When my wife and I were married, we didn't follow proper wedding invitation etiquette. And to our extreme disappointment, we had parents upset with us on both sides of the family. Of course, this wasn't intentional - we just didn't know better at that time.

So here are some . . .

Tips on creating wedding invitations

Once you are finished writing down the guest list, it is time to order your wedding invitations. This should be done around two to three months before the wedding ceremony. But before you start ordering your wedding invitations, make sure that you have established the date, time, and locations of the ceremony and the reception. After all of that has been determined, you need to think about the content of your wedding invitation.

Here is some information and details that you should consider when writing your wedding invitation:

It is customary for the family of the bride to sponsor and finance the wedding and should therefore be listed as the responsible party for the invitation. For example, let’s say that the bride's family name is Johnson. The invitation should be written like this:

Mr. and Mrs. William Johnson request the honor of your presence at the marriage of their daughter Jennifer Ann to Mr. Anthony Allen on Friday, the twenty fifth of September at one o’ clock......

If both parents of the bride and the groom are sponsoring the wedding, the invitation should look something like this:

Mr. and Mrs. William Johnson And Mr. and Mrs. Robert Allen request the honor of your presence at the marriage of their children Miss Jennifer Ann Johnson and Mr. Anthony Allen……

If you are having a military wedding, the rank determines where the names should be placed. For example, titles should be listed before the names and branch of service is listed on the following line if the rank is higher than a lieutenant. A junior officers’ title is listed below his or her name and is followed by the branch of service.

Also included in your wedding invitation is a response card, or the “RSVP card”. The response card is designed to let the sponsor know that the guest will be attending the ceremony and/or the reception and the number of guests they are bringing, if any. You will need to include a self addressed stamped envelope that you place inside the invitation card to coordinate with the response card.