Adams-Zadock wedding, the Zadok-Adams wedding, or does it really matter? (Again, Adams is the bride and Zadok is the groom.)
I’m helping a friend make invitations for a pre-wedding party for her sister and wasn’t sure if there’s a “proper” order or if its alphabetical or groom-bride/bride-groom.
Thanks in advance.
ETA: Should perhaps mention that’s not their real names- just chose an A & Z surname.
The recent wedding invitation I got to a friend’s wedding between (fake names) Stacey Anne Brown and George Emmanuel Marx, where those names are first, middle, last read:
The union of:
Stacey Anne
and
George Emmanuel Marx
They just dropped the Bride’s last name completely. I’m not certain this is proper though, I just know it’s what was on the last invitation I saw.
I think the convention is that the bride’s (maiden) name comes first, if only because it is also the convention (as opposed to the reality) that it is the bride’s parents who organize and pay for the wedding.
I also have only seen and heard it bride-first, whether using the just the last names or the full names. That is how it would be indicated on the official invitations for the wedding proper, so it just seems natural to use it in all other situations.
And since you are essentially talking about a wedding shower, I’d personally use the etiquette for those. They use the full names of each honoree, and generally use the word honor to refer to them.
I believe the rules are the same for bridal showers and wedding showers. I do not know the rules for bachelor or bachelorette parties, as I’ve never been invited to either.
When naming a wedding it’s Bride-Groom. This would be used in things like announcements in the newspaper, but I don’t think you would see this usage in any type of invitation.
For the invitation mentioned above I suspect the bride’s last name was omitted because the invitation is traditionally sent by the parents of the bride, so you know who the family is.