Date Line

The day of the week and the date are written out in full. Abbreviations and numerals are not used. The day of the week is first, followed by the date of the month and the month itself. The day of the week may be preceded by "on." The use of "on," however, is unnecessary and may make the line too long.

You may include the time of day, as in, "Saturday evening." That is not usually necessary, however, as most people are able to determine whether your invitation is for the morning or evening without specifically being told. For example, an invitation reading, "at six o'clock" is obviously meant for six o'clock in the evening. If that invitation were meant for six o'clock in the morning, it would then be necessary to include "Saturday morning" since that would be unusual.

Invitations for weddings held at eight, nine, or ten o'clock should designate morning or evening since weddings are held at those times during both mornings and evenings. Many Roman Catholic weddings, for example, are held at those times in the mornings since most Nuptial Masses are held before noon, while some Jewish weddings are held at those times on Saturday evenings so the guests and participants can wait until after sundown to travel on the Sabbath.

The time of day can be noted on the time line instead.

At what times do "afternoon" and "evening" begin?

Afternoon begins at twelve o'clock. Evening starts at six o'clock.