Wedding Etiquette Guidelines

Etiquette Guidelines for Wedding Invitations
Invitations May be issued by the parent of the bride or by the bride and groom themselves. If one parent is deceased, the surviving parent may issue the
invitation. If both parents are deceased, a guardian, a close relative or a family friend may serve as the sponsor and issue the invitation.

Envelopes All invitations come with two envelopes. The invitations, along with accompanying enclosure items, are enclosed in first in an inner envelope.
The inner envelope is addressed "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" (first names omitted), without an address. Avoid using the phrase "and family". All family members
should be included, for example: "Mr. and Mrs. Smith", "Julie and Andrew". After the inner envelope is properly addressed, place in an outer envelope
which is sealed and addressed. Envelopes should never be typed but should be written by hand.

Addresses House numbers are expressed in figures except for the house number "One" (e.g. One Sycamore Street). No commas are used when separating
digits in house numbers. Apartment numbers, suite numbers, box numbers and rural route numbers are expressed in figure form. Addresses of churches, clubs,
or public buildings are usually omitted because such addresses are public knowledge and generally well known. However, a street address may be shown below
the name of the church or club is such address is considered necessary for clear direction.

Abbreviations of Courtesy Titles The abbreviations for Mr., Mrs., Ms., and Dr. are used as proper titles. Always write out titles for clergy, judges, and
military officers.

