Location

Wedding ceremonies are held at a variety of locations including churches, temples synagogues, clubs, and even at home. The location line tells your guests the name of the location at which your wedding is being held. The full name of the facility is always given, so the location line for the wedding held at a church, for example, uses the full corporate name of the church. There should be no abbreviations. "Saint" is always spelled out. Likewise, a church commonly referred to as "Saint Matthew's Church" might actually be "Church of Saint Matthew" or "Saint Matthew's Roman Catholic Church." You should check with a clergyman or the church secretary to ascertain the correct name of the church.

My parents are hosting my wedding at home. How is that indicated?

While most wedding ceremonies are held in churches, hotels, and country clubs, many are held at home. The ceremony can be a religious one or a civil one. (Some religions, however, require that their wedding ceremonies be held in their place of worship.) The location given is simply your parents' address. Since your wedding is taking place outside a house of worship, "request the pleasure of your company" is used.

We are having a garden wedding at my parents' home. Should our invitations indicate that it will be a garden wedding?

It is always helpful to mention that the wedding will be a garden wedding to ensure that your guests wear appropriate footwear. A line reading, "in the garden" appears above your parents' address.

Our wedding is being held at a friend's house. How does the location line read?

Your friend's name and address are shown at the end of the invitation.

Our wedding is being held outdoors. How do we let our guests know of our contingency plans in case of rain?

One of the risks involved in having an outdoor wedding is that you are at the mercy of the elements. You may enclose a small card with your invitations that reads, "In case of inclement weather / the wedding will be held at / Sleepy Hollow Country Club / Scarborough." Of course, all of your guests will have different definitions of inclement weather. A cloudy wedding day may produce a very large number of phone calls. If you are planning an outdoor wedding, a tent would be much wiser investment than a bad-weather enclosed card.

Our wedding is being held in a small chapel at the Church of Chris

The name of the chapel may be given on the line directly above the name of the church.