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Wondering  whether or not you need to include a reception card with your invitations?  Well, in general, if your reception will be held at a different location than the ceremony, then it is a good idea to include a reception card.  This way, you will have plenty of room to list the significant details without overloading the invitation with too much information.

Once you have decided to include a reception card, make sure you include the proper details.  First, announce the occasion.  Simply stating “reception” at the top of the card will work, or you can be more specific with something like “cocktail reception” or “black tie reception” or simply “dinner and dancing.”  Such details will  clue  your guests in as to what to wear or what to plan on for food that day.  Secondly, state when the reception is being held.  Something like “immediately following ceremony” will work if there will not be a break between the two events.  If there will be a long break after the ceremony, make sure to list what time cocktails or dinner are to begin.  Lastly, don’t forget to include the name and location of the reception site.

A few things to remember:

• There is no need to send the reception card separately.  Simply include it with the invitation.
• You don’t need a separate reply card for the reception card.  Unless you are told otherwise, if someone lets you know they will be coming to the wedding, you should assume they will be at the reception.  If it is crucial that you get a head count for the reception, then you can leave a designated space on the invitation reply card for the reception.
• Make your invitation suite consistent.  If your invitation wording is formal, then keep the same level of formality  for the reception card.

So, what if your reception is being held at the same location as the ceremony?  In this case, you can mention the reception on the invitation.  Just include a line near the bottom that states something like “reception to follow” or as seen in the above photo, “dinner and dancing to follow.”

With all this said, whether or not to include a reception card is ultimately up to you.  If your reception and ceremony will be at two different locations, you can still list this information on the invite instead of using a separate card.  This is a good way to save on both material and cost.   Of course, the reverse is true as well – you can certainly use a reception card even if both the ceremony and reception will be in the same location.

I figured it was about time to revisit the options you have for wording your invitations. Below you will find several sample methods of wording for when you wish to acknowledge that the wedding is being hosted by parents. As always, these are just some basic ideas and wording can be mixed and matched – or replaced with just about anything you please. The level of formality is easily altered by the words you choose. This will be a topic I cover at another time. Today I will just give you an idea of how to handle the names.

Bride’s parents are hosting:

In this case it is up to you whether or not to include the groom’s family in the wording.

Mr. and Mrs. Johnathan Smith
invite you to join them
in a celebration of love
as their daughter, Mary Ellen
is united in marriage to
Mr. Michael Anderson
son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Anderson…

Or

Please share our joy
at the wedding of
Mary Ellen
daughter of Lisa and Johnathan Smith and
Michael Lee
son of Joy and Robert Anderson

Or the name of the host can follow at the end:

With joyful hearts
we ask you to be present
at the wedding ceremony of
Mary Ellen
and
Michael Lee
Date
Year
Time
Venue
Location

Lisa and Johnathan Smith

Both sets of parents are hosting:

Mr. and Mrs. Johnathan Smith
and Mr. and Mrs. Robert Anderson
request the honour of your presence
at the wedding ceremony of
Mary Ellen Smith
and
Michael Lee Anderson…

For parents with different last names:

Mrs. Lisa Johnson
and Mr. Johnathan Smith
invite you to join them in a celebration of love
as their daughter, Mary Ellen
is united in marriage to
Mr. Michael Anderson…

Divorced and remarried parents:

Mr. and Mrs. Gordan Matterson
and Mr. and Mrs. Johnathan Smith
invite you to join them in a celebration of love as
Mary Ellen
is united in marriage to
Mr. Michael Anderson…

When a parent is deceased:

In this case, the deceased parent can not be considered a host, so you can either use the name of the surviving parent only or you can word it such as this:

Mary Ellen
daughter of Lisa Smith and the late Johnathan Smith
and
Michael Lee
son of Joy and Robert Anderson
request the honour of your presence
at their marriage…

Wedding invitation wording is influenced by several factors – most importantly, in my opinion, the level of formality as well as who will be hosting the event. (and sometimes, a very opinionated relative or significant other!) A simple google search will dump nothing less than a bucket load of options on your lap and this can be, well, overwhelming. For that reason, I will be making several posts on wording. This will be based purely on my own research, and will hopefully prevent at least a few of our brides from feeling completely helpless.

I will begin with a less traditional approach – the wedding not hosted by parents.

These first few start out with a simple introduction:

Example 1

Please join us
For a celebration
of love, friendship, and family as
Jolie Anne Thomas
and
Alexander Raymond Marshall
Join their hands in marriage
Saturday, the nineteenth of May
two thousand and seven
at seven o’clock in the evening
Maplewood Greens
Renton, Washington

Example 2

You are cordially invited
to celebrate the wedding of
Lena Karen Touvelle
and
Patrick Scott Donnelly
on Saturday, the first of July
two thousand six
at Saint Francis Catholic Church
Portland, Oregon
The celebration will continue
at the Sullivan Tavern

Example 3

With joy in our hearts, we,
Melissa Lee
and
Steven Taos
Request your presence
As we exchange marriage vows …etc…

Or perhaps a more straight-forward approach:

Example 4

Emma Elaine Monroe
and
Johnathan Manning Smith
request the pleasure of your company
in celebrating their marriage
on Saturday, the nineteenth of August
two thousand six
at five o’clock in the evening
Meadow Park Inn
Addison, Vermont
Dinner and dancing to follow

Maybe you want to acknowledge your parent or family involvement in a less traditional way:

Example 5

Together with their parents,
Anne Elizabeth Myers
and
Thomas Duncan Moore
request …etc…

or

Together with our parents…

or

Together with our families…

Each of the above examples can be altered to suit your individual needs. I will leave other issues, such as level of formality and capitalization, to another day… As you can see, this is really just the beginning.