Phrasing Wedding invitations are always phrased in the third person. The English spelling of honour and favour is usually used, although you may use honor and favor if you prefer. Proper names should always be written out in full, including the middle name. Initials should never appear on a wedding invitation. If your fiance of father absolutely refuses to allow his middle name to appear on the invitation, drop it altogether and use just his first and last names. Your invitations will look much nicer without initials on them. Abbreviations, except Mr., Mrs., Dr., and Jr. should not be used. The formal presentation of junioron invitations is to spell it out. The j is lower case and preceded by a comma. Less formal, but also correct, is the use of the abbreviation, Jr. The J is upper case and preceded by a comma. The suffixes II and III are used on an invitation in the same way as junior. They indicate that an older relative has the same name. The suffix II is used when a man is named after his grandfather or his uncle. The suffix III is used by the son of a man using junior or II. These suffixes are usually dropped when the older relative dies. However, when the older relative is a well-known public figure, the suffixes are kept to distinguish the younger man from his well-known relative. A comma usually precedes the suffixes II or III, but some men prefer to omit it. The favour of a reply can be used as a reply request and is especially favored in the South. R.s.v.p. or R.S.V.P. (either is correct) is short for the French “Repondez s‘il vous plait” Please reply and Please respond are the English equivalents of R.s.v.p. All of the above phrases can be used properly on invitations. The appearance of any of these on an invitation requires a reply from the recipient. Regrets only can be used on invitations to a large cocktail party or buffet when an exact count on the number of guests is not necessary. Joining Clauses The word to is used to join the names of the bride and groom on invitations to the marriage ceremony. And is used on invitations to a marriage reception. Date Line The date line informs the recipient of the invitation of the date on which the wedding will take place. The day of the week and the date of the month are shown on this line. The day of the week may be preceded by on, but it is equally proper to omit it. Year Line The year need not appear on wedding invitations. Due to the immediacy of the event, the year is assumed. For instance, Invitations are not mailed one year and four weeks before the wedding. Although not necessary, it is not improper to include the year. You may even wish to include it since many of your guests will be saving your invitation as a keepsake. The year line is necessary on wedding announcements, as they announce an event that has already taken place.(Announcements are mailed after the wedding.) Time Line The hour of the wedding always appears on one line, preceded by at. No upper case letters are used. The time line can also be used to express the time of the day. The terms in the morning (morning hours prior to 12 noon), in the afternoon (from after 12 noon to before 6 p.m.), in the evening (form 6 p.m.until) may follow the time. Church Name The Complete name of the church or temple should be shown on this line. For instance if saint is part of the name, it should be spelled out. Street Address The street address is not necessary unless there are two churches with the same name in the same locality. City and State The names of the city and state in which the wedding is being held always appear on the invitation. Addressing Wedding Envelopes The rules of etiquette apply as much to addressing the envelope as they do to wording the invitation. Wedding invitations are mailed in two envelopes. They may be addressed in your own handwriting, in black or blue ink, or they may be addressed by a calligrapher. (Pepperite does not offer this service of hand addressing.) Folding and Inserting Invitations and announcements are folded with the printed surface OUTSIDE except for the “decorative”or designed style where the printed portion goes inside. They are inserted folded edge first in envelope with tissue over the printed surface. Invitations and announcements with their accompanying cards are enclosed first in an inner envelope that has no glue on the flap and is addressed- Mr.and Mrs.Smith (first names always omitted), without address; then in an outer envelope which is sealed and addressed. The envelopes should never be typed, but should be written by hand in black ink. Wedding Invitation Wording Etiquette - Page 2 - Page 3