Your wedding invitations should contain the important details to make sure your guests are in the right place, at the right time, to witness your wedding ceremony, and join any celebrations to follow. As well as the venue and date, it’s essential to make sure you have the relevant time on there as well. But, should that be the actual ceremony time, the time you want people to arrive, or something else? In this blog, I will answer the burning question that comes up with nearly every couple I work with. What time do you put on a wedding invitation?
Do you put the ceremony or arrival time on your wedding invitations?
The time you should put on your wedding invitation is the actual ceremony time. This is the time your ceremony will begin, the time you have booked with your celebrant, minister, or registrar. Don’t be tempted to make the time half an hour (or even an hour) earlier than the ceremony, just to encourage your guests to be there on time. If you do, you risk having your guests arrive much earlier again, perhaps up to 90 minutes before the ceremony. Here is an example of simple wedding invitation wording, where 1.00pm is the ceremony time.
Joanne & Richard
would be delighted if
Guest name
would join them to celebrate their marriage
at Sant Ffraed House, Chepstow
on Thursday, 21st August 2025
at 1.00pm
Reception to follow
But what if you want your guests to arrive earlier?
The ceremony time is what should appear in the main wedding invitation text. Most of your guests should understand that if the ceremony begins at, for example, 1.00pm they should arrive 30 to 40 minutes earlier than this to be seated and ready. But, we all have those friends and family members that always rock up at the last possible moment, or even a couple of minutes late, and you don’t want that happening on your big day, right!? So it’s perfectly fine to add an arrival time to your invitations so that you make it perfectly clear. This can be right next to the ceremony time in the main invitation text e.g.
Joanne & Richard
would be delighted if
Guest name
would join them to celebrate their marriage
at Sant Ffraed House, Chepstow
on Thursday, 21st August 2025
arrival 12.30pm | ceremony 1.00pm
Reception to follow
Or, as a separate note in your finer details card
Please arrive by 12.30pm to be seated for the ceremony to begin at 1.00pm prompt.
If you have welcome drinks, or anything else happening before the ceremony, then make the plan and timings for this clear on your invitation. Again, you can do this in the main invitation text e.g. or as a note in your extra details.
Joanne & Richard
would be delighted if
Guest name
would join them to celebrate their marriage
at Sant Ffraed House, Chepstow
on Thursday, 21st August 2025
cocktails at 5.00pm | ceremony at 6.00pm
Dinner & dancing to follow
Or, along with your additional details:
Join us for cocktails at 5.00pm before our wedding ceremony at 6.00pm
Do you need any other times on your wedding invitation?
There are a couple of other times that you can include on your wedding invitation, but these are not essential. Only include them if you think they will be useful for your guests. Here are the other timings you might want to include on your wedding invitations:
Time to go home
The traditional, fancy way to say this is “Carriages at Midnight” (or whatever time your celebrations finish). You can word it in other ways to suit you though. It can be helpful for guests if they need to pre-book a taxi, or arrange a lift.
Time for food
If your wedding ceremony is over the typical lunch time, i.e. between midday and 2.00pm, you could mention what time food will be served. This can help your guests plan, and perhaps indulge in a hearty breakfast to see them through until dinner time!
Should you include a full order of the day in your invitations?
Some couples choose to include an order of the day timeline in their wedding invitations. This is a helpful way of illustrating all of these key timings. My advice is to keep it short and simple with 3 to 5 items, for example:
What time goes on evening reception invitations?
For your evening invitations, you can put the arrival time. Your evening reception is likely to be more flexible and relaxed anyway, your guests do not need to be seated for a specific time. You can include additional timings if you wish, for example the first dance. The finish time is helpful for your guests to plan. Here is a simple example of evening invitation wording with 3 key timings included.
Joanne & Richard
would be delighted if
Guest name
would join them for an evening reception
to celebrate their marriage
at Sant Ffraed House, Chepstow
on Thursday, 21st August 2025
from 7.00pm | first dance at 8.00pm
carriages at 1.00am
What time do you put on a wedding invitation?
In summary, the time you should put on your wedding invitation is the ceremony time. You can include an arrival time as well if you want to, but be clear about this to avoid guests turning up far too early. To help your guests, you can also include some other key timings, finish time being the most popular.
If you are in any doubt about what time to put on your wedding invitations, get in touch and have a chat. I have been designing wedding stationery since 2006, so I have plenty of experience. I would love to help you create the perfect invitations for your big day. Part of my personalised service is all the help and advice you need to make sure you have all the details you need, and correct.
Found this blog useful? Get your own, free pdf guide to wording your wedding invitations, plus a checklist of all the additional details you should include.
Get this blog as a free pdf download
Just pop your details in the form below and it will be delivered to your inbox.
By entering your details you agree to receive regular email newsletters from me. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Don’t forget to save this blog for later
Pin the image below to your wedding stationery board on Pinterest. Why not come over and say hello while you’re there? Follow By Jo Wedding Stationery on Pinterest.
Or, come and find me on Instagram for more inspo, tips, and advice.
