How to Word Your Wedding Announcement—Plus, Examples to Inspire Your Own

After you and your partner tie the knot, you’ll probably be eager to spread the exciting news with everyone you know. While posting on social media is always a viable option, a thoughtful and respectful alternative (or supplement) is a wedding announcement. The main purpose of these proclamations is to help get the word out about your marital status to those who weren’t invited to your nuptials or to friends and family who couldn’t attend the affair. According to wedding planner Allison Davis of Davis Row, these statements are especially helpful following an elopement or a wedding with a small guest list.

Whether you run the declaration in the newspaper or send cards in the mail, you need to include the right wording in your message to effectively share your update. “Using appropriate wording will get your point across without confusion,” Davis says. That's why we’ve compiled a list of etiquette tips and examples to help you successfully spread the message. Read on for more.

Wedding Announcement Wording Etiquette Tips

Before you take a stab at concocting your own announcement, there are a few etiquette tips you’ll want to keep in mind. Keep scrolling to learn more.

Determine the Tone

To decide which words you’re going to include in your wedding announcement, you’ll first need to establish the overall tone. In general, these statements should reflect a similar nature to your save-the-dates, wedding invitations, and any other piece of wedding stationery. For instance, if you sent formal invitations before your nuptials, your proclamation should follow suit. By defining the level of formality before drafting your message, you’ll then be able to determine whether you’ll need to add elements, like your parents’ names if they helped host the wedding. 

Include All of the Right Components

Typically, wedding announcements include the couple’s names, the marriage announcement, the wedding date, and the location of the celebration. For more traditional statements, planner Lisa Gorjestani of Details Event Planning explains that the hosts’ names (usually the parents) are also part of the equation. By implementing the date and location, those who didn’t attend the festivities will be better able to visualize and contextualize the affair.

Concentrate on the Order

Wedding announcements often follow a certain order. For formal tones, the sequence typically starts with the names of the hosts, followed by the marriage announcement, the names of the couple, the date, and the location. With casual messages, you can be much more lenient with the format, but a typical order is as follows: the names of the couple, the marriage announcement, the date, and the location. It’s pivotal that the names of the newlyweds and the news about their marriage precedes the information about the time of the year and the locale, so the recipients understand who and what the statement is about.

Get the Point Across

According to Gorjestani, being concise with your wedding announcement is a must. Instead of rambling on and on about your big day, make sure you communicate your message in a straightforward manner. The point is to share the news that you’re married, so make that piece of information the main takeaway. Save any descriptions about the music that you played or the dinner that you served for an in-person conversation later.

Wedding Announcement Wording Examples

Whether you’re leaning toward a standard announcement or you’re interested in preparing something a little more innovative, here are some examples—featuring ideas from Davis—that you can use to inspire your own.

Traditional Wedding Announcement Wording

Mr. & Mrs. Jonathan Pink 

and 

Mr. and Mrs. Samuel White 

are pleased to announce 

the marriage of their children

Nicole Lucía 

and 

Matthew David

on the first of April 

two thousand twenty-two

at the Biltmore Estate 

in Asheville, North Carolina

Informal Wedding Announcement Wording

Together with our families, 

Savannah Williams 

and 

Grace Park 

joyfully announce 

their marriage 

on Saturday, November 18, 2023 

in Montecito, California

Creative Wedding Announcement Wording

It finally happened! 

Courtney Johnson

and

Travis Shaw

tied the knot

on a brisk fall day

amid colorful foliage

on October 18, 2023

in Lubec, Maine

Destination Wedding Announcement Wording

Together with their parents, 

Vanessa Beck

and 

Gabriel Rodriguez 

are delighted to announce their wedding

that took place

on May 1, 2023

in Positano, Italy