Wedding Invitation Wording From Both Families

Wedding invitation wording from both families usually opens with a line like "Together with their families" or "[Bride]'s parents and [Groom]'s parents," placed above the couple's names — it names who is doing the inviting before the reader gets to who is getting married. There's no single correct version; the right one depends on who is actually hosting.

Last updated: August 2026

That's the short answer. The rest of this covers who typically goes first, how to word the line when two households are hosting together, what to do if one parent has passed away, and twelve ready-to-use opening lines across formal, informal and blended situations.

What is the line above the couple's names?

Every printed or digital wedding invitation carries a short line above the names and the date. It isn't decoration — it's a sentence that answers one question: who is inviting the guest? Historically that was almost never the couple. It was whoever was hosting: usually a set of parents, sometimes both families together, sometimes an aunt or older sibling standing in. The line still does that job today, even on invitations the couple builds themselves.

Because it's the very first thing a guest reads — before the names, before the date — it sets the tone for everything that follows. A formal host line signals a formal event. "Together with their families" signals something warmer and more collaborative. The wording is doing real work, not just filling space.

How do you write the "both families" line? (5 steps)

1. Decide who is actually hosting. Wording should reflect reality, not convention — if both sets of parents are contributing, say so; if the couple is hosting themselves with family blessing, that's a different line.
2. Pick a register. Formal ("request the honour of your presence"), warm-but-traditional ("together with their families, invite you"), or informal ("our families are so excited to celebrate with you"). Match the tone of the rest of the invitation.
3. Decide whose name comes first. There's no universal rule — see below — but pick an order and use it consistently across the card, the RSVP, and any printed pieces.
4. Account for anyone who should be named but isn't hosting financially — a parent who has passed, a stepparent, a grandparent who raised one of you. The line can name people without implying they paid for anything.
5. Write it as its own field, not baked into a template. On a wedding invitation you publish yourselves, this line sits above your names as something you type in your own words — not a fixed phrase the design forces on you — so it can say exactly what your two families actually want it to say.

Whose name goes first on a wedding invitation?

There is no fixed rule — order is a family decision, not an etiquette law. The traditional Western convention lists the bride's family first because the bride's family historically hosted, but that convention has never applied everywhere, and plenty of families today order names alphabetically, by seniority, or simply by whichever reads better out loud. If both families are splitting hosting duties, the cleanest approach is to ask both sides what they prefer before the wording is finalized — it avoids a conversation you'd rather not have after the card is already sent.

What do we write if both families are hosting?

Name both families in the line, and let the "together" do the work. The simplest form is "Together with their families," which names no one directly but makes clear the couple isn't hosting alone. If you want both families named explicitly, structure it as "[Bride]'s parents and [Groom]'s parents," followed by an invitation verb ("invite you to celebrate" or "request the honour of your presence"). Either version is correct — the explicit one reads more formal, the collective one reads warmer and is easier to adapt if a family's shape doesn't map cleanly onto "two parents each."

What if one parent has passed away?

Name them, and let the wording hold both facts at once — that they're being remembered, and that the living parent (or family) is hosting. A common pattern is "[Bride], daughter of [Mother] and the late [Father], together with [Groom] and their families" — it keeps the parent present in the sentence without implying they're hosting the event. A shorter version simply adds "and in loving memory of [Name]" after the families are named. There's no obligation to include this line at all if it doesn't feel right — some families prefer to keep the wording forward-looking and hold that memory elsewhere on the page instead.

Can we change the wording after we send the invitation?

Yes — because the invitation lives at one link, editing the line updates it for everyone who already has that link, without a resend. If a family member reads a draft and asks for a small change to the wording, or you realize the order of names should be swapped, you fix the field and republish; the guest who received the link on day one sees the corrected wording, not an outdated version frozen at send time. On a wedding invitation card, editing and republishing inside the 18-month hosting window are free and unlimited, and the link itself never changes.

12 ready-to-use wedding invitation opening lines

Fill in names and adjust pronouns as needed. Each is written so it isn't tied to any one culture or tradition — swap in your own family's usual phrasing wherever it fits better.

Situation	Sample opening line
Both families hosting, formal	"Together with their families, [Bride] and [Groom] request the honour of your presence at their marriage."
Both families hosting, warm	"[Bride]'s parents and [Groom]'s parents joyfully invite you to celebrate the wedding of their children."
Couple hosting	"[Bride] and [Groom] invite you to celebrate their wedding."
Remembering a parent	"[Bride], daughter of [Mother] and the late [Father], together with [Groom] and their families, request your presence."

Both families hosting

1. "Together with their families, [Bride] and [Groom] request the honour of your presence at their marriage."
2. "[Bride]'s parents and [Groom]'s parents joyfully invite you to celebrate the wedding of their children, [Bride] and [Groom]."
3. "Together with our families, we invite you to share in our wedding day."

The couple hosting 4. "[Bride] and [Groom] invite you to celebrate their wedding." 5. "Together, we're tying the knot — and we'd love for you to be there."

One family hosting 6. "[Bride]'s parents request the pleasure of your company at the marriage of their daughter to [Groom]." 7. "With love, [Groom]'s family invites you to the wedding of their son to [Bride]."

Remembering someone who has passed 8. "Together with their families, and in loving memory of [Name], [Bride] and [Groom] invite you to their wedding." 9. "[Bride], daughter of [Mother] and the late [Father], together with [Groom] and their families, request your presence."

Warm and informal 10. "Our families are throwing us a party — and it's a wedding! Please join us." 11. "Two families, one celebration — come mark the day with us."

Formal 12. "The families of [Bride] and [Groom] request the honour of your presence at the marriage of their children."

Where does this line actually sit on the invitation?

Above the names and the date, over the artwork, with nothing else on the card competing with it. On a wedding invitation, this is a field you fill in yourself while you're still designing — you can try a formal line, see how it reads over the painting, switch to something warmer, and compare both before you commit to anything. Designing and previewing are free; a free account is needed to save your invitation, and publishing the whole thing — the card, online RSVP, 18 months hosting and QR entry passes for your first 50 guests — is a single $99 payment with nothing recurring after it.

Frequently asked questions

Whose name goes first on a wedding invitation?

There's no universal rule. Convention in some places lists the bride's family first because they historically hosted, but many families today order names alphabetically, by seniority, or by what simply reads best — it's a family decision, not an etiquette requirement.

What do we write if both families are hosting?

Use a collective line like "Together with their families" if you don't want to name each side individually, or spell it out as "[Bride]'s parents and [Groom]'s parents" followed by an invitation verb if you'd rather name both sides explicitly. Both are correct; the choice is tone, not correctness.

What if one parent has passed away?

Name them within the line rather than leaving them out — a pattern like "daughter of [Mother] and the late [Father]" keeps them present without implying they're hosting. Adding "in loving memory of [Name]" after the families are named works as a shorter alternative.

Can we change the wording after we send the invitation?

Yes. Because the invitation lives at one link rather than a printed batch, editing the wording and republishing updates it for every guest who already has that link — no resend, no separate "corrected" version to track down.

Write the line your families would actually use

The opening line is the one piece of a wedding invitation that has to sound like your family, not a template — which is why it's worth getting right before the names underneath it. Design your wedding invitation and write that line yourself, over one of 26 painted designs, and see exactly how it reads before you publish anything.

For more on timing and reaching the rest of the guest list, see when to send wedding invitations, how to send a wedding invitation to older relatives, and how much a digital wedding invitation costs.