There is no single way to word your stationery items, but there are certain customs that are considered to be standard. One of the most important things to keep in mind when determining how your stationery should be worded (especially your formal invitations) is who is hosting the wedding. When we say hosting, we are essentially talking about who is allocating the majority of the resources to make the wedding happen. This could be the couple themselves, either set of parents, both sets of parents, or really anyone. The names of whoever is hosting should appear first on your wedding invitations.

Our Stationery Wording Guide provides a huge assortment of variations on how your different stationery items can be worded. You can choose to go traditional and formal, or you can make the wording your own and showcase your personality. The choice is entirely up to you, and we can help guide you along this process.

You’ll want to include the names of the hosts (should be at the top of the invitation), the couple’s names, the date and time of the ceremony, the ceremony and reception location (and reception time if not immediately following the ceremony), and attire details.

All additional information, including your wedding website address, response card information, extra information about your venue, guest name, guest address, and return address, will be included elsewhere in your invitation suite.

You’ll want to include your wedding website address, response card information, and any other important information about your venue. There are a lot of different options how you can do this. The most traditional and formal way is to include all of this information on a series of cards within your invitation suite. This would include, for example:

1. A response card with room for your guest’s name, an option to make dinner selections (if you need to supply this information to your venue), and any other fun things you’d like to include, like possible an option to request a song or provide you with words of wisdom.
2. A response envelope with your return address printed on it, and postage already placed on the corner of the envelope, so that your guests can simply place the filled out response card in the envelope, seal it shut, and drop it in a mailbox (or at the post office).
3. One or more insert cards, with the most common insert cards being:
   • A reception card indicating the details of the reception’s time and location. This would be necessary if you do not include reception information on the invitation.
   • An accommodations card providing information about local places to stay, especially if you have reserved a block of hotel rooms at one or more specific hotels.
   • A directions/additional details card providing specific information about how to get to the event, timing of specific events, your website information, or anything else that you would like to include.

The return address used should be that of the person(s) whom you’ve designated to receive response cards, be it your parents or you (traditionally, whoever is hosting the wedding handles response cards).

Don’t forget to include your return address on both the back flap of the suite’s outer envelope and on the front of the reply card envelope. You wouldn’t want anyone’s invitation to get lost in the mail, and you need reply cards for planning purposes. Don’t forget that the RSVP envelope should include the proper postage for return mailing.