Article: Who is hosting the wedding usually defined by who is paying for the wedding will affect the order of names listed on the invitation. The bride's parents always go on the first line, followed by the groom's on the third line. "And" should get its own line in between The bride's name should always come before the groom's. If you are writing an invitation for a same-sex wedding, you can list the parents' names in whatever order makes sense to you. This might be alphabetical order or you might just want to flip a coin to see who goes first. There are a lot of rules regarding how you should write out the hosts' names, depending on who the hosts are. Generally, the hosts related to the bride go first, followed by the groom's relatives. If the parents of the bride or groom are still married write "Mr. and Mrs." followed by the bride's father's name. So Tiffany Smith's parents should be written as "Mr. and Mrs. John Smith" or "Mr. and Mrs. James Carter" on the first line of the invitation. The groom's parents should be written the same way, on the third line (with "and" on its own on the second line). If both families including the bride and groom are hosting, you should write "Together with their families," on the first line, then the name of the bride, "and," and the name of the groom on the second, third, and fourth lines respectively. If the bride's parents are divorced and remarried but hosting together, you should write list the mother's new name first, followed by the father's name. So for example, you might write "Mr. and Mrs. Jill Willby and Mr. and Mrs. Greg Smith." Again, each couple gets their own line with "and" on the second line. If someone other than parents or stepparents are hosting, write the host(s) name(s) and their relationship to the bride or groom. So, for example, if the bride's brother is hosting, you should write "Mr. Stanley Smith requests the honor of your presence of the marriage of his sister Stephanie Smith." Once you've established the hosts of the event (in the right order), you need to actually invite the guest(s) to the wedding. Regardless of who hosts, the next line after the hosts' names should be either "requests the honor of your presence" or "requests the pleasure of your company." That should be followed by either "at the marriage of" if someone other than the bride(s) and/or groom(s) are hosting or "at their marriage" if the bride(s) and/or groom(s) are hosting as well. For example, you might say " [Hosts' names] request the pleasure of your company at the marriage of their daughter Tiffany Smith to Adam Jones" (if the bride's parents are hosting) or "[Hosts' names] request the pleasure of your company at the marriage of Tiffany Smith to their son Adam Jones" (if the groom's parents are hosting. Once you've established who's hosting and invited your guest(s) to the event, include the rest of the information for the wedding. In order, you should list the date, time, and venue of the wedding, each on their own line. If the wedding ceremony will be followed by a reception that everyone is invited to, you can add that information to the invitation itself. If not everyone is invited, you can write the reception information on a separate card to be included with the invitation. If you include the reception information on the invitation itself, it should come last on the invitation and include the time and place. So, for example, you could say "Reception to follow at 5 pm at The Country Club 3000 Country Club Lane Minneapolis, Minnesota." "Reception to follow" and "at 5 pm" should get their own lines, as should the street address, venue name, and venue city. If you include a separate reception card, write it as you would on the bottom of the invitation. If you want your guests to respond whether they'll be coming or not (and most hosts do because venues will require a final guest count), include information on how they should do that. This usually means including an RSVP card that lists the response date, along with a pre-addressed and stamped envelope. Leave space for their name and how many guests they're bringing. For example, a standard RSVP card will say "M.______________ __ will attend __ will not attend." The "M." at the beginning allows them to write "Ms.," "Mr.," "Mr. and Ms.," or "Mr. and Mrs." and lets you know how many people are attending. If you are asking your guests to make a meal selection, this should be listed on the RSVP card as well. List their meal options and leave a space underneath each for the names of the guests requesting that particular meal.

What is a summary?
List the hosts in the correct order. Write the host(s)' names correctly. Invite your guests to the wedding. Include the rest of the information. Include information about the reception. Tell your guests how they should respond.