INVITATIONS ISSUED BY BRIDE’S PARENTS Standard Form Mr. and Mrs. William Lewis Baker request the honour of your presence at the marriage of their daughter Barbara Ann to Richard Dean Smith on Saturday, the fourteenth of June Two thousand and eight at three o’clock in the afternoon First Presbyterian Church 101 Main Street Edina, Minnesota Nuptial Mass Mr. and Mrs. William Lewis Baker request the honour of your presence at the marriage of their daughter Barbara Ann to Richard Dean Smith on Saturday, the fourteenth of June Two thousand and eight at an eleven o’clock Nuptial Mass Saint John’s Catholic Church 11188 Church Street Edina, Minnesota	INVITATIONS ISSUED BY BRIDE'S AND GROOM’S PARENTS Mr. and Mrs. William Lewis Baker and Mr. and Mrs. Roger Vernon Smith request the honour of your presence at the marriage of their children	INVITATIONS ISSUED BY GROOM’S PARENTS Mr. and Mrs. Roger Vernon Smith request the honour of your presence at the marriage of Barbara Ann Baker to their son Richard Dean Smith
INVITATIONS ISSUED BY BRIDE AND GROOM Barbara Ann Baker and Richard Dean Smith request the honour of your presence at their marriage	INVITATIONS ISSUED BY FRIENDS Mr. and Mrs. Steven Karl Schmidt request the honour of your presence at the marriage of Barbara Ann Baker	INVITATIONS ISSUED BY ADULT CHILDREN William J. Leonard, Jr. David L. Leonard Barbara A. Smith request the honour of your presence at the marriage of their mother Sharon Marie to Thomas Gardiner
SECOND MARRIAGES Divorcee uses combination of maiden and married names Mr. and Mrs. William Lewis Baker request the honour of your presence at the marriage of their daughter Barbara Ann Baker Smith Widow uses married name Mr. and Mrs. William Lewis Baker request the honour of your presence at the marriage of their daughter Barbara Ann Smith	INVITATIONS ISSUED BY MORE THAT 2 SETS OF PARENTS Mr. and Mrs. William Lewis Baker Mr. and Mrs. Thomas C. Cooley and Mr. and Mrs. Roger Vernon Smith request the honour of your presence at the marriage of their children	RECALLING INVITATIONS Wording may be adjusted to fit the circumstances Mr. and Mrs. William Lewis Baker are obliged to recall the invitations for the marriage of their daughter Barbara Ann to Richard Dean Smith as the marriage will not take place
ONE PARENT DECEASED Living parent not remarried Mrs. William Lewis Baker request the honour of your presence at the marriage of her daughter Barbara Ann Living parent has remarried Mr. and Mrs. John T. Huber request the honour of your presence at the marriage of her daughter Barbara Ann Baker OR Mr. and Mrs. John T. Huber request the honour of your presence at the marriage of their daughter Barbara Ann Baker	BOTH PARENTS DECEASED Invitations issued by unmarried older brother and sister Mr. Roger Vernon Baker requests the honour of your presence at the marriage of his sister Barbara Ann Invitations issued by married older brother or sister Mr. and Mrs. John J. Keller request the honour of your presence at the marriage of her sister Barbara Ann Baker Invitations issued by grandparents or uncle and aunt Mr. and Mrs. Oliver J. Olson request the honour of your presence at the marriage of their granddaughter Barbara Ann Baker	DOUBLE WEDDING When brides are sisters, the older sister is mentioned first Mr. and Mrs. William Lewis Baker request the honour of your presence at the marriage of their daughters Barbara Ann to Richard Dean Smith and Dawn Eloise to Allen Henry Mercer
RECEPTION INVITATIONS The phrase "request the pleasure of your company" is used here and on invitations to other social functions Mr. and Mrs. William Lewis Baker request the pleasure of your company at the wedding reception for their daughter	USE OF HONOR AND HONOUR HONOR You are cordially invited to attend a Retirement Party in honor of Bob Johnson HONOUR Mr. and Mrs. Robert Johnson request the honour of your presence at the marriage of their daughter	WEDDING ANNOUNCEMENTS Announcements should always have a year line, and time of ceremony in never mentioned Mr. and Mrs. William Lewis Baker have the honour of announcing the marriage of their daughter Barbara Ann to Richard Dean Smith on Saturday, the fourteenth of June Two thousand and eight First Presbyterian Church Edina, Minnesota
REAFFIRMATION OF VOWS The honour of your presence is requested at the reaffirmation of the wedding vows of Mr. and Mrs. Vincent Forbes	SUFFIXES Jr., junior, II, III, IV are all properly preceded by a comma Jr. is capitalized when abbreviated Richard Dean Smith, Jr. Junior is not capitalized when spelled in full Richard Dean Smith, junior Roman numerals are properly preceded by a comma Richard Dean Smith, III	TITLES Reverend, Doctor, Captain, etc. are not abbreviated unless lack of space necessitated it Reverend and Mrs. William L. Baker request the honour of your presence at the marriage of their daughter Barbara Ann to Doctor Richard Dean Smith
MILITARY WEDDINGS Officers above the rank of Lieutenant have title preceding name Major and Mrs. William Lewis Baker request the honour of your presence at the marriage of their daughter Barbara Ann to Captain Richard Dean Smith United States Army Junior Officers have title placed on next line preceding branch of service Mr. and Mrs. William Lewis Baker request the honour of your presence at the marriage of their daughter Barbara Ann to Richard Dean Smith First Lieutenant, United States Army Rank below Sergeant is not indicated, and branch of service is placed below name Mr. and Mrs. William Lewis Baker request the honour of your presence at the marriage of their daughter Barbara Ann to Richard Dean Smith United States Army	PARENT’S DIVORCED Divorced Parents Mrs. Nelson Baker Mr. William Lewis Baker request the honour of your presence OR Mrs. Joyce Nelson Baker and Mr. William Lewis Baker request the honour of your presence Bride’s Divorced Mother (if not remarried) uses combination of her maiden and married names Mrs. Joyce Nelson Baker requests the honour of your presence at the marriage of her daughter Barbara Ann Bride’s Divorced Father (if not remarried) Mr. William Lewis Baker requests the honour of your presence at the marriage of his daughter Barbara Ann Divorced Mother and Stepfather Mr. and Mrs. Thomas C. Cooley request the honour of your presence at the marriage of her daughter Barbara Ann Baker OR Mr. and Mrs. Thomas C. Cooley request the honour of your presence at the marriage of Mrs. Cooley’s daughter Barbara Ann Baker OR (Mother only invites) Mrs. Thomas C. Cooley requests the honour of your presence at the marriage of her daughter Barbara Ann Baker Divorced Father and Stepmother Mr. and Mrs. William Lewis Baker request the honour of your presence at the marriage of his daughter Barbara Ann Baker OR Mr. and Mrs. William Lewis Baker request the honour of your presence at the marriage of Mr. Baker’s daughter Barbara Ann Baker