reception "to" or "and"

Question

here is my dilemma....I am about to mail out wedding reception cards and I think I have a grametical mistake. I need to know what's correct. Here is my current wedding reception card looks like...

Mr. and Mrs. XY
Request the honor of your presence at the reception of their son
ABC
To <------
DEF
ON SATURDAY....

My questions, is there suppose to be "To" or "AND"

for marriage, we have "to" but for reception, I am not sure. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks a bunch,

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,

here is my dilemma....I am about to mail out wedding reception cards and I think I have a grametical mistake. I need to know what's correct. Here is my current wedding reception card looks like...

Mr. and Mrs. XY
Request the honor of your presence at the reception of their son
ABC
To <------
DEF
ON SATURDAY....

'To' is definitely wrong. You can say 'marriage to' but not 'reception to'. A reception is usually 'for' the married couple, I'd say. But wedding etiquette is tricky. Can't you consult a wedding etiquette site or book for the recommended wording?

Another question is, what name do you use for the bride? Perhaps you should say 'at the reception for their son, ABC, and his bride, DEF' ? But will DEF continue to be called DEF?

Nona, where are you? We need you!

Best wishes, Clive

Nona the brit · Answer

Me? I don't know about weddings!

But I can point you in the direction of a lot of people who do - see www.weddingchannel.com forum as they love discussing wedding etiquette in minute detail including a whole section just on writing the invitations! (Don't ask how I know about it). Look near the bottom of the homepage under COMMUNITY.

It seems that the etiquette varies a lot according to country and culture but my suggestion would be

Invite you to celebrate the wedding of son Blah to Mrs Blah (use bride's original name) at a reception to be held at

Siggy · Answer

I would have written:

"Mr. and Mrs. XY would be honored by your presence at the reception for their son, ABC, and daughter-in-law, DEF, on Saturday."

A reception is something you give for someone; a little like a birthday party for John or a bris for Johann.

I am assuming you are only offering a place at the reception and NOT the wedding, too.

Siggy

BarbaraPA · Answer

Mr. and Mrs. XY request the honor of your presence at a reception honoring the marriage of
Miss ABC
to
their son, Mr. DEF

I've always been told that the bride is listed first, regardless of who is throwing the party. But I did see examples where it was the other way around:

Mr. and Mrs. XY request the honor of your presence

at the marriage of their son

DEF

to

ABC

This, by the way, assumes that the recipient is NOT invited to the wedding, but only to the reception.

Neither the bride nor groom is being received. The reception is in honor of the wedding.

But the two people being married are being married to each other.

reception "to" or "and"

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