Wedding Invitation Format for Your DIY Invitation
To save up on some expenses, couples try to DIY things like invitations and one of their major concerns is the wedding invitation format.
How do you tell them that they need to RSVP?
What should I write first on the invitation? Our names or the wedding date?
Can I politely say that we prefer a monetary gift for the wedding?
These are some of the most asked questions when the couples decided to make their own invitation. So to help brides-to-be and grooms-to-be create their own invitation, here is the full guide on the wordings you can use:
Couple’s Name
Traditionally, the woman’s name comes first when it comes to wedding invitations. The couple can use their full names, first names, or just their surnames. This is the most common format here in the Philippines, just the bride and groom’s name for the header.
How Can I Include my Parents’ Name on our Invitation?
Most Filipino couples include the names of their parents on their invitation. And here are some wordings you can choose from:
- (Bride’s name) and (Groom’s name) together with our parents (Parents’ name by pair) request the honor of your presence to celebrate our union as husband and wife.
- (Bride’s name) and (Groom’s name) with the grace of God and with the blessing of our parents (Parents’ name by pair) request the honor of your presence for a celebration of love, family and friendship as we become united in marriage.
How Can I Honor My Family Without Mentioning the Names of Our Parents?
- Together with our families, we (Bride’s name) and (Groom’s name) request the pleasure of your company at the celebration of our union
- With the blessing of their parents (Bride’s name) and (Groom’s name) request the honor of your presence to witness and share their joy as they join hands in marriage.
- (Bride’s name) and (Groom’s name) together with their parents cordially invite you to share their celebration and sealing of promise of love and commitment to each other.
How Can I Include a Deceased Parent/s’ Name on our Invitation?
In case you want to include the name of deceased parent/s, you just need to adjust a little on the wordings.
You can try this wedding invitation format:
- (Bride’s name), daughter of (mother and father’s name) and (Groom’s name), son of (mother and father’s name) request the honor of your presence to celebrate our union as husband and wife.
You can also add a cross sign at the end of your deceased parent’s name.
What if Someone, not my Parent/s, Would Walk Me Down the Aisle, How Can I Include Them in the Invitation?
If in case you have chosen someone to walk you down the aisle, you can include their name in the invitation by adding a role for them.
- “To Walk Me Down the Aisle”
Wedding Details
After the heading of your invitation, you will now add the details of your wedding to make sure your guests are well-informed.
Here are the things you need to indicate, no need to add fancy words:
- Day of Wedding (Monday, Tuesday, etc.)
- Date of Wedding
- Time of Wedding
- Name of the Church (Location of the church is optional)
- Name of the Reception Venue (Location of the reception venue is optional)
- Time of Reception
If you want to make your invitation informative, you can add a small map going to the church and the reception venue. You can also add landmarks to help them locate it easier.
Entourage
For the Filipino Wedding Invitation format, we usually add a separate page to indicate all the names included in our entourage.
Now, here is the traditional Catholic church wedding entourage list for your reference:
- Bride
- Groom
- Principal Sponsors
- Maid/Matron of Honor
- Bestman
- Secondary Sponsors
- Candle Sponsors (To light our path)
- Veil Sponsors (To clothe us as one)
- Cord Sponsors (To bind us as together)
- Bridesmaids
- Groomsmen
- Flower Girls
- Bearers
- Ring Bearer
- Coin Bearer
- Bible Bearer
Wedding Reminders and Requests
After showing the essential wedding details to your wedding guests, the latter part of the invitation indicates the reminders and requests of the couple. This includes notes on dress code, gifts, RSVP, Plus Ones, and any other personalized requests.
Dress Code
If you are very specific with how you want your wedding guests to dress up, you can always include this in your invitation. Check out these sample wordings you can use for your wedding invitation format:
- Any style of your choice. Please check the attached color palette or swatch as a guide in selecting your attire.
- Event is strictly formal.
- Filipiniana and Barong are preferred but not required.
- Please use the details below as a reference for your attire:
Ladies – Cocktail Dress or Long Gown with a hint of blue
Gentlemen – Suit and Tie - Suit and tie for men. Formal dresses for women.
- Any style and color of your choice, just refreain from color White. It is strictly reserved for the Bride.
RSVP
RSVP is the French phrase “répondez s’il vous plaît” which means “please reply” or “please confirm”. This one is indicated to ask your guests to confirm their attendance.
You can ask them to confirm using these invitation wordings:
- We reserved _ seat/s for you. The favor of your reply is requested. Kindly confirm by (Date of confirmation) by sending us a message at (mobile number).
- We have reserved _ seat/s for you. Thank you for understanding that this is an adult-only affair. The favor of your reply is requested on or before (date of confirmation). Send us a message at (mobile number).
What Message Can I Send to Follow Up on them?
Doing the Guest List is one of the most stressful parts of wedding planning, and most of the times guest confirmation is not taken seriously. So, if you have sent out the invitation and they did not bother to respond, you can send them something like this:
- Good day! Just want to check up on you if you have received the wedding invitation that I sent you last (date you sent the invitation)? If it’s not too much to much to ask, I only have until tomorrow (or mention the deadline) to finalize our guest list. Just a heads up, if I haven’t received any response from you until tomorrow, I’m afraid I can’t include you on our final Guest List. I hope you understand. Thank you!
How Can I Indicate that “PLUS ONES” are Not Allowed?
- In order to keep our event solemn and intimate, we are only able to accommodate guests named on this invite.
