WORDING WEDDING INVITATIONS WHEN PARENTS DIVORCED, GROOMS’ PARENTS ARE BOTH REMARRIED
What is proper etiquette for wording wedding invitations for:
- My mother (divorced and not remarried)
- My father (divorced and not remarried)
- My FI’s mother (divorced and remarried)
- My FI’s father (divorced and remarried)
They are all contributing to the wedding cost and we would like to have their names on there. I already thought about the option of ‘together with their families’, but my mother is planning on inviting relatives from her family who are elderly and if they did not see her name, they would not recognize who I was.
Also we also thought about:
Mr. S and Ms. S (Bride’s parents on one line, they said it would be okay)
And
Mr. L and Mrs. B (Groom’s father (remarried) and Groom’s mother (remarried) on one line
Would that look okay if we kept out my FI’s step-parents name?
Also when you word the parents name how does it work???..
The father’s names:
Mr. (first name) (last name)
Bride’s mother is divorced and not remarried.
Ms. (first name) (maiden name) (last name)
Groom’s mother is remarried:
Mrs. (first name) (new married name)
Thank you for your help. This is very confusing when it comes to wording.
Etiquette Now
You would include all of their names because they are all contributing. The step parents are contributing through their spouses. So, your invitation could look like this:
Ms. Bride’s Mother (could use first name)
Mr. Bride’s Father (could use first name)
and
Mr. and Mrs. Groom’s Mother
Mr. and Mrs. Groom’s Father
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of
Bride
to
Mr. Groom
etc.
Your mother’s name is listed first, not your father’s. You can use her first name, but not her maiden name if she doesn’t use it. If she still uses the title Mrs., list that. If she doesn’t, use Ms. or just her first name.
The groom’s mother and husband are listed before his father and his wife. Mothers are listed first. And, you would never have a woman’s name after Mr. unless it is his name. Mr. is always used first. If it were the other way around, the last name would have had to have been hers not his.
Ms. Karen Anderson
Mr. Edward Anderson
Mr. and Mrs. Larry Samuelson
Mr. and Mrs. Albert Peterson
If you choose to eliminate all titles, the groom’s parents names could be:
Susan and Larry Samuelson
Daisy and Albert Perterson
There is an old rule many still follow about not separating a man from his last name. This is why when we are not using titles and using first names with couples, we list the woman’s name first.