Wording for Formal Wedding Invitations When The Couple Is Hosting

The honor of your presence
is requested at the marriage of
Heather Marie Smith
to Michael Francis Jacobson
Saturday, the seventeenth of May
two thousand and eight
at half past four in the afternoon

or

The pleasure of your company
is requested at the marriage of
Heather Marie Smith
to Michael Francis Jacobson
Saturday, the seventeenth of May
two thousand and eight
at half past four in the afternoon

Note:

• If the couple is paying for the wedding themselves, the greeting skips the host line and begins with the request line.
• “The honor of your presence” is traditionally only used if the ceremony is taking place in a house of worship.

Get more basic info on wedding invitations:

• How to address them
• All about postage
• Calligraphy basics