WORDING TIPS AND ETIQUETTE
Do not add any punctuation marks (commas, periods, colons, etc.); at the end of a line. However, commas are used within lines to separate the day from the date, the city from the state and a man's surname from "Jr./junior/II/III", etc
Do not abbreviate names or any geographical information.
Always spell out days, dates and times rather than use numerical characters.
Only proper nouns are capitalized (names of people and places, cities, states, name of the day of the week, month, name, etc.) Exceptions are the year line ("Two thousand ten") or where the word is at the beginning of a new sentence or thought ("P" in "Please respond on or before" or the “R” in "Reception to follow").
Popular words can be spelled in American and British form like "honour/favour" or "honor/favor". Wedding etiquette suggests adding the “u”, but the choice of either spelling should be followed through in all cases.
If you want to include “Black tie” as an indication of how to dress, wedding etiquette suggests placing it as a footnote on the bottom right of the reception card.
Use the phrase "request the honour of your presence" for a service held in a house of worship and "request the pleasure of your company" if held in any other location.
The bride's name is listed first on the invitation and the full name should be used. However exclude her last name if it is the same as the sponsor of the wedding (usually bride’s parents). Use her last name if it is different from the sponsor name, both sets of parents are doing the inviting or you want to use titles like Ms., Miss., or Dr.
The groom's full name—first, middle and last should appear after the bride’s.
The day, date and month should all be spelled out in this sequence: “Saturday, the twenty-fifth of April"
If you want to include the year, only the first letter of the first word of the line is capitalized: "Two thousand and eleven."
The time should be spelled out but never use "a.m." or "p.m." on a formal invitation. The time of day may be indicated as “seven o’clock in the evening”.
When listing the location of the ceremony include the name (street address optional) and city, state. If it is in someone’s home, just include the address, city, and state. Never include the zip code.
If you are having a reception in the same place as the ceremony rather than using a separate enclosure, you may add “Reception immediately following" or "Reception to follow" as a footnote or the final line of the invitation.
