Your Second Wedding Invitations Should Be A Reflection of You
Luckily, there are no lack of options when it comes to choosing how to create wedding invitations. Wedding invitations can be issued verbally for informal events, engraved on heavy card stock for very formal events, and there is an endless variety of choices for semi-formal events. Second wedding invitations are no different. The more formal your wedding, the more formal your invitations. Similar to first wedding invitations, your second wedding invitations would also reflect the hosts of the event.
Below you’ll find some sample wedding invitation wording along with some of the top questions about sending, wording and addressing these special invites. If you have a question that isn’t answered here, please visit our forum to ask our wedding etiquette experts.
Sample Wording for Second Wedding Invitations
- Bride and Groom Hosting the Wedding
- Parents Hosting the Wedding
- Adult Children of the Bride and Groom Inviting
- Reception Invitations
- Belated Reception or Party for a Destination Wedding or Elopement
- Vow Renewal Invitations
- Second Wedding Announcements
- Wording Marriage Blessing Invitations
Frequently Asked Questions
Destination Wedding Invitation Etiquette:
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- Question: This is my second wedding and my fiancé and I are planning a destination wedding. I sent my Save the Date cards and some of my guests have already told us that they cannot attend. Should I go ahead and send these people a wedding invitation?
- Reply: Always send invitations to everyone who received Save the Date cards. Who knows – their plans could change by the wedding date. Even if you hadn’t sent Save the Date cards, you would still send invitations to everyone you want to share in your day no matter if you thought they could attend or not. People can surprise you. It is always best to give them the choice of whether or not they wish to attend. Don’t worry about a guest feeling obligated to travel.
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No Gifts Please
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- Question: My fiancé and I are in our forties and have both been married before. We really don’t need anything. How can we state on our invitations that we would rather not receive gifts? Can we simply write, “No Gifts Please”?
- Reply: I love your focus, however, it’s not considered polite to mention gifts on a wedding invitation, wanting them or not. Any mention of gifts implies that we were expecting them and puts the focus on the gift rather than the invitation. The best method of relaying your preferences is by ‘word of mouth’ and on a personal wedding website. These are very simple to create and offer a great way to share your love story with all.
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Paying Means Hosting
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- Question: This is my second wedding and my fiancés third, so we are paying for our wedding. How do we word the invitations? Should it be worded so that is appears as if my parents are hosting the wedding?
- Reply: It is entirely your choice. If you want to assert that your parents are hosting, and they agree, then you may use the traditional form. However, many couples prefer to word their invitations as if they are hosting their weddings: The honour of your presence is requested at the marriage of bride and groom… or, Bride and Groom invite you to share… . here are more examples of a couple issuing the invitation.
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Children Sending Second Wedding Invitations
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- Question: This is my second wedding and my children want to host my wedding. Can they issue my invitations? How is this done?
- Reply: This is a very sweet way to begin your new lives together. Young children really can’t invite since they’re too young to host (and pay). But, if they are adults, this would be fine. Your children’s names would be listed first on your invitation from the oldest to the youngest. If your fiancé has children who wish to co-host, their names would be listed under your children’s names from oldest to youngest. Example wording for children issuing wedding invitations
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Sending Wedding Invitations: Email or handwritten?
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- Question: This is my second wedding and my fiancé and I want a small, informal affair. May I email or handwrite my wedding invitations? I want to keep our expenses low.
- Reply: For an informal wedding, you may send any type of invitation you wish. Emailing your wedding invitations may not be your best choice since e-mail is sometimes unreliable and some guests may not have e-mail. Snail mail is always more intimate and, sometimes, e-mail gets deleted, stuck in a junk folder or unread for weeks. Yet, verbally inviting your guests is also acceptable, personal, intimate, and free!
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Information generously provided by Rebecca Black of Etiquette Now
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