Your wedding invitations are more than just a formality. They’re made and sent with love, letting your nearest and dearest know that you want them to be a part of your special day. And they also offer a chance for you to be creative: putting together an invite that sets the tone for the day and reflects who you are as a couple.
Yet figuring out exactly what to include—and how to say it—can feel overwhelming. There’s some standard information that has to be on there (date, time and location, for example) but you can definitely still put your stamp on it.
Here’s our complete guide to getting your wedding invitations sorted.
Contents
How do you address a wedding invitation?
What should I include in a wedding invitation?
Wedding invite templates and examples
How do you say ‘adults only’ on a wedding invite?
How should I write an evening-only wedding invite?
How long should I give people to RSVP to my wedding invite?
Can I send a digital invite?
How do I politely say no to plus ones on a wedding invitation?
How should I say ‘black tie’ on a wedding invitation?
How should I say ‘no gifts please’ on a wedding invitation?
When should I send wedding invitations?
How do you address a wedding invitation?
First things first: how should you address your guests? Traditionally, wedding invitations come in two envelopes: an outer envelope that contains the mailing address and the guests’ formal titles, plus an inner envelope that protects the invite itself. On the inner envelope, you would write the specific names of the people you’re inviting.
This comes from the days when post was delivered by horse and cart. When delivering mail, there was a good chance that the outer envelope would get dirty. So, when the mail was being delivered, the outer envelope would be discarded—with just the inner envelope being received.
Here’s some examples for how to address inner and outer envelopes:
To a married couple
- Outer envelope: Mr and Mrs Walsh
- Inner envelope: Sarah Walsh and Andrew Walsh
To a family (all living in the same house)
- Outer envelope: Mrs and Mrs Johnson
- Inner envelope: Stephanie, Sam, Maggie and Jack
To someone bringing a plus-one
- Outer envelope: Ms Rachel Li
- Inner envelope: Rachel Li and Guest
FYI: here, if you know the name of the plus-one, it’s polite to use it.
Though these days, as wedding traditions become more modern and relaxed, one envelope that simply contains the recipients’ full names and address is absolutely fine. It depends on how closely you want to follow tradition and what you’re comfortable with.
What should I include in a wedding invitation?
Wedding invitations typically include the following information:
- Names of the host(s). It used to be standard for a couples’ parents (usually, the bride’s) to pay for the wedding. As such, their names would be listed at the top of the invite. Today, as it’s more common for couples to foot their own bill, this tends to be left out.
- Request to attend. This could be formal or casual (see examples below)
- Your names
- Date and time
- Ceremony location
- Reception information. If both the ceremony and reception are at the same place, you can just write “Reception to follow”. Otherwise, add the address as a separate section
- Dress code (if applicable)
- RSVP date and information
How do I include a deceased parent on a wedding invitation?
You can definitely still include them on your invite if you’d like to, but you’ll have to be mindful of your wording.
If your surviving parent is hosting, you could add the other parent’s name to that same line:
Mrs Jackie Butler and the late Mr Steven Butler request the pleasure of your company at the marriage of their daughter Abigail Butler to Rohan Patel
Another option is to list yourself as the host but to identify yourself as the child of both your parents.
Abigail Butler, daughter of Mrs Jackie Butler and the late Mr Steven Butler,
and Rohal Patel, son of Mrs Padma Patel and Mr Anil Patel,
Would like you invite you to celebrate their wedding
Do you include the groom’s parents on wedding invitations?
If they’ve contributed financially to the wedding and you want to follow tradition, then yes, you would include their names at the top of the invite.
How should I phrase the request to attend?
Great question. There are no fixed rules, but here’s some ideas for what you might say:
- Request the pleasure of your company
- Request the honour of your presence
- Would like to invite you to their wedding
- Invite you to our wedding celebrations
- Would love for you to join them as they marry
- We’d love for you to join us as we say, “I do!”
- Invite you to celebrate the union of
- Invite you to share in our celebration as we tie the knot
Wedding invite templates and examples
With the above in mind, a formal invite (with hosting information) might look like:
Mr John Smith and Mrs Danielle Smith
and Rebecca Mead and Ellie Mead
invite you to the wedding of their children
Sophie Smith and Jackson Mead
On the fifteenth of August, two-thousand twenty-six
At two o’clock in the afternoon
At Kindred, Queen Caroline Street
Reception to follow
Black tie
Please RSVP by the seventh of June, to [parents’ contact details]
You might have noticed that the dates were spelled out rather than written with numbers. This is considered more formal. But again, it’s totally up to you—it’s perfectly acceptable to use numbers in this day and age.
While something more casual could be:
Anoushka Jebril and Tom Harrison
Invite you to celebrate their wedding
On Saturday, August 15th, 2026
At 2pm
Kindred, Queen Caroline Street
Reception and dancing to follow!
How do you say ‘adults only’ on a wedding invite?
