Almost every old rule about second weddings has quietly been dropped. Twelve examples for remarriages, blended families, and vow renewals — including how to let your children do the inviting.
Couples marrying again almost always host themselves, which makes the wording simpler: your names lead, and the request line follows.
Marianne Claire Beckett and Julian Reyes request the pleasure of your company at their marriage Saturday, the third of October two thousand twenty-seven at six o'clock in the evening The Ashcroft Estate Hudson, New York Dinner and dancing to follow
Marianne & Julian are getting married Saturday, October 3, 2027 at 6:00pm The Ashcroft Estate Hudson, New York Dinner, dancing, and a small ceremony first Please reply by September 1
We have both done this before, and we have never been more certain. Marianne Beckett and Julian Reyes Saturday, October 3, 2027 · 6pm The Ashcroft Estate, Hudson NY Dinner, dancing, and no speeches over four minutes
Together with our families and our children Marianne Beckett and Julian Reyes invite you to their wedding Saturday, October 3, 2027 at six o'clock in the evening The Ashcroft Estate Hudson, New York
Two families becoming one Marianne Claire Beckett and Julian Reyes request the honour of your presence at their marriage Saturday, the third of October two thousand twenty-seven at half after five in the evening Saint Andrew's Church Charleston, South Carolina
A small wedding, a long-awaited one. Marianne & Julian Friday, October 2, 2027 at 4pm City Hall, then dinner at Ombra Hudson, New York Twenty people, one long table, and you
The generator handles the host line, the date, and the RSVP — and gives you a text-message version for the guests you'd rather text than post.
Letting children issue the invitation is the warmest convention in this whole cluster — and vow renewals follow almost the same wording, with one important change.
Sophie and Daniel Reyes request the pleasure of your company at the marriage of their father Julian Reyes to Marianne Claire Beckett Saturday, the third of October two thousand twenty-seven at six o'clock in the evening The Ashcroft Estate Hudson, New York
We're getting a step-mother, and we picked her ourselves. Sophie and Daniel invite you to the wedding of their dad Julian and Marianne Beckett Saturday, October 3, 2027 at 6pm The Ashcroft Estate, Hudson NY
Together with our children Sophie, Daniel, and Ruth we invite you to our wedding Marianne Beckett & Julian Reyes Saturday, October 3, 2027 · 6:00pm The Ashcroft Estate Hudson, New York Reception to follow
Twenty-five years ago we made some promises. We'd like to make them again, with you there. Helen and Charles Whitfield Saturday, June 12, 2027 at 4:30pm The Hallowell Library Boston, Massachusetts Dinner and dancing to follow
Helen and Charles Whitfield request the pleasure of your company at the renewal of their marriage vows on their twenty-fifth anniversary Saturday, the twelfth of June two thousand twenty-seven at half after four in the afternoon Saint Andrew's Church Charleston, South Carolina
Our parents are doing it again. Please join us as Helen and Charles renew their vows after thirty years. Saturday, June 12, 2027 at 4:30pm The Hallowell Library, Boston Dinner immediately, dancing eventually
The old restrictions on second weddings — no white, no church, no fuss — are gone. A few wording conventions are still worth knowing.
Couples marrying again are usually established and hosting themselves, which means no host line: your names come first and the request line follows them.
“Sophie and Daniel Reyes request the pleasure of your company at the marriage of their father” is a lovely, entirely correct construction — and it tells guests the family is in favour without saying so.
This is the one wording rule that genuinely matters here: guests need to know they are attending a celebration of an existing marriage, not a wedding. “At the renewal of their marriage vows” does it in one line.
“Together with our children” includes them warmly. If any child is ambivalent about the marriage, ask before printing their name on the invitation — the card outlasts the mood.
Use the name you go by now. If you kept a former married surname because your children share it, that is entirely normal and needs no explanation on the invitation.
Each creates confusion that lands in your inbox.
Guests arrive expecting a legal ceremony, bring wedding gifts, and feel embarrassed. Say “renewal of vows,” and if there is an anniversary attached, say that too.
“A small second wedding, nothing fancy” invites guests to treat it as lesser. Word it exactly as you would a first wedding; the confidence sets the tone for the whole day.
The blended-family line is the most emotionally loaded one on the card. Ask each child how they would like to be named — including whether they would like to be named at all.
Set to the couple hosting, which fits most second weddings. Switch the host line to “families together” to include children and parents.
A phone number, a website, or “reply to this text.”
Only in who hosts. Couples marrying again almost always host themselves, so the invitation leads with your names rather than a parents' host line. Every other rule — request lines, spelled-out dates, reception notes — is identical to a first wedding.
Yes, and it is one of the warmest options available: “Sophie and Daniel Reyes request the pleasure of your company at the marriage of their father Julian Reyes to Marianne Beckett.” It works in any tone, from engraved formal to a text message.
No. The invitation states who is marrying, when, and where — nothing about the wording announces a first or second marriage, and guests do not expect it to. If you want to acknowledge the history, do it in a toast, not on the card.
Exactly like a wedding invitation, with one change guests depend on: say “at the renewal of their marriage vows.” Adding the anniversary (“on their twenty-fifth anniversary”) removes any remaining doubt and gives guests the occasion.
Yes. The old convention that second weddings should be small and civil is long gone. Word it as formally as you like — our formal wording page applies unchanged, using your names in place of a parents' host line.
Gift preferences never go on the invitation, first marriage or fifth. Put them on your wedding website, and let the people who ask be told directly — that is what those questions are for.
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