A Brief History of the Wedding Invitation

The witnessing of a wedding by friends and family members has been an important part of wedding ceremonies down through the centuries.  If there was no one to witness the exchange of wedding vows by the bride and groom, the marriage became a “he said; she said” situation.  It was a wise precaution to invite observers. The method of inviting these witnesses has evolved over the years. 

Weddings in ancient cultures needed no wedding invitations since the event typically happened during a festival or summer solstice where the entire village was going to be anyway.  Group weddings were very common, and, for many centuries, the norm. 

‘Bidding the banns’ was a form of engagement announcement in Britain and Europe that goes back to the 12th centuray.  For three consecutive Sundays before the wedding, names were put on signs in the church.  Since most people could not read, thse banns were also verbally announced.  As well as to invite people to the wedding, it was also done to ensure there was no other husband or wife who could claim one or the other of the couple. 

In those times, as well as today, anyone could stand and observe a wedding.  Proper etiquette states that since a church is a public place, anyone of the public can attend.  Wedding invitations inform people of the time and place of the wedding, and also allows only those invited to come to the reception. 

As towns and communities grew, and as more and more people were able to read, sending out hand written wedding invitations became the norm. 

Engraved wedding invitations became very popular and were often a large part of the wedding budget in the late 19th and early 20th century. 

With good quality printers available, many brides to be create their own wedding invitations on their home computer.  Commonly though, most purchase wedding invitations in a package which includes matching RSVP cards and thank you cards.