Depending on what kind of couple you are, your preferences, and the style of wedding day you want to end up having will have a direct impact on the design and amount of wedding stationery you need to consider. Whether you're keeping it simple and just choosing to create a wedding website and send thank you cards via email, or you're going to go all out and create a whole wedding stationery suite to cover all bases. Either way, you will need to carefully consider what overall vibe and tone of voice you want to use to ensure it’s consistent across the board.

Regardless of the number of pieces of stationery you will create, try to align the style, look, feel, and tone of all parts of your stationery. This will help to create a look of cohesiveness, ensuring your stationery and communications with your beloved guests are clear and unequivocally you. Low key and informal or traditional and formal, keep reading for everything you need to know about wedding stationery wording.

What makes up a wedding stationery suite?

Don’t panic at the size of the list below; it's exhaustive, and every wedding is unique, so not all of these elements are essential to every wedding. Go ahead and simply pick and choose what’s necessary and what feels right for you. Why not explore the benefits of sending some of your wedding stationery electronically? There's a nice balance to be made from both paper and digital wedding stationery. Sending some digital forms will save you time and money, helping you create a greener wedding in the process.

Pre-wedding

• Engagement party invitations
• Save the date cards
• Hen, stag or sten party invitations
• Wedding invitations

During the wedding

• Order of service
• Wedding table plan
• Place cards
• Table numbers or names
• Menu cards
• Favour tags

Post Wedding

• Thank you cards

Informal wedding invitation wording

If you're planning a celebration that is centred around laughter, fun and dancing, give your guests a taste of what they can expect from your big day with informal wedding invitation wording. The informal language options below are simply examples; feel free to change any of these words to fit your wedding's theme and your individual personalities.

You don't have to follow typical wedding invitation etiquette if you're taking a more laid-back approach; you can eliminate titles and complete names, as well as write dates and times in numbers rather than words. But before you throw all of the rules out of the window, remember you will need to include RSVP information, such as an RSVP deadline and the relevant contact information.

Example 1:

Example 2:

Example 3:

Traditional wedding invitation wording

You've found the perfect invitation design, so it's now time to tackle your wedding invitation wording. Check out the following suggestions for traditional or formal wedding invitation wording with variations based on who is hosting or paying for the wedding and whether the ceremony and reception will be held at the same location. Modify any of these examples to fit your wedding style to find the perfect wedding invitation wording for you. As above, don't forget to include your RSVP information!

Hosted by the bride’s parents:

Hosted by both families

Hosted by the couple

Wedding invitation wording etiquette

How do we let guests know we’re having an adults-only wedding?

As tempting as it may be, we would recommend refraining from putting ‘adults only’ on the wedding invitation. Resist the urge to have this phrase printed on your invites because it could be a little jarring for some guests who might be sensitive to this. A more tactful way to communicate your choice is to encourage family members, wedding party members, and friends to spread the word to other guests by mouth.

However, it is a good idea to include this information on your wedding website. Your website is the perfect place to convey additional wedding details, such as keeping your wedding an adults-only event, links to your wedding registry, directions to your wedding venue, dress code, and recommended local babysitting services.

Where do you include information, such as your wedding website and wedding registry?

It's commonplace (and considered good etiquette) for couples to include the URL for their website on their wedding invitation to direct guests to the web page where they can RSVP and find more details, including your wedding registry. In fact, most wedding website templates offer a gift registry tab.

How much time should we give guests to RSVP for the wedding?

Set your RSVP deadline for three to four weeks before the wedding date. This timeframe will give you enough time to provide your caterer with a final head count, which is usually needed one week before the wedding. An accurate headcount will also allow you to finalise your wedding seating chart in good time.

Who should get a plus one, and who doesn’t?

This can be tricky to navigate, so be sure to tread carefully as you and your partner determine what makes the most sense for your wedding guest dynamics. Here are our general wedding etiquette rules on plus-ones and which guests should be allowed to bring a date to the wedding:

• Married, engaged, and cohabiting guests should get a plus-one
• Wedding party members (bridesmaids, groomsmen, etc.) should get a plus-one
• Guests who have been with their partner for a lengthy amount of time should get a plus one. This is a bit of a grey area. What constitutes a long enough period of time? While this varies for everyone, in general, our rule of thumb is that anyone who has been coupled up with their partner for so long that it would be awkward not to invite them should get a plus-one
• Make a blanket rule for everyone else, such as ‘only immediate family members can bring a date’, and stick to it