Q: When should the Invitations be sent out?
A: Generally speaking the invitations should be sent out as soon as the wedding arrangements have been finalised.  2 or 3 months before the wedding day is considered best. 

All the invitations should be sent out at the same time if at all possible. 

Q: What is the correct way to word an invitation?
A: There are a number of ways in which to word invitations depending on a number of different factors:

1. The Brides Parents are divorced but only the Bride's mother and stepfather are paying for the wedding: the invitations should read something like this:

Mrs Marjory Smith and Mr John Smith
request the honour of your presence at the marriage of her daughter
Mary Margaret Jones
to
Robert Allen
at (the name and address of the wedding venue)
on 18th September 2000
at 3.30pm
and afterwards at (the name and address of the reception venue)

2.The Bride's parents are divorced but both have remarried and are sharing the cost of the celebration. You should have invitations worded along these lines:

Mr and Mrs Brian James Edgemont
and
Mr and Mrs Martin John Elliot
request the honour of your presence at the marriage of
Sarah Jane Elliot
to
James Brown
at (the name and address of the wedding venue)
on 18th September 2000
at 3.30pm
and afterwards at (the name and address of the reception venue)

3. When the groom's family will be helping with the costs of the wedding reception invitations should be similar to this:

Mr and Mrs Walter Jones
and
Mr and Mrs Mervin Alfreds
request the honour of your presence at the wedding reception of
Margaret Rose
and
Peter James
at (the name and address of the reception venue)
on (date and time of the reception)

A completely separate invitation for the ceremony itself should be sent out by the bride's parents.

4. Should the bride and groom be sending out their own invitations they should word them as follows:

The pleasure of the company of 
(Name of Invitees)
is requested at the marriage of
Ms (Miss) Rebecca Elizabeth Jones
and Mr Mark John Brown
at (the name and address of the wedding venue)
on 18th September 2000
at 3.30pm
and afterwards at (the name and address of the reception venue)

5. Should someone else (an Aunt and Uncle or Grandparents for example) be hosting the wedding, invitations should be worded along these lines:

Mr and Mrs Andrew McLean
request the pleasure of
(Name of Invitees)
at the marriage of their (niece/granddaughter)
Ms (Miss) Rebecca Elizabeth Jones
to Mr Mark John Brown
at (the name and address of the wedding venue)
on 18th September 2000
at 3.30pm
and afterwards at (the name and address of the reception venue)

Q: Is there anything else I should include on the invitation?
A: Don't forget to include an RSVP date and contact number on all invitations regardless of the format.

Regardless of the format the invitation takes you should always include the following information 

Who the hosts are
The couples names 
The relationship of bride to the hosts 
The wedding ceremony venue and/or reception venue 
The time and date 
RSVP 
An address or telephone number for the invitees to reply to.

TIP!: Make the time of the ceremony  about 10 minutes after the time on the invitations...you may be able to reduce the number of people coming in late this way.

ANOTHER TIP: It may be a good idea to include a small map for those people who may be unfamiliar with the town in which the wedding is being hosted. This could save them driving around looking for the venues.

Q: Do we have to word our invitations in the traditional formal manner?
A: Of course not, you may prefer to send out invitations that are more casual. You could send out invitations worded more like this:-

Jane and Mark
We would like to invite you to the wedding of our daughter Rosemary Jones who will be marrying John Smith at (the address and name of the wedding venue) on (the date) at (the time).
The reception will be held at (the reception venue address) afterwards.
We would be so happy if you could join us to celebrate this happy occasion.
Yours sincerely etc...

Q: I don't really want to have children at my wedding, how do I diplomatically let people know the situation?
A: Firstly you would leave the names of children off the invitation, but that does not always mean people get the hint so...tell family and close friends and ask them to spread the word. Please - please don't write "children unwelcome" or words to that effect on the invitation itself.

Q: What do I do about an invited guest who has failed to RSVP?
A: Give them a reasonable length of time and then it's perfectly acceptable for you to call or write to them to ask if they are planning to attend.

TIP!: Include a small RSVP card and maybe a preaddressed and stamped envelope with the invitation to increase your chances of receiving prompt replies.

Q: Who, other than the friends and family invited to the wedding, should receive an invitation?
A: You should send invitations to the members of the wedding party, their husbands and wives, it would also be nice if you could include your clergyman or Marriage Celebrant and his/her husband or wife.

It doesn't hurt to send invitations to those you know will definitely be unable to attend, let's say the Brides 98 year old grandmother residing in Scotland. Sending them an invitation is a nice way of letting them know that you are thinking of them as you plan to celebrate your special day.

If the wedding is hosted by the bride's parent's, an invitation should also be sent to the groom's parents.

Children over the age of sixteen should also receive their own invitation.

Q: How do I word an invitation to the reception only?
A: You can send something along these lines:

Mr and Mrs Edwin Jones
request the pleasure of the company of
(Invitees)
at the reception to celebrate the marriage of their daughter
Elizabeth
to
Mr Andrew Reid
to be held at
( Name and address of reception venue) 
on
(date and time)

You may like to explain why they have not been invited to the actual ceremony by adding something like this...

"Unfortunately the (name of wedding venue) has very limited seating and so we have had to limit the people attending the actual ceremony to immediate family only, but we do hope you will be able to join us celebrate at the reception."
RSVP details etc.

Q: I would like to invite friends and acquaintances who were not invited to the Wedding or formal reception to come along to the party afterwards, how do I do this diplomatically?
A: This should be worded in a more informal manner. For example:

Mr and Mrs Glen O'Mara would like to request the pleasure of
(invitees)
at the informal celebration of the marriage of their daughter
Mary Rose
to 
Mr James Jones
this celebration is to be held after the formal reception at
(reception venue)
from
(time) set a time when all the formal speeches etc are over and done with.

You may like to include an explanation as to why they have not been invited to the wedding and reception proper by saying something like this...

"Unfortunately circumstances have forced us to limit the number of guests invited to the formal reception but we know how much Mary Rose and Jim would like you to be a part of their special day and we would be absolutely delighted should you be able to attend the informal part of the evenings celebrations."

Q: How long can I wait after the wedding to send out thank you notes?
A: Three months is the very longest you can wait before responding to gifts. Should you receive gifts before the wedding you could write out the thank you notes as you receive them and hold onto them to post after the wedding day.