You’ve got a few options here, but you do need to clearly spell this out. Otherwise, families may just assume that their children are invited. Here’s a few ideas:
- We love your children, but we have chosen for our wedding to be an adults-only event. We thank you for understanding
- As the event will run late into the evening, we are sorry that we are unable to extend this invite to children
- Please be aware that this will be an adults-only wedding
- We hope you understand that we have chosen for our wedding to be an adults-only event
- So that all of our guests can relax and let their hair down, we have chosen to make our wedding an adults-only event
- Due to limited venue space, this will be an adults-only wedding
- We respectfully request no children at the evening reception
- Although we love your children, we regret that we cannot accommodate them at the venue
- Regrettably, we are only able to accommodate children within our immediate families. We thank you for understanding
- Please note that this is an adults-only occasion
If you’re going to have a wedding website, you can also include this under the FAQs: “Can I bring my kids?”. Be polite and considerate, but very clear. It’s not rude to say “adults only” on your wedding invitation.
How should I write an evening-only wedding invite?
In the same way as you would write one for the entire event, just focused around the reception information. So, you would include:
- Request to attend
- Your name
- Date and time
- Location
- Dress code
What’s different is that you would specify that the invite is only for the reception. Plus, these invites are generally more informal in nature.
Luca Romano and Josh Cooke
Invite you to the evening celebrations of our wedding
Kindred, Queen Caroline Street
15th August 2025, from 6:30pm
FYI: instead of “evening celebrations” you can also say “reception”.
How long should I give people to RSVP to my wedding invite?
Here in the UK, it’s standard to set an RSVP deadline of about four weeks before the wedding. Though many couples choose to set an earlier date, so that they have enough time to sort dietary requirements, travel and seating arrangements.
Can I send a digital invite?
Yes, definitely. This is becoming an increasingly popular option.
Here, couples either create a digital image wedding invite—just as they would if it were on physical paper, including all the information listed above—or direct guests straight to their wedding website.
How do I politely say no to plus ones on a wedding invitation?
There’s a few ways you can say this on the invite itself. For example, you can add that the wedding is “by invitation only”. You should also ensure that the invitation is only addressed to the person you want to invite: for instance, “Ms Riley Winters” and not “Ms Riley Winters and Guest”.
If you’re including an RSVP card, you can make this even clearer. First, write the guest name yourself so there’s no room for them to add someone else:
Ms Riley winters graciously accepts/ regretfully declines
You can also add something in the FAQs section on your wedding website that addresses this directly. For example:
Q: Can I bring my partner to your wedding?
A: As much as we would love that, unfortunately we have limited space so aren’t able to extend invitations to additional guests. We thank you for your understanding.
What if someone asks you directly? Be kind, but also be clear and honest.
“I’m so sorry, you know I love your new partner, but because of our space limitations we just can’t host additional guests. I hope you understand.”
How should I say ‘black tie’ on a wedding invitation?
It’s standard to include information about the dress code on the wedding invite.
You can literally just spell this out:
Dress code – Black tie
Black tie
Black tie attire
Add this towards the end of the invite, after you’ve given the information about the date, time, and location. You can also offer a little more description if you like:
We ask that gentlemen wear a tuxedo and for ladies to wear a floor-length gown
By the way: the above is what is technically included in a black tie dress code. If you want your guests to simply dress formally, but don’t mind if they wear a suit instead of a tux (or go for dresses of different lengths), you could say “Formal: black tie optional”.
How should I say ‘no gifts please’ on a wedding invitation?
This is an extra bit of information you can absolutely include. Pop it towards the bottom of the invite, underneath all of the essential bits.
Here’s some ways you could phrase this:
- Your presence at our wedding is already a gift. Please, no wedding gifts
- No gifts, please
- Having you join us for our special day is the only gift we need. However, if you would like to give a gift, we would gratefully accept contributions to our honeymoon
- We appreciate your generosity, but we would please ask our guests not to bring gifts
- We would prefer for our guests not to bring wedding gifts. However, if you would like to get us something, we would love for you to make a donation to [charity]
- We are lucky enough to have everything we need, so we ask that you don’t bring a gift to our wedding. We’re so grateful to be sharing our special day with you
When should I send wedding invitations?
Invites are typically mailed around three months before the day. Though if you’ve having a destination wedding, it’s a good idea to send them sooner: we know some couples who have sent theirs a year in advance (this was for guests living in Australia, who would be travelling for a UK wedding). What you think is appropriate is up to you, but you want your guests to have enough time to make travel arrangements.
Your wedding venue
Many couples say that sending out their wedding invites makes the day feel real—and ramps up their excitement. Often, they’ll set aside an invite for themselves to have as a keepsake.
It’s one of many magical memories you’ll make about your wedding, from the planning process to the moment when you’re tying the knot in your beautiful wedding venue.
The venue is one of the most important decisions you’ll make about your celebration. It should make your guests feel welcome and cared for, while setting the tone and feel for the day.
Kindred is a West London wedding venue known for its gorgeous interiors, chef-crafted menus, and warm service. We have a range of spaces across our building to accommodate all sorts of festivities, from parties of up to 180 people to intimate wedding ceremonies and receptions.
Our on-site Hammersmith restaurant, Cellar, will be entirely at your disposal. You will also have access to a well-stocked private bar (we have one on each floor of our building) and top-of-the-range AV capabilities.
We welcome you to visit us in person and see our space for yourself. Simply get in touch with our team to arrange it. Take a look through our wedding brochure, or explore our building through a virtual tour, to learn more.
