Every family is unique, and sometimes those unique situations get can feel awkward during wedding planning. Like when your parents are divorced. How do you include them on your wedding invitation without offending or upsetting anybody?
First, you need to talk to them (separately or together, depending on their relationship with each other). Find out if they have ideas on how their names should appear on the wedding invitation. Ask if they have opinions about including the names of their new spouses, if they have remarried.
3 Etiquette Rules to Consider When Your Parents are Divorced
1. Divorced parents’ names never appear on the same line even if they both remain unmarried.
2. The mother’s name goes first unless the mother is not contributing financially to the wedding. If this is the case, the father’s name goes first.
3. Traditionally, only the parents’ names appear on the invitation, but it is completely acceptable to include step-parents.
Here are some examples to follow when writing the final wording:
Wording Example That Includes Both Parents
This example only includes the bride’s parents, which is most traditional, but only used if the bride’s parents are covering all the wedding expenses:
Here are some examples to follow when writing the final wording:
Laina Clark
and
Albert Lindsay
request the honor of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter
Maggie Anne Lindsay
to
Brett James Underwood
on Saturday, the twenty-sixth of June
two thousand twenty-five
at one o’clock in the afternoon
Mason Heights Manor
777 East Grand Avenue
Prairie Fields, Iowa
If both of the couple’s parents are contributing, but one set is divorced, you can word your invitation like this:
Laina Clark
and
Albert Lindsay
along with Mr. & Mrs. John Underwood
request the honor of your presence
at the marriage of their children
Maggie Anne
and
Brett James
on Saturday, the twenty-sixth of June
two thousand twenty-five
at one o’clock in the afternoon
Mason Heights Manor
777 East Grand Avenue
Prairie Fields, Iowa
Wording Example From Only a Mom
If just the bride’s mother is inviting, you wording can look like this:
Laina Clark
requests the honor of your presence
at the marriage of her daughter
Maggie Anne Lindsay
to
Brett James Underwood
on Saturday, the twenty-sixth of June
two thousand twenty-five
at one o’clock in the afternoon
Mason Heights Manor
777 East Grand Avenue
Prairie Fields, Iowa
And if you’d like to add the groom’s parents, here’s an option:
Laina Clark
and Mr. & Mrs. John Underwood
request the honor of your presence
at the marriage of their children
Maggie Anne Lindsay
and
Brett James
on Saturday, the twenty-sixth of June
two thousand twenty-five
at one o’clock in the afternoon
Mason Heights Manor
777 East Grand Avenue
Prairie Fields, Iowa
Wording Example From Only a Dad
If just the dad is inviting, there are just a couple tweaks to be made:
Albert Lindsay
request the honor of your presence
at the marriage of his daughter
Maggie Anne
to
Brett Underwood
on Saturday, the twenty-sixth of June
two thousand twenty-five
at one o’clock in the afternoon
Mason Heights Manor
777 East Grand Avenue
Prairie Fields, Iowa
And if you’d like to add the groom’s parents, here’s an option:
Laina Clark
and Mr. & Mrs. John Underwood
request the honor of your presence
at the marriage of their children
Maggie Anne Lindsay
and
Brett James
on Saturday, the twenty-sixth of June
two thousand twenty-five
at one o’clock in the afternoon
Mason Heights Manor
777 East Grand Avenue
Prairie Fields, Iowa
Wording Example From a Mom and Stepdad
If you only want to include your mom and step-dad on your invitation, it would be formatted like this:
Laina and Henry Clark
request the honor of your presence
at the marriage of Laina’s daughter
Maggie Anne Lindsay
to
Brett James Underwood
on Saturday, the twenty-sixth of June
two thousand twenty-five
at one o’clock in the afternoon
Mason Heights Manor
777 East Grand Avenue
Prairie Fields, Iowa
And if you’d like to add your father, it’s easy:
Albert Lindsay
along with Laina and Henry Clark
request the honor of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter
Maggie Anne
to
Brett James Underwood
on Saturday, the twenty-sixth of June
two thousand twenty-five
at one o’clock in the afternoon
Mason Heights Manor
777 East Grand Avenue
Prairie Fields, Iowa
Wording Example From a Dad and Stepmom
Including your step-mom on your wedding invitation can be done easily. Here’s one example that also includes your step-mom:
Albert and Teresa Lindsay
request the honor of your presence
at the marriage of Albert’s daughter
Maggie Anne
to
Brett James Underwood
on Saturday, the twenty-sixth of June
two thousand twenty-five
at one o’clock in the afternoon
Mason Heights Manor
777 East Grand Avenue
Prairie Fields, Iowa
To add your mom, or the groom’s parents, they can be added like this:
Albert and Teresa Lindsay
along with Laina Clark
and John and Marion Underwood
request the honor of your presence
at the marriage of their children
Maggie Anne
and
Brett James
on Saturday, the twenty-sixth of June
two thousand twenty-five
at one o’clock in the afternoon
Mason Heights Manor
777 East Grand Avenue
Prairie Fields, Iowa
Wording Example That Includes Several Step-Parents
If you’d like to include everyone, there are two ways. First, a rather wordy option:
Laina & Henry Clark
along with Albert & Teresa Lindsay,
Marion & Matthew Nelson
and John & Elizabeth Underwood
request the honor of your presence
at the marriage of their children
Maggie Anne
and
Brett James
on Saturday, the twenty-sixth of June
two thousand twenty-five
at one o’clock in the afternoon
Mason Heights Manor
777 East Grand Avenue
Prairie Fields, Iowa
For a far less wordy option, choose this one:
The families of
Maggie Anne Lindsay
and
Brett James Underwood
request the honor of your presence
at the marriage of their children
on Saturday, the twenty-sixth of June
two thousand twenty-five
at one o’clock in the afternoon
Mason Heights Manor
777 East Grand Avenue
Prairie Fields, Iowa
We know wording your invitation can be complicated, so if you have any invitation wording questions left unanswered, reach out to our team of wedding experts. We’re always here to help make your invitation as perfect as possible!