Generally Accepted Rules of Ettiquette for Wedding Invitations

If the bride’s father and mother are issuing the invitations, the conventional form is:

Mr. and Mrs. John Carl Jones
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter
Elizabeth Marie
to
Mr. Michael John Ryan
on Saturday, the eighth of July
nineteen hundred and ninety-nine
at three o’clock in the afternoon
First Baptist Church
Doraville, Georgia

If the bride’s parents are divorced, the parent with whom she lives usually issues the invitations. If the mother issues the invitations and she has not remarried she uses a combination of her maiden name and her divorced husband’s last name:

Mrs. Carson Jones
A divorced father who issues the invitation uses the conventional form:

Mr. John Carl Jones

If the bride’s parents are deceased and the invitation is issued by an older, unmarried sister or brother:

Mr. Gregory Thomas Jones
requests the honour of your presence
at the marriage of his sister
etc.
Other relatives such as grandparents, aunt or uncle may also issue the invitations if the bride’s parents are deceased. They would use the same formats as above with the proper relationship changes.

If the father or mother is deceased and the surviving parent issues the invitation:

Mrs. (Mr.) John Carl Jones
requests the honour of your presence at the marriage of her (his) daughter
etc.

If the father or mother is deceased and the surviving parent has remarried, the remarried mother would use her present husband’s name, but the remarried father would use the conventional form:

Mr. and Mrs. David Lee Carson
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of her daughter
…their daughter
….Mrs. Carson’s daughter
etc.

If the groom’s family issues the invitations:

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Allen Ryan
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of
Miss Elizabeth Marie Jones
to their son
Mr. Michael John Ryan
etc.

If the bride’s parents are deceased and the invitation is issued by an older married brother or sister:

Mr. and Mrs. Robert James Baker
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of her sister
etc.

If the bride and groom issue their own invitations the conventional wording would be:

Miss Elizabeth Marie Jones
and
Mr. Michael John Ryan
request the honour of your presence
at their marriage

ARMY, AIR FORCE, MARINES
CAPTAIN OR HIGHER

to
Captain David William Anderson
United States Army

LIEUTENANT

to
Thomas Everet Sween
Lieutenant, United States Army

NON COMS AND PRIVATES

to
Eugene Joseph Perkins
United States Marine Corps

NAVY
ENSIGN AND HIGHER

to
Eugene Joseph Perkins
Ensign, United States Navy

PETTY OFFICERS AND SEAMEN

to
Dennis James Otto
United States Navy