If you are planning a wedding and both of the bride's parents are deceased, one of your options is to have the bride's older sister or brother issue the wedding invitations. If the bride does not have an older brother or sister, on the other hand, the bride and groom may issue their own wedding invitations.
When the bride's sister issues the wedding invitation, there should be a difference in wording depending upon whether or not that sister is married. If the sister is married, the wording should be written in this manner:
Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Johnson
request the honor of your presence
at the marriage of her sister
Jane Ann Doe
to
James Michael Smith
Saturday, the first of June
two thousand nine
at six o'clock in the evening
St. John Cathedral
Indianapolis, Indiana
If the sister is not married, on the other hand, the invitations should be worded like this:
Ms. Janet Doe
requests the honor of your presence
at the marriage of her sister
Jane Ann Doe
to
James Michael Smith
Saturday, the first of June
two thousand nine
at six o'clock in the evening
St. John Cathedral
Indianapolis, Indiana
If the bride's brother is issuing the invitation and he is married, the invitation should be written in this manner:
Mr. and Mrs. James Doe
request the honor of your presence
at the marriage of his sister
Jane Ann Doe
to
James Michael Smith
Saturday, the first of June
two thousand nine
at six o'clock in the evening
St. John Cathedral
Indianapolis, Indiana
If the brother is not married, the invitations should be worded in this way:
Mr. Jeffrey Doe
requests the honor of your presence
at the marriage of his sister
Jane Ann Doe
to
James Michael Smith
Saturday, the first of June
two thousand nine
at six o'clock in the evening
St. John Cathedral
Indianapolis, Indiana
If the bride doesn't have an older brother or sister or if one of her siblings simply is not comfortable with issuing the wedding invitation, the couple may choose to issue the invitation on their own. In this case, it should be worded in the following manner:
Jane Ann Doe
and
James Michael Smith
request the honor of your presence
at their marriage
Saturday, the first of June
two thousand nine
at six o'clock in the evening
St. John Cathedral
Indianapolis, Indiana
