Chinese Wedding Invitations Wording | 結婚喜帖內容

Chinese wedding invitations wording are vertical and read from right to left. Information for the groom will be presented first before information of the bride.

The chinese wedding invitation will include the following information as a minimum:

– the Gregorian calendar and chinese calendar dates, if available, for the wedding banquet,
– order of birth and names of the bride and groom,
– name of the parents,
– dinner venue,
– time for cocktail reception,
– time for dinner.

Explanation [Chinese wording]

“After careful consideration [谨订], on such date of the Gregorian calendar [公历 / 阳历] and such date of the Chinese calendar [农历], on such day of the week [星期], our eldest son [长男], XY and our youngest daughter [幼女]，XX will have their wedding ceremony [举行结婚典礼].

We will prepare food and drinks [敬备薄酌] in anticipation of your presence [光临].

By my father’s order[奉严命], Groom’s parents, and
By my mother’s order [奉慈命], Bride’s parents,
we are co-hosting the dinner [同敬约].

We apologize in advance for any shortcoming in our service [恕乏] and please be punctual [价催].

Address of dinner venue [席设,地点] and time [时间] for cocktail [迎宾酒会] and commencement of dinner [晋席] event.”
Things to amend:
1. Dates
2. Birth order and names of the bride and groom
3. Names of co-hosts or host
4. Indicate if grandparents of bride and groom are alive
5. Venue and Time

1．Dates

If you have selected auspicious dates for the events of the chinese wedding then you will naturally have the chinese calendar dates and the Gregorian dates handy. Otherwise, you can just print the Gregorian dates on your chinese wedding invitation.

I am no calendar expert but for a quick reference only, the chinese year begins on the following dates:

Gregorian, chinese zodiac animal, chinese year

22 Jan 2004, Monkey, 甲甲
9 Feb 2005, Rooster, 乙酉
29 Jan 2006, Dog, 丙戌
18 Feb 2007, Boar, 丁亥
7 Feb 2008, Rat, 戊子
26 Jan 2009, Ox, 己丑
10 Feb 2010, Tiger, 庚寅
3 Feb 2011, Rabbit, 辛卯
23 Jan 2012, Dragon, 壬辰
10 Feb 2013, Snake, 癸巳
31 Jan 2014, Horse, 甲午
19 Feb 2015, Ram, 乙未
9 Feb 2016, Monkey, 丙甲
28 Jan 2017, Rooster, 丁酉
16 Feb 2018, Dog, 戊戌
5 Feb 2019, Boar, 己亥
25 Jan 2020, Rat, 庚子

For the both the Gregorian calendar [公历 / 阳历] Chinese calendar, fill in year before [年] month before [月] and date before [日].

The twelve months are:
January， 一月
February， 二月
March， 三月
April， 四月
May， 五月
June， 六月
July， 七月
August，八月
September， 九月
October， 十月
November， 十一月
December， 十二月

The dates are:
1st 一日
2nd 二日
3rd 三日
4th 四日
5th 五日
6th 六日
7th 七日
8th 八日
9th 九日
10th 十日
11th 十一日
12th 十二日
13th 十三日
14th 十四日
15th 十五日
16th 十六日
17th 十七日
18th 十八日
19th 十九日
20th 二十日
21st 二十一日
22nd 二十二日
23rd 二十三日
24th 二十四日
25th 二十五日
26th 二十六日
27th 二十七日
28th 二十八日
29th 二十九日
30th 三十日
31st 三十一日

The days of the week are:
Monday 星期一
Tuesday 星期二
Wednesday 星期三
Thursday 星期四
Friday 星期五
Saturday 星期六
Sunday 星期日 or 星期天

2．Birth order and names of the bride and groom

The wording for addressing the bride and groom on the invitation will depend on who is hosting the wedding banquet.

If the wedding banquet is co-hosted by the parents, the names of the bride and groom are usually written without the surname.

If the parents have both passed away, then an elder member usually on the paternal side such as the father’s sibling or even an elder brother of the bride and groom may host the wedding banquet.

When the dinner is hosted by parents the order of birth of the bride [女] and groom [男] will be mentioned.

Order of birth:
Eldest- 长
Second- 次
Third- 三
Fourth- 四
Fifth- 伍
Sixth- 六
Seventh- 七
Eight- 八
Ninth- 九
Tenth- 拾
Youngest- 幼

If hosted by one of the paternal grandparent [祖父母] the birth order and name of the late father, in addition to the bride or groom’s birth order may be stated. E.g. my late eldest son xx’s eldest daughter xy [已故长子xx之长女xy].

If there is no wish to mention if the father is alive or not, then simply state that bride or groom is the host’s granddaughter [内孙女] or grandson [内孙].

If hosted by the paternal uncle, and there is no wish to mention if the father is alive or not, then simply state that bride or groom is the host’s niece [侄女] or nephew [侄儿].

If hosted by an elder brother, simply state the bride or groom’s position in relation to the host, e.g. second sister [次妹] or second brother [次弟].

3. Names of co-hosts or host

If both parents are alive, the chinese equivalent of “Mr & Mrs” [夫妇] will be used.

If only the father is alive, use Mister [先生] after the parent’s name.

If only the mother is alive, use the mother’s married name followed by [女士]. See this pdf file, Chinese wedding invitation wording co-host by bride’s mum only
for sample.

Married name is the maiden name with the addition of the husband’s surname. For example [张陈细妹女士] where [陈细妹] is the maiden name and the husband’s surname is [张]

If the mother is not using the husband’s surname, then remember to add the surname before the bride’s or groom’s name.

Co-hosted

If the wedding banquet is paid jointly by the bride and groom’s family, then the invitation will have the names of both set of parents appearing before the phrase co-hosted [同敬约].

Hosted by groom’s parents only

In many cases, the bride’s parents may choose to invite only the closest of relatives and friends to the wedding dinner utilizing only the number of tables included as part of the betrothal gifts. In such cases, only the groom’s parents name will appear before hosted [敬约].

In addition, the bride’s name will not be written side by side with the groom’s. Her parent’s name will be inserted after the groom’s name and before her name.

4. Indicate if grandparents of bride and groom are alive

If the grandparents of the bride and groom are alive, then it will be mentioned above the names of the parents.

If the grandfather is alive, it will state [奉严命]. If only the grandmother is alive, then it will state [奉慈命]. If both the grandparents have passed away, then it is left blank.

5. Venue and Time
Unless chinese is used regularly as part of the address system in the country it may be more confusing than helpful when included.

Include a location map whenever you can. Remember to state the ballroom or hall for the wedding banquet especially if there are a few within the same venue.

The commencement time for cocktails, dinner and any other events should be clearly stated.

Now that you know how to write your own chinese wedding invitations, learn to address the chinese wedding invitation envelopes.

Provided by www.chinese-wedding-guide.com