Find out when they need final numbers and work back, so you have time to chase anyone who hasn't replied. The guest list guide walks through the timings.
- Keep day and evening invitations clearly different, with "evening reception" and the later time, so nobody arrives for the ceremony by mistake.
For the etiquette behind the wording, including plus-ones, child-free weddings and complicated family situations, read invitation wording and etiquette. When the invitations go out, the guest list manager keeps track of who's been sent one and who has replied.
Where your information is kept
Your details and any wording you edit are saved in this browser only, using local storage. They're never sent to this site, and copying a version puts plain text on your own clipboard. The tool never asks for guests' names. If you've saved a wedding date in the countdown or checklist, it's used as the starting date here.
Clearing your browser's data for this site, or using a private window, removes it. To keep a copy or move it to another device, use Your planner data to download a backup.
Questions people ask
- Who should be named as hosting the wedding?
Traditionally the hosts were the bride's parents, but it's now very common for the couple to host in their own names, or for both families to be named. Choose whoever is genuinely hosting. If family circumstances make it complicated, wording from the two of you, perhaps "together with their families", is often the kindest solution. The invitation wording guide has examples for divorced, separated and remarried parents.
- Should the dress code, gift list or children's invitation go on the invitation?
Usually not. The invitation itself keeps to who, what, when, where and how to reply, and everything else goes on a separate details card or your wedding website. That's why the tool puts those notes in their own "details card" section. The names on each envelope are what show exactly who's invited, so address them carefully, especially for a child-free wedding.
- What is the blank line in the formal wording for?
Formal invitations often leave a line to write each guest's name by hand: "request the pleasure of the company of", then the name. It's optional, but it makes clear exactly who's invited. Leave it out if you're printing names, or sending the same card to everyone.
- How should an evening invitation be different?
Make it clearly different from the day invitation, so nobody turns up for the ceremony by mistake. The wording says "evening reception" and gives the later start time, and ideally it's printed on a different card too.
- Can we change the wording the tool gives us?
Yes. Choose "Edit this wording" on any version and change it freely. Your edited version is saved separately, so changing the details won't overwrite it. "Start again from the generator" discards it, after checking with you first.