Wedding tradition is that the couple’s parents names should be displayed on the wedding invitation, particularly the set of parents that are assisting financially with the wedding itself. However, always remember that this is your wedding, your day… you can do whatever you want. You don’t have to follow tradition, you can do things however you want. Should you decide to follow tradition, see the image below for sample wedding invitation wording.
Include Both Sets of Parents in Everything
Making a guest list is always going to be tricky, more so if one set- or both sets of parents have contributed significantly towards the costs of the wedding. If you are paying entirely for the wedding yourselves, even so, it’s a good idea to have your parents there. Even if you are not on good terms with your parents and you don’t even particularly like them, it’s a celebratory day, and it would be nice if they could be included in everything. Even if they decline the invitation, you will feel all the better for having at least invited your closest flesh and blood – your parents. The 21st century is full of restlessness and anger, but the united family still offers the richest of all rewards.
Despite affluent circumstances, your parents may have decided for whatever reasons, not to pay for your wedding. A wedding is supposed to be a joyous occasion and it’s the time to bury animosities and laugh at what you consider to be their failings. Grievances can just become magnified and distorted.
Weddings have centuries of traditions attached to them, but people are making their own rules. These days, it is gracious for parents to foot the bill for their kid’s weddings, but no-one is under any traditional obligation to pay for anything. The tradition of not naming the groom’s parents on a wedding invitation is ridiculous – name who you like and avoid creating upsets and disharmony.
Don’t Follow the Masses
Tradition aside, free-thinking couples today are opting for the contemporary practice of doing what pleases them – listing both sets of parents on the invitation, regardless of who paid for what. As in everything in life, we need to carefully consider what we wish for, instead of blindly following the masses and ending up with something you’re not happy with.