- We have chosen to have a small and intimate wedding ceremony, and only those who are closest to us will be in attendance.
- Due to our budget restrictions, we cannot allow our guests to bring plus ones. Rest assured, you will be seated with people you know.
- We wish we could accommodate all our friends and family, but resources are limited. We hope for your kind understanding by not bringing plus ones to our event. Keep safe!
- We politely request that only the recipient of this invitation be present. We hope to have a bigger celebration with everyone in the future.
Preferred Gifts
As more and more couple prefers monetary gifts compared to material gifts, we also came up with fancy words to remind your wedding guests of this preference.
You can use any of these wordings for your wedding invitation format:
- As love is what this night is all about. Your presence is one we can’t celebrate without. But should you still believe that a gift is worth giving, a small envelope for our future is a delightful blessing.
- Your presence at our wedding would bring us genuine happiness. And if you’re considering help for us, monetary gifts would be very much appreciated.
- With all that we have, we’ve been truly blessed. Your presence and your prayers are all that we request. But if you desire to give, nonetheless, a monetary gift is one we request.
- We’re tying the knot and we just can’t wait. We knew it would happen on our very first date. As we’ve got our home dressed up with accessories, we don’t really think that a wedding gift list is necessary. But if you did want to give something to help us on our way, some money in a card would truly make our day!
- We haven’t included a gift list in our invite, As we have everything – it just wasn’t right… To ask for more things for the life we lead, when a reliable new car is just what we need. If you were thinking of a gift for us to start our married life, some money would make us very happy husband and wife.
- Your presence is the only present desired. No gifts required.
Request for Unplugged Wedding
When you hired an expensive photographer to cover your big day, the last thing you would want to see would be guests busy taking pictures with their smartphones.
So if you wish to let them know, you can include any of these wedding invitation wordings:
- The bride and groom kindly request an unplugged ceremony. Please turn off all devices and enjoy being fully present at this moment with us.
- The greatest gift you can give us today is to be truly present, so please turn off all phones and cameras and enjoy this special moment with us.
- Thank you for coming. We have but one plea, please keep our ceremony camera-free.
- We invite you to be fully present with us at the ceremony and ask that you refrain from taking photos.
I hope these tips help you as a budgetarian bride. If you want to DIY your wedding planning, check out Wedding Planning for the Clueless Bride-to-be! This eBook helps Filipina brides-to-be plan a stress-free and budget-friendly wedding within 6 months.
NOTE: You will receive your FREE Guide at the email address you will provide.
Invitation Wordings for Postponed Wedding (due to Pandemic)
After careful consideration, we would like to announce that we are postponing the original date of our wedding. We will announce the official date soon. We know that this pandemic is being felt, not just in the Philippines, but around the world. It’s important for us all to take the necessary steps to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe. Looking forward to celebrating with you, soon.
Cutting Down of Guest List Announcement
We regret to inform you that due to unforeseen circumstances, our wedding plans had some changes. We had to cut down our guest list and decided to just celebrate with our immediate families in order to comply with the government’s current wedding guidelines. Our apologies for any inconvenience and hope for your kind understanding. It’s important for us all to take the necessary steps to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe Please stay healthy and see you soon.
Top 7 FREE Website or Apps for your DIY Invitation
- Greetings Island
- Canva
- Adobe Spark
- eVite
- Designbold
- Fotor
- Stencil
I hope you find this DIY Invitation guide helpful.
Happy Preps!
Hello, Ms. Camille! This one’s really helpful cos I am currently working on our invitation. 🥰
Do you mind if I ask, what if my father has been deceased? I am really confused to what am I supposed to put on the heading. I hope you can help me.
PS. My oldest brother’s gomna walk me down the aisle ine the absence of my father.
Hi sis 🙂 In the first part, we have an example of that. You can also put a ‘Cross’ mark next to his name if you’d prefer.
“In case you want to include the name of deceased parent/s, you just need to adjust a little on the wordings.
Try this wedding invitation format:
(Bride’s name), daughter of (mother and father’s name) and (Groom’s name), son of (mother and father’s name) request the honor of your presence to celebrate our union as husband and wife.”
Hi Ms. Camille, thanks for all the info. My h2b’s parents are both gone and they are Muslim, what should I put instead of a cross sign beside their name? Appreciate your help.
Hi Daisy 🙂 You can instead place the word “late” before their names. Like:
“Son of the late [father’s name] and [mother’s name]”
Hi sis , both bride and groom kasi is wala ng father, si bride lolo ang sasabay sa mother nya and si groom brother nya nag sasabay, paano po ba yun sa invites, name po ba ng lolo and brother ang ilalagay? Thanks
Yes, you can add the names of lolo and brother sa invitation. After sila ng names ng deceased parents, add cross after the name of deceased parents.
Hi Ms. Camille, do you have a sample wedding invitation intended for the sponsors asking for some financial assisstance?
Hello Ms. Camille, I’m working out with my minimalist type of wedding invitations, and I want to ask if it is okay not to include the names of our parents and entourage lists. I would like to focus mainly on the wedding details likes COUPLE’s name, date, time, reception’s name and church’s name, dress code, rsvp, and preferred gift and other reminders. Thank you for your help.
Yes, it’s okay. We don’t have strict rules naman when it comes to wedding invitations.
Hello Ms. Camille,
Which paper do you recommend po in printing out wedding invitations? Thank you <3