Invitation wording: what goes where

The order, top to bottom

1. Host line. Who is inviting. On a child’s party this is often left off or folded into the request (“Join us to celebrate”). On a traditional wedding invitation it names the hosts.
2. Request line. The ask: “You’re invited”, “Please join us”, or a formal phrase.
3. Honoree or occasion. Whose day it is and what it is: “Juniper is turning one”, “our holiday party”.
4. Date. Day of the week and the date. The weekday catches mistakes, because people notice when a Saturday is not a Saturday.
5. Time. A start time, and an end time for children’s parties so parents can plan pickup.
6. Place. The venue name, then the street address on its own line.
7. Reply line. How to reply and by when.
8. Extras. Dress, parking, a website link or QR code. Short, and at the bottom.

The invitation wording builder puts these in order for you, by occasion and tone, and shows the lines on a 5 by 7 card as you type.

Formal and casual, side by side

Formal wording is a set of traditions. Casual wording is whatever sounds like you. Here is the same kind of event both ways, with made-up names.

What makes wording formal

• Dates and times written out in words, with no abbreviations.
• Full names, without nicknames.
• Traditional request phrases. “The pleasure of your company” is the usual choice; “the honour of your presence” is traditionally kept for ceremonies in a place of worship.
• “Reception to follow” when the party is at the same place straight after.
• A separate reply card, or a line such as “The favour of a reply is requested by”.

These are conventions, not law. Plenty of couples mix them, and that is fine as long as the card is consistent with itself.

What makes wording casual

Numerals, contractions, first names and a line that sounds like a person. Casual does not mean vague: the date, time, place and reply line still need to be exact.

What to leave off the card

• Gift and registry details. Traditionally these do not go on the invitation itself. Put them on a website or an insert. “Gifts optional” or “no gifts, please” on a child’s party is a common exception and reads kindly.
• Long directions. An address and a map link do the job. Parking notes and gate codes belong on a website or in the reply text.
• Who is not invited. The names you put on the envelope or the message say who is invited. If you must be explicit, a gentle line such as “We love your little ones, but this celebration is for grown-ups” is better placed on the website than on the card.
• A third font. Two is plenty. A script for the name and a clear font for everything else.

Fitting it on a 5 by 7

A 5 by 7 card comfortably holds about ten to fourteen short lines once you leave room for a photo or artwork. A few habits keep it calm:

• One idea per line. Break lines where you would pause when reading aloud.
• Keep the street address on a single line where you can. If it wraps, break it after the street name, never in the middle of a number.
• Let the honoree’s name be the largest thing on the card, and the reply line one of the smallest, but never smaller than easy-to-read.
• Keep everything inside the safe zone. The trim, bleed and safe zone guide shows where that line is.

Reply lines that actually get replies

Give one way to reply, not three, and a date. “RSVP by April 10 to Ana, 555 0100” works better than “Kindly RSVP” with no date. For timing, the guide to sending dates and RSVP deadlines sets out the common ranges.

If you are putting the invitation online too, the reply line can point to a button instead of a phone number. That is the one place where a website invitation saves guests real effort.