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Ask Carley: Tactful wording in wedding invites
Monday, October 06, 2008
Q: My parents would like to pay for our entire wedding but can't afford everything we want, so my fiance, his parents, and I are pitching in. I still want to only list my parents as the hosts on the invitation. Is that okay?

A: You can have the invitations read any way you'd like -- who is paying for the wedding is nobody's business but yours. However, you should consider whether the groom's parents will feel slighted if your parents' names are the only ones on the invitation -- since it implies that your family is paying for the whole wedding and ignores your future in-laws' contribution.

If you don't want to risk offending them, you might consider a more modern take on invitation wording. One popular way to acknowledge that both sets of parents are contributing is to write: "Jane Smith and John Doe, together with their parents, request the pleasure of your company."

Or you could take yourselves out of the equation and list both sets of parents' names (for example, "Mr. and Mrs. James Smith and Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Brown request the pleasure..."). You can put your parents' names first to acknowledge their greater contribution.

Carley Roney, co-founder and editor in chief of The Knot, the nation's leading wedding resource, advises millions of brides on modern wedding etiquette at www.theknot.com.
First published on October 6, 2008 at 12:00 am