Planning your wedding invitations can be exciting! But when it comes to wedding invitations VS website: what information goes where? You want your invitations to feel elegant and informative without overwhelming your guests with too many details. Balancing essential information [like gift registry links, parking instructions, and activities for guests between events] while keeping your invitations clean and simple is key. A wedding website can be the perfect place to share all those extra details, ensuring your invitations stay focused and beautiful.
Related: Invitation Etiquette + The One Thing You Should NEVER Do!
Wedding Invitations: Here’s What Information To Include
Who’s hosting
Traditionally, a wedding is hosted by the bride’s parents, so their names would be at the top of the invitation.
Example: “Rory and Catherine Smith request the honour of your presence…”
Lots of couples choose to host their own wedding or do so together with their parents.
Example: “Together with their parents, Glen and Kelly request the honour of your presence…”
There are a few other, slightly more complicated ways of beginning your wedding invitation. A few scenarios include wanting to note a deceased parent or wanting to name divorced parents and step-parents.
Example: “Kelly Smith, daughter of Mr. Rory Smith and the late Catherine Smith…”
To make things even more simple and less traditional, you could leave out the names of parents and hosts altogether and just put your own names there. This is a great idea for a relaxed wedding or one where the couple is fitting the bill entirely.
Example: “Glen and Kelly are getting married!”
The request to attend
There are lots of lovely ways to ask your guests to attend your wedding.
Here are some examples:
“…the pleasure of your company.”
“…would love for you to join them.”
“…invite you to celebrate with them.”
Your names
This seems pretty obvious to include your own names, but we’re saying it anyway. What you might be thinking is whose name goes first? For a heterosexual couple, you’d have the bride’s name first, followed by the groom’s name. If you’re keeping it formal, be sure to include your title and those of your parents. For a more relaxed wedding invitation, you could omit the titles.
Same-sex couples don’t have to worry about which name goes first. You could go alphabetical or with the option that sounds best.
The date and time
You’d be surprised at how many couples accidentally leave the date and time off their wedding invitation. It’s a pretty key detail so we’re here to remind you to remember it.
Formal wedding invitations require the date and time to be written in full, without numerals. You’ll use the word “o’clock” when writing out the time, and ‘am’ or ‘pm’ is optional.
Numerals are totally acceptable for a less formal approach.
The location
You should write out the name of the venue, the city and county. You won’t need to include the first line of the address unless it would be confusing otherwise or if the wedding venue is somebody’s home.
Reception details
If your wedding reception is taking place at a different location, name the venue on a separate line. For weddings where the ceremony and reception are at the same venue, include something like “reception immediately following”.
Tip: if your reception isn’t taking place immediately after your ceremony, then include the reception time here too.
Dress code
This is an optional detail. If you don’t include your dress code in your wedding invitation, you could instead include this on your website (details below). Alternatively, the style of your invitation will dictate the dress code. If your invitation is quite fancy, guests will anticipate a formal dress code. A simple invitation implies a more relaxed dress code.
RSVP information
You could simply include where to RSVP and when to do it.
Website
If you are creating a wedding website, include the URL at the bottom of the invitation. If this is where you would like guests to RSVP, you can include this on the same line as the RSVP details.
Wedding Website: Here’s What Information To Include
The basics
- Your names (this will help guests to know they’re in the right place)
- The wedding date
- Time
- Locations
We recommend having these basics near the top of the website because they’ll be the first bits of information that guests will be searching for.
Virtual wedding details
If you plan to have any type of virtual wedding, such as a live stream ceremony, keep this information visible on the website. This will include a link for guests to watch, a password if required, and any important instructions (things like “please mute yourself”).
Gifts list
Guests will want to know where they can find a wedding gifts list, and we highly recommend not putting this information on your printed invitations. This is what your wedding website is for! Put a link to your wedding registry so guests know where to go.
How to get there
The more detailed, the better. Include the full address, a map and any other key information required. Consider guests who are unfamiliar with your wedding location, and think about the information they’ll need. These might be the names of nearby airports, places to rent cars, links to public transport websites and information about how long the journey is. Include details about where to park, for guests who are driving.
Accommodation
If you have lots of guests coming from out of town, provide a list of nearby hotels and spots to rent. Include the names of hotels, addresses, website links and a discount code if you’ve got one.
Your story
Remember, this is YOUR wedding website and you want your guests to know it. Include photos, how you met, your proposal story and funny tidbits about you as a couple. Make it as personal as you can!
RSVP information
One of the key functions of a wedding website is to direct people towards where they can RSVP. This may be a button that links to a Google Form, an automated RSVP spot on a wedding website, or simply an email address. Don’t forget to include the RSVP date!
Plus ones
Be clear about whether or not guests are allowed to bring a plus one or their kids along with them. If you’re saying no to either of these options, there are some sweet ways to tell them.
Related: How to Politely Tell Somebody Their Children Aren’t Invited to Your Wedding
The dress code
Guests will be wondering what to wear, so state the dress code and be as clear as you can.
Related: Wedding Dress Codes Demystified
Things to do
This information is only required if you’ve got lots of out of town guests or a big gap of time between your ceremony and reception. You could include nearby cinemas, museums, places to eat and salons!
Related: How to Avoid Awkward Gaps of Time On Your Wedding Day
Online etiquette
Do you intend to create a wedding hashtag that you’d like guests to use? Put this on your wedding website, along with a note of what guests should do with it. Don’t assume everybody knows what a hashtag is or how to use it. Additionally, if you’re having an unplugged ceremony, your wedding website is the place to announce it first.
Related: How to Have an Unplugged Wedding
Food information
People will be wondering what food will be served, so you can decide how much of this information you’d like to share. At the very least, give guests an option to let you know if they have dietary requirements.
A countdown
Of course, your wedding date will be highly visible near the top of your website. We also recommend including a countdown too! This will add to the excitement of how many days are left before the Big Day.
Contact information
To avoid having anybody contact you on the morning of your wedding, provide contact information for who will be the point of contact on the day. This could be a wedding planner, venue coordinator or the Best Man. It’s got to be someone who will know how to help guests who are lost or have any pressing questions on the day.
Featured image credit: Tomi Kriste Photography
