Wedding invitations are delightful things. They are simple yet intricate. A lot of it depends on the couple’s preferences, but at the end of the days it’s about who, when, and where. It’s a little bit like an evolving puzzle to piece together.

I would certainly love to learn more about the history of the written invitation – I imagine that in the past, inviting dearly beloveds to a wedding used to be done by word only. I also know for a fact, that they are different everywhere. However, here in Indonesia where I live, we seem to be starting to slightly incline towards the western way of doing things again.

There is one similarity between our wording and the western one, though, and it is the dependence on who’s paying. It’s a rather sensitive thing to talk about, but one can barely have a wedding without doing so. So that part is alike. I am told that here, whoever ‘hosts’ (or take more financial responsibility in the matter) is mentioned first.

Let’s take a look at our Harry and Ginny case study. Some pressure points to consider:

• Who’s paying? I’d say that Harry and Ginny both host their wedding together. What with Ginny being an independent lady (despite Harry’s inherited riches) and her unwillingness to burden her modest parents. And let’s not expect any of the Weasley boys to pitch in. But she would insist on mentioning her parents.
• Harry’s parents are deceased, but I think he would want to include their honoured names still. A lot of Harry’s friends are his parents’ friends as well, so as guests, they will appreciate it.
• By western tradition a wedding is more about the bride, of course, so almost in all cases her name will be mentioned first.
• Little James was born in 2004, give or take, so I placed his parents’ wedding in 2002, so Ginny has a couple or so years to work. Plus, I want her to be a June bride.
• Couple’s father’s middlenames are fictitious fill-ins only.

Ginevra Molly Weasley

daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Rupert Weasley

and

Harry James Potter

son of the late Mr. and Mrs. James Alden Potter

request the pleasure of your company

at their marriage

Sunday, the sixteenth of June

two thousand and two

at eleven o’clock

The Burrow

Ottery St Catchpole, Devon

R. S. V. P.

All in all Copperplate wedding invitations are still beyond me at this point. Can you spot all the mistakes on the image above?

S.