What do you think of my invite wording?

[lehcarm]

So, after two weeks of working on my 180 DIY invites, I am at the stage of deciding on the invitation wording. I am having a hard time because our ceremony is at 3:30, so I''m not sure how to word it. Also, what do you think of the font? Is it too hard to read? I''d love and comments or suggestions you might have.

 

[lehcarm]

I guess PDFs don''t automatically show up in the thread. I''ll try to save it as something else and post that. Sorry...

 

[lehcarm]

Let''s try this...

 

[jcrow]

the pdf works. you just have to download it

 

[lehcarm]

Well, the ppt didn''t work either. Here it is as a gif, however for some reason it is really pixelated. If you can''t read it clearly, here is what the text says:

Because you have shared in their lives
by your friendship and love
Dad and Mom Bride
and
Dad and Mom Groom
joyfully invite you
to the wedding ceremony uniting
Bride
and
Groom
on Saturday, the first of December
Two thousand and seven
at half past three in the afternoon
Redeemer Lutheran Church
61 River Street
Anytown, Minnesota

 

[shigidigi]

I''ve always heard that you shouldnt use "half past" because that was the wording used for funerals (as in "past" away) and that we should use "half after." But to be honest, I think half past sounds better!

I love your wording "Because you have shared in their lives..." It is beautiful!

 

[lehcarm]

Thanks for your input. I sent it to my mom who is a master proof reader, so I''ll see what she has to say.

 

[Pandora II]

In the UK it''s "half-past" - I''ve never heard of "half after".

In parliament they use: half-past three o''clock

Maybe using the hyphen would make it less like a ''death'' reference?

 

[zoebartlett]

Date: 9/7/2007 5:45:53 PM
Author: Pandora II
In the UK it''s ''half-past'' - I''ve never heard of ''half after''.

In parliament they use: half-past three o''clock

Maybe using the hyphen would make it less like a ''death'' reference?

I''m in the US and I''ve never heard of "half after" either. I think the half past part sounds fine (I''ve never heard of the desth reference) but it''s the first sentence that throws me a little.

Because you have shared in their lives
by your friendship and love... (this is what you have)

Because you have shared in their lives
through your friendship and love... (I like this)

Because you have shared in their lives
with your friendship and love... (or this)

I hope it''s okay that I mentioned it. It may be fine but like I said, it threw me a tad.

 

[lehcarm]

Pandora and zoe, thanks for your suggestions.

zoe, I agree that the "by" is a little awkward. I like your suggestions! Thanks! Don''t feel bad about suggesting changes, that''s why I am asking before I print anything!

 

[rms]

Why not just say...

at three-thirty in the afternoon

for the time?

Otherwise I would say at half past three, but personally would prefer writing three-thirty for my own invitations.

 

[lehcarm]

Well rms, you and my FI think alike. He thinks three-thirty sounds better. This is what I have for now, using the font Garamond:

Because you have shared in their lives
with your friendship and love
Dad and Mom Bride
and
Dad and Mom Groom
joyfully invite you
to the wedding ceremony uniting
Bride
and
Groom
on Saturday, the first of December
Two thousand and seven
at three-thirty in the afternoon
Redeemer Lutheran Church
61 River Street
Anytown, MN

Now a few more questions. Should I spell out 61 in the address as Sixty-one? Also, should I include the zip code? We are including direction sheets with the zip code, but is it necessary to have it on the invite itself? Thanks!

 

[Munchkin]

My first thought when I read "by" was "that should read 'with'". I also like the suggestion od 'through' as written above.
If your wedding isn't casual, it should definitely read "half after" or "half past." Half after is more appropriate for weddings.

Technically, as your ceremony is in a religious place, your parents should be requesting "the honour of your prescence." I have to say though (and I was an "honour of your presence" bride!) I like your wording better! It sounds happier, less stuffy.

Make sure your respone card reads Rsvp as opposed to RSVP.

 

[zoebartlett]

I''m not sure about writing out the address (61 vs. Sixty-one) but I wouldn''t put the zip code on the invitation. I don''t think it''s needed. Have you looked at sample invitations online to see how the street numbers are written? I think I''ve seen it both ways but I''m not sure.

 

[Harleigh]

I agree with zoe on the wording, but just wanted to clarify that in the case of death, it is "passed" as in passed away, not "past" as in "half-past three" as mentioned above...hope that helps!

 

[rms]

I definitely like three-thirty...

I would love to see where it is referenced that writing half past or half after is more appropriate if it indeed is. But you know what? These days, IMHO I honestly wonder if anyone really cares but you the bride. There were so many details to my wedding that I am sure absolutely no one remembers but me. So why not do what makes you happy?

Interesting question about how to write the address. We just wrote the numbers to the street address. Did not include the zip code.

 

[zoebartlett]

Date: 9/8/2007 11:41:34 PM
Author: Harleigh
I agree with zoe on the wording, but just wanted to clarify that in the case of death, it is ''passed'' as in passed away, not ''past'' as in ''half-past three'' as mentioned above...hope that helps!

Oh yeah, that''s why I''d never heard of the death reference before, but that''s because I was spelling it "past." Yes, "passed" and "past" can have very different meanings.

 

[Loves2Laugh]

I used almost the same wording for ours

"Because you have shared in our lives
by your friendship and love, we
Bride
and
Groom
together with our parents
invite you to share
the beginning of our new life together
when we exchange marriage vows"

I found that on a verse website (I can''t find the exact site) and that''s how they had it phrased with the "by" and that''s what we went with. In our case because of divorced parents and such, we minimized it by not spelling out everyone''s names and it worked out very nice.

I loved the phrase we put on the inner corner and I had a lot of compliments on it as well
"In the sweetness of love let there be laugheter
And in all our tomorrows, the freshness of today"
I also like the three-thirty instead of the half past or half after.

 

[lehcarm]

Thank you all for your suggestions. I''ve now sent my draft to my mother, the master proofer and FMIL. Hopefully they will both like it.

I also made two drafts of my Rsvp card, I''ll attach them below.

The first one is more traditional, I modified one of the drafts the EBree posted.

The second one is pretty much a blank card. I like the idea of leaving room for people to write messages, but I worry that they might not include the names of everyone coming, or might decide to add a few more guests.

What do you think?

 

[lehcarm]

Wow, that is scary big, I''ll try to resize.

 

[lehcarm]

Here''s another try.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

**HH puts on her editor glasses**

According to the Chicago Manual of Style, street numbers should not be spelled out unless the building''s name is its address for example:

Our office is at 501 Boylston St., Boston MA, 02116
vs.
One IBM Plaza

Zip codes are never spelled out because they''re a code, not a numerical value.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Do not list the zip code on the invitation itself.

CMS doesn''t specify what to do about the time question. I think either is appropriate depending on the formality of the event. If you''re having a formal wedding, I think half-past is appropriate. If you''re having a casual or semi formal wedding then I think the other is appropriate.