This should not come across as shocking really because let’s be honest, wedding invitation wording is one of those things everyday people never have to think about or even notice till they really have to – for their own wedding.
While it’s obvious what a bride might want to say in her wedding invitation, how and where to say it might not be the most obvious thing. So here are few bits on “How And Where To Say It” on your wedding invitation.
Bi-lingual Wedding: Consider your guests with your invitation. If majority of your guests speak 2 major languages, consider a double-sided wedding invitation. This is a much cheaper option than having to order two different invitations and figuring which one suits each guest best.
Website Info, Hashtags (Social Media Cues): With social media being actively incorporated into weddings these times, information such as your wedding hashtag, handle or website should not be left for your guests to search for. However, the actual invitation is not the place for this. A separate card attached to the wedding invitation, or save the date or RSVP cards would be best for these kinds of information.
The proper wording for the wedding website would be “For more information, visit www.mikolo.co.ug”. For hashtags, you can refer to your wedding with the hashtag so it’s already obvious – “For more information for the #JoyceDaniel2016 wedding, www.mikolo.co.ug”.
NO Kids allowed – Often times, especially recently, we are seeing more weddings where kids are not allowed. While this is always a delicate thing to tell parents, the best option to get this message across in the nicest possible way would be to use the phrase “Adult event/reception only”. Stay away from negated words such as “no” or “not” as they almost always cause a negative reaction or feeling.
Another way would be to specifically address on the invitation who exactly can come to the wedding. This can be done precisely by listing how many guests the invitation allows for (2 people) and then only the names of the individuals allowed to attend (Mr & Mrs Smith).
Entree Selections – All talks about foods (due to preference and allergies) should be left for the response cards instead of the actual invitation. If it is going to be a dry wedding, you do not necessarily have to list that on your wedding invitation, no one has ever died from not being served alcohol at a wedding – however such information can be happily placed on the wedding website.
Traditional Wedding Invitation Wording Template: So what goes on the actual invitation? See below for a simple template of a traditional wedding invitation.
Mr. and Mrs. Mugabi Nelson (proper names of the hosts)
request the honor of your presence (request line)
at the marriage of their daughter (list relationship of the bride to the host)
Nina Aligawesa (bride’s first and middle names only)
to Kanyali Nelson (groom’s full name)
Saturday the twenty-fourth of June (day of the week, day and month of wedding)
two thousand and sixteen (Year of wedding)
at six o’clock in the evening (time of wedding and time of day)
Christ the King Kampala (name of the location of wedding)
Plot 3 Colville Street, P. O. Box 2551, Kampala (Address)
Reception to follow (reception line)
