About Richelle Albrecht Expertise As a professional graphic designer specialising in wedding stationery, I can answer questions regarding invitation etiquette and wording, printing processes used in wedding stationery, and even provide info and resources for brides who wish to take a DIY approach.
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Past/Present clients references are available upon request.
We are having a very small ceremony with 60 of our closest family and friends, with a large reception with extended family & friends to follow. I am stumped on how to word the reception-only invitations (and save the dates!!)--I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings or make anyone feel less included in our special day. Do you have any suggestions on how to word a) the save the date cards, & b) the actual invites for those invited to the reception only?
Your help is greatly appreciated!
Answer Hi Tiffany,
Thanks so much for your question.
It can be really difficult to decide whom to invite to a wedding when your ceremony list must be limited. The best thing to do in this type of situation is to issue two separate invitations: one to the ceremony only, and one to the reception only. Those who will be invited to both ceremony and reception will receive both invitations, while those who are invited to the reception only will receive just the single reception invitation.
The ceremony invitation should read just like any other wedding invitation, while the reception invitation should read:
Mr. and Mrs. Bride's Parents
request the pleasure of your company
at a (dinner) reception in honour of
Mr. and Mrs. Your Married Name
Day, the date of Month
at time o'clock (in the afternoon/evening)
Location Name
City, State
By wording the reception invitation in this way, you indicate that it's a party in honor of the wedding, but minimize any hard feelings as it appears that the ceremony was a private one.
As for the save the date card, I would recommend wording it so as to imply that the date should be saved for the party, rather than the wedding. Again, this will help minimize any potentially hurt feelings on the part of those guests not invited to the ceremony.
Best wishes to you,
Richelle Albrecht
Girl Metro, Inc.
Distinctive Invitations + Custom Design
