Wedding invitation wording in Ireland: examples you can copy

Irish wedding invitation wording should say who is hosting, who is invited (day guests or evening only, with or without children), when and where the ceremony and reception are, and how and by when to reply. Choose formal, relaxed or parent-hosted wording to suit your day, keep any gift request to one gentle line, and copy the examples below.

Replace anything in square brackets. The wording works on a printed card or in a digital invitation. Keep each message short and leave the long parts, such as the schedule, accommodation and travel, for your wedding website.

What should a wedding invitation say in Ireland?

Weddings Online's invitation guide lists six basics: who is inviting, the event, the location, the date and time, how to reply and who is invited. Say all six, then add what guests need to plan:

• Hosts: you, you and your families, or your parents.
• Guests: the people named, and whether children and evening guests are included.
• Date and time: the day, date and year in full, such as Friday 20 August 2027.
• Place: the ceremony and the reception, each with town and county.
• Reply: a link, a phone number or email address, and a reply-by date.
• Dress code: one line, if you have one.

Our guide to what to put on a wedding website covers everything that belongs on the website instead.

How do you word a formal wedding invitation?

Formal wording is one sentence in the third person, then short lines of detail. It suits a church or hotel wedding where you want a traditional feel.

Hosted by you

[Name] and [Name] request the pleasure of your company at their wedding on [day, date and year] at [time], at [ceremony venue], [town], Co. [county]. Dinner and dancing will follow at [reception venue].

Dress: [dress code]. The favour of a reply is requested by [reply-by date] at [link].

Hosted by you and your families

[Name] and [Name], together with their families, invite you to celebrate their marriage on [day, date and year] at [time], at [ceremony venue], [town], Co. [county]. A reception will follow at [reception venue].

If your parents are separated or divorced and their partners want to be included, Weddings Online's guide suggests "together with their families", because it avoids any awkwardness about who comes first.

Hosted by parents

Mr and Mrs [Surname] request the pleasure of your company at the marriage of their [daughter or son], [Name], to [Name], [son or daughter] of [parents' names], on [day, date and year] at [time], at [ceremony venue], [town], Co. [county]. Dinner will follow at [reception venue].

Please reply by [reply-by date] at [link].

How do you word a relaxed wedding invitation?

Relaxed wording sounds like you, but it still needs the six basics.

We're getting married! Join us on [day, date] at [venue], Co. [county], for the ceremony at [time], dinner and a long night of dancing. Everything you need is on our website: [link]. Please let us know by [reply-by date] if you can come.

A shorter version for a text:

[Name] and [Name] are getting married, and we would love you to be there. [Day, date], [venue], Co. [county]. Details and how to reply: [link]

How do you word an invitation for a second marriage or a couple with children?

Say as much or as little about your history as you like. Naming the children makes them part of the day.

[Name] and [Name], with [children's names], invite you to their wedding on [day, date and year] at [venue], Co. [county]. We are making it official, and we would love you to share the day with our whole family. Please reply by [reply-by date] at [link].

How do you word the ceremony: civil, church, humanist or celebrant?

Say what kind of ceremony it is, because Irish weddings are not all church weddings. Of the 19,898 marriages registered in 2025, 33.4% were civil, 29.8% Roman Catholic, 22.5% other religious and 6.9% Humanist (Central Statistics Office, released 5 May 2026). Use the line that fits:

• a civil ceremony at [venue], [town], Co. [county]
• a ceremony at [church], [town], followed by a reception at [venue]
• a humanist ceremony at [venue]
• a ceremony led by [celebrant's name] at [venue]

If the ceremony and reception are in different places, give both addresses and both start times.

How do you word an evening invitation for the afters?

Evening guests, often called the afters, join for the music and dancing after the meal. Weddings Online's guide lists whether the invitation is for the whole day or "just afters" among the basics. Put "evening" in the first line, so nobody turns up for the dinner, then give the place, the time to arrive, whether food is served and how to reply.

[Name] and [Name] would love you to join them for the evening of their wedding at [venue], Co. [county], on [day, date]. Please arrive from [time]. There will be music and dancing, and food from [time]. Please reply by [reply-by date] at [link].

Tell evening guests how they will get home: taxis, a late bus or rooms nearby. If day and evening guests use the same website, say in your message which part of the day each household is invited to: "You are invited for the evening, from [time]."

How do you say who is invited: children and plus-ones?

Adults only, said kindly

Say it once, name the people invited, and add a thank-you or a reason. Weddings Online's guide offers three polite ways to say a wedding is for adults only. Here are three of ours:

We love your little ones, but our wedding will be an adults-only day. We hope it gives you a night off.

Our venue is better suited to adult guests, so we are sorry that we cannot invite children. We hope you can still join us.

This will be an adults-only celebration, apart from babies in arms.

