COVID Wedding Invitation Wording 2022

What to Say to Your Guests

It's high time to get hitched! Roughly 2.5 million weddings will occur in the United States in 2022. Many engaged couples are in catch mode after wedding delays and cancellations. 

After long years of quarantine and stress, it’s now time to plan your wedding and we are here to help the journey.  With COVID 19 and variants still among us, it adds an extra layer of information for wedding invitations. 

What details should your invitations include? How can you discuss what safety protocols you will implement, and what COVID mask invitation wording should you have? What should you do if you have to cancel your wedding? 

Answer these questions and you can write the perfect invites in no time. Here is your comprehensive guide.

Be Knowledgeable About Wording Etiquette

Getting the right wording for your invitations is difficult, even without COVID. You need to give all the essential details about your wedding without oversharing. 

The formality of your invitation should match the formality of your event. If you want a conservative wedding in a house of worship, you should be be more formal in your language.. If you're hosting  an informal event, you can be more casual.

At its core, your invitation should give details about when and where your event will be. You should also describe the dress code for your wedding. A simple description like "black tie optional" suffices. 

Parents traditionally send wedding invitations on behalf of their children. If you're a parent doing so, you can make a formal request to the recipient to attend the event. "John and Jane Smith request the pleasure of your company at the marriage of their daughter Jana" is one type of request you can write.

Both formal and informal invitations write the names of the couple using a special font. The names may be bigger than the other text in addition to using a different typeface. This celebrates the couple and makes the purpose of the event clearer.

You don't have to write your registry details and other information on your invitation. But if you want to give these details to your guest, you can write them on an insert card. This card goes in the envelope alongside your invitation. 

Writing an invitation can be difficult. Try writing a few drafts to get the language right before you send your cards out. Read more details about wedding invitation wording to create the perfect invite.

Be Clear About Safety Protocols

Once you get down the main wording for your cards, you can transition to COVID wording for invitations. You can break down COVID invitation wording into a few concepts so you are clear with your language.

You can phrase this wording in a thoughtful way as to not offend guests. . You can write something like, "We thank you for your generosity as we start our marriage while prioritizing our health and safety." The more courteous you are to your guests, the more likely they are to reciprocate.

If you're stuck on ideas, this article from our friends over at Brides.com is a great resource for how to properly address inviting fewer guests, canceling or postponing your wedding, or even elopements.

COVID Mask Invitation Wording

A 2021 meta-analysis of studies on COVID found that less than 10% of COVID infections occurred outdoors. If you're worried about masking, you should find an outdoor location to get married. You can also have your reception outdoors, though you should make a plan in case the weather becomes inclement. 

If you would like to ask your guests to wear masks, you should say so directly. "We would like to ask you to wear a mask while you are attending our wedding" is fine. You do not have to explain yourself beyond writing, "We would like to take all steps to protect ourselves and the ones we love."

Some people do not like to wear masks. You can mention that as long as they are outdoors, they can go mask-free as long as they maintain social-distancing guidelines to avoid putting any immuno-compromised guests at risk.  However, should they enter an indoor event space, in an effort to make every guest comfortable, you strongly encourage guests to wear masks.

Someone may make the choice not to attend an event that requires masks. There's little you can do if someone does not want to follow safety regulations. You can talk to them privately and smooth things over with them.

Social Distancing

Social distancing involves keeping your guests six feet apart from each other. If guests remain apart, they can go without wearing masks. If your event is indoors, you may need to keep masks on because COVID-19 can spread through six feet of enclosed air. 

You can discuss social distancing by writing, "We plan on keeping our guests six feet apart. This is far enough away to avoid transmission, but close enough to allow for conversations."

You can have a traditional wedding ceremony without distancing. But dancing and having meals requires having people in close quarters with each other. You can cut these activities out of your schedule, or you can plan them outside and avoid distancing.

You should talk to your event organizers before you decide on social distancing. Your wedding venue needs to have enough space to accommodate your guests and the distancing. If it doesn't, you may need to cut your guest pool down or reorganize the event.

Quarantining and Testing

To create a guest pool that is free from COVID, you can ask your guests to quarantine for 5 days prior to your wedding. You can write, "We ask our guests to stay at home for one week before taking a test. If the test is negative, you may attend in person."

Some people may not be able to quarantine. They may have jobs that require them to travel, or they may need to leave home to attend an appointment. You can ask these guests to test themselves and to stay home if they are feeling sick.

Vaccinations

The trickiest part of COVID wedding invites wording has to do with vaccinations. Some people have significant reservations about getting vaccinated. Others refuse to interact with anyone who hasn't been vaccinated. 

You should decide what your own risk tolerance is for vaccinations. It is okay for vaccinated people to interact with a few unvaccinated people. But you may need to keep your guest list small, as unvaccinated people can spread the virus to each other.

You should also think about boosters. Less than half of fully vaccinated people have received a booster shot. You can ask guests to get boosters, though you can forgo them if the majority of your guests are fully vaccinated.

You can give options to people who refuse to get vaccinated. You can ask them to wear a mask, take a COVID test and quarantine, or attend a virtual event. Ask your unvaccinated guests to contact you with their plans.

Know How to Cancel and Uninvite

You can cancel your event if the pandemic gets worse or if you or your partner get sick. Once you make the decision to cancel, you need to communicate with your guests right away. You can send them cards and letters, or you can reach out to them through phone calls and social media posts. 

You can be brief with your message, writing, "At this point, we feel a wedding is not safe and in line with our goals of promoting safety. As such, we are delaying our wedding until we can gather together safely." You can write this message on postponement cards instead of invitations.

You can still get married, as long as you meet your state's requirements. You should talk to your partner about getting married at a private ceremony. You can then throw a party during a safe time and invite all of your guests.

If you don't want to cancel your event entirely, you can cut your guest list down and uninvite people. You must be careful when you do this. Uninvited guests will be upset. 

The key is to give alternatives so the guest doesn't feel cut off. You can ask them to attend your wedding over Zoom, and you can hold another event and invite them later. You can also ask them to get vaccinated, though you should be polite when doing so.

COVID wedding invitation wording can be tricky but if you thoughtfully state your wishes most people will understand.