The year is optional on invitations, but it must be used on announcements.

If the wedding is in a place of worship, then the phrase, “the honour of your presence” is used. If the wedding will take place at a home, or in a hotel or elsewhere, then phrases such as, “the pleasure of your company” or “the honor of your presence” is used. This has to do with the sanctity of holding a wedding in a sacred place.

If the city is large and the wedding site is not well known to your guests, then the address should be printed on the invitations.

With well known cities such as Washington DC, San Francisco and Atlanta for example, it is not necessary to list the state. However, for layout and spacing purposes you may prefer to do so.

The party after a wedding is called a reception if it takes place after one o’clock. It’s called a breakfast if it takes place earlier than one o’clock.

The time for the ceremony typically is written “at four o’clock” or “at half after four o’clock.” The abbreviation A.M. and P.M. are too informal and never used, but a couple may substitute “in the evening” or “in the afternoon” or “in the morning” if they wish.

No nicknames and no initials. Full names should be used unless one you hates your middle name so much that you just can’t bear to have it known.

If the word junior is used, it is written lowercase, unless it is abbreviated. Then it’s capitalized – go figure, I can’t explain this one!

Here you go…here’s more super important info which is sure to make you look like a super savvy couple!

How to determine your RSVP date:
Ideally your invites should go out eight weeks before your wedding date. If you do this, then make your reply-by deadline approximately three weeks before the wedding date. If you’re running a little behind and find yourself sending the invitations out six weeks before the wedding, then make your reply-by deadline two weeks before the wedding.

Addressing Invitations for Doctors, Lawyers, Priests, Judges, etc.

Here’s how to address  your envelopes properly for some of the most common professions: Lawyer: Madeline Chase, Esq.; Doctor: Dr. Madeline Chase; Judge: The Honorable Madeline Chase; Rabbi: Rabbi Madeline Chase; Clergyperson: The Reverend Madeline Chase: Catholic Priest: Father John Westin; Military: Captain (Commander or Major) Madeline Chase.

Ceremony now, Party Later. How to word this?

This is actually quite simple. What you’re really doing here is announcing that you’re already married and you are now hosting a party. Be sure to introduce yourselves as a married couple, then continue with the details of your celebration.  For example: “We’ve Tied the Knot! Anthony Mele and Katherine Rivers were married on Saturday, August 8, 2009. Please join us as we celebrate on Friday, September….”

Addressing wedding invitations can seem a bit confusing, but the rules are relatively simple for most of the people on your guest list. Spell out titles and degrees (“Doctor”), and always use “Mr. and Mrs.” for married couples. If a couple is unmarried but living together, or is married but uses different last names, put their names on separate lines in alphabetical order. Unmarried couples who do not live together should receive two separate invitations.  If a guest is in the military, the title of an officer whose rank is equal to or higher than a captain in the army or a lieutenant in the navy is placed next to his or her name with the branch of service below. You should also include titles for retired high-ranking officers, inserting (Ret.) after their names. And the branch of service should always be listed below the names of reserve officers on active duty, noncommissioned officers and enlisted persons.

As for children, it is unnecessary to include their names on the outer envelope of a wedding invitation. Instead, list them on the inner envelope with their parents (“Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Justin”). The absence of a child’s name altogether implies that he or she is not invited. However, many guests may not realize this and assume their children are invited. If you don’t want kids to come, be sure to spread the word that you can only accommodate adults at your reception, and do not leave a space with “Number of guests” to be filled in. If you are not using inner envelopes, simply write the child’s name on a separate line below the parent’s name. 

Finally, inner envelopes should be addressed to “Mr. and Mrs. Johhson” without first names or addresses. Close relatives can be addressed as “Aunt Shirley” or “Grandma Mary” on the inner envelope only. And if a single person is invited with an unspecified guest, add “and Guest” to the inner envelope to indicate that he or she may bring a date (however, it’s always preferable to send an individual invitation to someone’s guest if you know who the guest will be).

I know I cover this topic a lot, but it comes up a lot.
Here goes:

• The words honour and favour are traditionally used when the ceremony is being held in a house of worship or for a formal invitation.
• While traditional invitations use the phrase “at the marriage of” it’s fine to alter the words for a less formal invitation. For example, “invite you to the wedding of…” or “we hope you will join us for the marriage of…”
• There is no punctuation except for the periods after Mrs., Mr., etc. and where phrases requiring commas appear in one line (Saturday, the seventh of June).
• Titles such as “Doctor” and other professional titles/military ranks are written in full.
• Names are written in full. For example, if the groom goes by A.J., his name would be written out as Adam Joseph.
• When an invitation is to the ceremony only, it does not include an rsvp.
• Numbers of the street address (on the invitation – not the envelope!) are written as numerals: “519 South Eads Street” but when there’s just one number it’s spelled out: “Ten East Avenue”
• Half hours are written as “half after five o’clock”, not “half past seven” or “seven-thirty.”
• Numbers of the date are spelled out: “the ninth of August”