Children welcome

Children are very welcome. When you reply, please tell us their names and ages so we can plan their meals.

Plus-ones

Name the people each invitation is for, and say what happens with a guest.

Your invitation is for [names]. If you would like to bring a guest, please tell us when you reply.

We have kept our guest list to the people named on your invitation, and we hope you understand.

How do you word a cash gift or honeymoon fund request?

Cash is the gift most Irish couples prefer, according to RTÉ (August 2025). IMAGE.ie (March 2026) says guests often give €250 to €300 per couple, though it adds that couples should not rely on it. Keep your request to one warm line, leave out amounts, and put a longer version on your website.

Your company is the best gift we could ask for. If you would like to give something as well, a contribution to our honeymoon fund would mean a lot to us.

If you already share a home, or are marrying again:

We already have everything we need for our home. If you would like to give a gift, a cash gift towards [our honeymoon, a trip with the children, our new kitchen] would be very welcome.

Do not put your bank details on the invitation. Share them privately when someone asks.

What should the reply line say, and what reply-by date should you set?

The reply line has two jobs: tell guests how to reply, and give them a date.

Formal

The favour of a reply is requested by [reply-by date].

Relaxed

Let us know by [reply-by date] if you can come. We have to give our venue final numbers soon after.

Digital

Reply for everyone in your household at [link] by [reply-by date]. If you would rather call or text, [phone number].

Weddings Online advises offering more than one way to reply. Ask for every guest's name, any allergies or access needs, and whether a child needs a high chair. Allergy and access answers can count as health information, which the Data Protection Commission lists as a special category of personal data, so ask only what your venue needs and say who will see it. Our guide to RSVPs and dietary requirements has more.

Work back from your venue for the date. Final numbers are due 7 days before at Castlemartyr Resort, 1 week before at Lord Bagenal Inn and 72 hours before at Amber Springs Hotel (venue guides, checked October 2026). Weddings Online's RSVP guides suggest a reply-by date two to four weeks before the wedding, which suits a short guest list. For a big wedding, 6 to 8 weeks before leaves time to chase. Our timeline for sending wedding invitations in Ireland shows the full count-back.

Can you send wedding invitations on WhatsApp?

Yes. A digital invitation is a short message with a link to your wedding website, and there is no rule against sending it on WhatsApp. It also needs no stamp. Since 3 February 2026, An Post has charged €1.85 for a letter within Ireland, €3.50 to Britain and the rest of Europe, and €3.95 to the rest of the world.

Send the message from your own phone to each household, not a group chat, so replies come to you and nobody has to answer in front of everyone.

Two details help:

• Make the message stand alone. WhatsApp can show a preview card for your link, but not if you have switched on its Disable link previews setting, which is off by default. Check yours, and put your names, the date and the venue in the text anyway, with the link on its own line.
• Know the limits of a broadcast list. A broadcast list sends one message that arrives as a private chat, and each list holds up to 256 contacts. Only people who have saved your number receive it.

Text or email anyone who is not on WhatsApp. Weddings Online still calls printed invitations the gold standard in Ireland, especially for formal weddings, so post a card to anyone who prefers paper.

Hi [first names], it's [Name] and [Name]. We're getting married on [day, date] at [venue], Co. [county], and we would love you to be there. All the details are here, including how to reply:

[link]

Please reply by [reply-by date].

What should a save the date say?

Your names, the date, the place (town and county) and a line saying the invitation will follow. Add your website link if it is live. Send it 9 to 12 months before the wedding: Weddings Online and an Irish wedding planner interviewed by RTÉ in March 2026 give the same range.

Save the date! [Name] and [Name] are getting married on [day, date and year] at [venue], Co. [county]. Invitation and details to follow.

For a wedding abroad, say so in the first line and say why you are writing early:

Save the date: [Name] and [Name] are getting married in [town], [country], on [day, date and year]. We wanted you to have plenty of time to plan flights and time off. Travel details are at [link], and your invitation will follow in [month].

Our guide to helping guests travel to a wedding abroad covers the rest.

Can you word a wedding invitation in Irish?

Yes, and some couples print part of the card in Irish. We have not included Irish wording here: we could not check ready-made sentences against a reliable published source, and Irish names change form inside a sentence, so a fill-in-the-blank line can come out wrong. Ask a fluent speaker or a translator to write it or check it before you print.

How Tying The Knot handles this

Short messages work when the detail lives on one page. A Tying The Knot invitation site opens with a short, silent, AI-assisted film, then gives guests your schedule, dress code, accommodation, FAQs and a travel planner. Guests open it from one link, with no app and no account. Each household replies once, per person, with meals, allergies and a song request. Replies reach your dashboard the moment they are sent, with a list of who has not replied and reminders to chase them.

It costs €750 including VAT and includes 12 months' hosting. See how it works, the pricing, how RSVP works and the example invitations.