Wedding Invitation Q&As

Composing wedding invitations involves complex-and beautiful-etiquette guidelines. We RSVP to your urgent questions.

1. The bride's parents are hosting  ►
2. Both sets of parents are hosting 
3.  Both families and the couple are hosting ► 
4.  You’re paying for your own wedding 
5. Divorced parents are hosting 
6.  The bride’s or groom’s parent is deceased 
7.  Children are not invited 
8.  You're having a destination wedding followed by a later reception at home 
9.  You're not having a formal sit-down dinner 
10.  You’re holding events the day before and after as well 
11. Guests must select their main entrée with their RSVP 
12. Your guests are bilingual 

13. Guests are invited to the reception only 
14. Dates of guests are invited to reception only 

See All Invitation Wording Q&As 

1.  What are the general rules for addressing invitations? 
2. Can we address our invitations using preprinted labels? 
3. How do I address an invitation to a widowed or divorced woman? 
4. How do I address guests with advanced degrees and special titles? 
5. Is it acceptable to send out wedding invitations by email? 


See All Addressing the Envelopes Q&As 

1. What do I do if people ask me if they’re invited—and they’re not? 
2. Do we have to invite everyone to bring a guest? 
3. What should I do if a guest adds an uninvited date on the RSVP? 
4. How should I handle guests who don’t RSVP at all? 
5. Can I invite some, but not all, of my coworkers? 
6. Do we have to invite difficult family members? 
7. Should we invite the parents of bridesmaids and groomsmen? 
8. Can I invite my ex to my wedding? 
9. Should I invite my parents who were divorced and are estranged?


See All Guest List Q&As 

1.  What is the time frame for submitting our engagement photo and announcement to our local newspaper? 
2.  What’s the best way to notify guests if the wedding has to be postponed? 

3.  How should we spread the word that childcare will be provided? 
4.  What's the etiquette for sending out wedding announcements? 
5.  What’s the correct way to include our wedding website link on our invitations? 
6.  Can we ask guests to respond after receiving our save-the-date cards? 
7.
How should we follow up with unresponsive guests?

See All Communication Q&As 

1.How do we request a charitable donation in lieu of gifts? 
2. What's the proper way to request cash gifts? 
3. Can we ask guests to contribute to our family college fund instead? 

See All Gifts Q&As 

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Comments

I have a few friends who included a Save the Date magnet in their wedding announcements. It was pretty helpful - I attached the invitation to my fridge using the magnet provided, and then on the day of the wedding, when I was scrambling to get out the door on time, I was able to quickly locate the invitation for directions. For my Save the Dates, I did a postcard. However, I still like the idea of including a magnet in the actual invitations. My invitations will have a pocket for the RSVP card, and I was thinking of including a magnet of my fiance and I there. Would this be OK, and if so, what would be the proper wording on the magnet at this point - would "Save the Date" still be OK?