Wedding invitation message and wording samples for Filipino couples

A wedding invitation message tells guests who is inviting them, to what, when and where, and how to reply. On a printed card it's formal wording, such as "request the honour of your presence". In Messenger or Viber, it's a short greeting with the guest's name, the date and your link. Below are samples of both to copy.

To see formal wording on a phone screen, open the Regency sample invitation. Its cover uses the church request line and a spelled-out date, the way an engraved card would.

Every sample uses a wedding on Saturday, February 13, 2027, with replies due January 9, five weeks before. Swap in your own names, dates and venues.

Invitation wording or wedding card message: which do you need?

Most couples need both. The wording goes on the card or your wedding website; the message is what you send with it, like the Messenger greeting or the note to a friend abroad.

"Wedding card messages" also gets searched by guests who want to know what to write inside a card for the couple. If that's you, our wedding wishes guide has samples for every relationship. This page is for the couple doing the inviting.

For where each line sits on the card, see the wedding invitation format guide. For finished designs, see our wedding invitation examples.

Church wedding invitation wording

The traditional Filipino card has both sets of parents as hosts. The Emily Post Institute allows one extra line for a Catholic wedding with a Mass, under the groom's name: "and your participation in the offering of a Nuptial Mass".

Mr. and Mrs. Ramon Villanueva
and
Mr. and Mrs. Eduardo Santiago
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of their children

Beatriz Anne
and
Miguel Antonio
and your participation in the offering of a Nuptial Mass

Saturday, the thirteenth of February
two thousand twenty-seven
at three o'clock in the afternoon

[Church name]
[City]

Reception to follow at [venue], [city]

If the two of you are hosting, drop the parents' names and use your full names:

Together with their families
Beatriz Anne Villanueva
and
Miguel Antonio Santiago
request the honour of your presence
at the celebration of their marriage

Saturday, February 13, 2027, at 3:00 PM
[Church name], [City]

Dinner reception to follow at [venue]

Numerals are fine when the two of you host; the formal parent-hosted card spells the date out. Whichever you choose, use it for the whole card.

Bilingual English and Tagalog wording

A bilingual card keeps the body in English and adds a Tagalog opening and reply line. Guests who don't speak Tagalog can still read every detail:

Sa biyaya ng Poong Maykapal

Beatriz Anne Villanueva
and
Miguel Antonio Santiago
request the honour of your presence
at the celebration of their marriage

Saturday, February 13, 2027, at 3:00 PM
[Church name], [City]

Inaasahan po namin ang inyong tugon bago ang ika-9 ng Enero 2027.

The Tagalog lines mean "By the grace of the Almighty" and "We look forward to your reply by January 9, 2027."

Honour of your presence or pleasure of your company?

The venue decides. Emily Post uses "honour" for a house of worship and "pleasure" everywhere else, so a garden or ballroom ceremony takes "pleasure" even with a priest officiating. Honour keeps the British "u".

Civil and garden wedding wording

A civil wedding in a garden, a hotel or at city hall takes "pleasure":

Beatriz Anne Villanueva
and
Miguel Antonio Santiago
request the pleasure of your company
at their marriage

Saturday, February 13, 2027, at 4:00 PM
[Venue], [City]

Dinner and dancing to follow

Leave out "Nuptial Mass" and any church-only lines. Our civil wedding invitation samples cover seven civil situations, including civil now and church later.

Wedding invitation greeting messages

Pick an opening line that sounds like the two of you, then keep the rest of the card in that register.

Formal:

• With joyful hearts, we invite you to witness our marriage.
• Together with our parents, we ask you to share the day we become husband and wife.

Warm and personal:

• You've been part of our story. Please be there for this chapter.
• We'd love to have you with us as we say "I do".

Faith-centred:

• By the grace of God and with the blessing of our parents…
• What God has joined together, we celebrate with you.

Light, for a relaxed wedding:

• We're finally doing it. Come eat, dance and cry with us.
• Nine years, one proposal and a lot of lechon later, we're getting married.

A playful line works on the barkada's message, less on the card your lola frames. If both are going out, write two versions.

Invitation text messages for Messenger and Viber

Messenger's ad reach equals 83.3 percent of Filipino adults at the end of 2025, so for most guests the invitation arrives as a message. Send it privately to each household; a group-chat blast blurs who is invited. Put the date and the link in the message itself, so a guest scrolling back finds both.

To a household:

Hi Tita Lorna and Tito Ben! We're getting married on Saturday, February 13, 2027, in Tagaytay, and we'd love both of you to be there. The invitation and RSVP are here: [link]. We've reserved 2 seats for you. Kindly reply by January 9.

To a friend:

Hey! It's official: February 13, 2027, 3 PM, Tagaytay. You're invited, and we really want you there. Everything's on this link, RSVP included: [link]. Reply by January 9 so we can give the caterer our count.

To a guest abroad:

Hi Kuya Jun! Our wedding is on February 13, 2027, in Tagaytay. We're telling you now so you can file your leave and book your flight home. The invitation and RSVP are here: [link].

To a ninong or ninang, after you've asked them in person:

Ninang, salamat po ulit sa pagpayag na maging ninang namin. Ito po ang aming imbitasyon: [link]. Idadala rin po namin ang printed invitation sa inyo.

Our Tagalog invitation guide has full formal Tagalog and Taglish cards, plus when to use po and kayo.

Following up on a printed card you've already delivered:

Hi Tita! Just making sure the invitation reached you. If it's easier, you can also reply here: [link]. Kindly let us know by January 9.

Bible verses for the wedding card

Many Filipino couples put a verse on the card, under the names or on the back. Quote it word for word and name the translation, because the translations word these lines differently.

The Ecclesiastes line fits a card that also lists your cord sponsors. Use one verse. Two starts to look like a program.

Lines for RSVP, seats, kids, dress code and gifts

Guests misread these lines more than any others, so keep each one short.

RSVP

Kindly reply by January 9, 2027.

Or, more formally, "The favour of your reply is requested", one of the RSVP forms Emily Post lists. Set the date 4 to 6 weeks before the wedding; our RSVP guide explains why and how to chase late replies, and our RSVP samples have ten reply-card versions.

Reserved seats

We have reserved 2 seats in your honor.

The Budgetarian Bride gives "We have reserved _ seat/s for you" in its Filipino invitation format. With the number written down, fewer guests bring someone unplanned.

Adults only

Thank you for understanding that this is an adults-only celebration.

Wording alone won't do it. Name only the invited guests on the envelope and the RSVP. If a reply comes back with children added, Emily Post's advice on uninvited children is to call kindly and keep the focus on who is invited: "the invitation was only for you and Henry."

Dress code

Formal attire. Barong or suit for gentlemen, long gown or Filipiniana for ladies.

Name the level and give one example outfit; "semi-formal" alone gets read five ways. Emily Post keeps attire off the main card, so put this on the details card or your website.

Gifts

Emily Post says not to put gift or registry information in with the invitation at all. Filipino practice bends that a little. Bride & Breakfast advises, "Don't print a request for money on your invitation itself," and suggests "a tiny note in your invitation suite" instead. One way to word that note:

Your presence is the only gift we ask for. If you wish to bless us further, a gift toward our first home would mean a lot.

Keep it on the details card or a small insert, never on the main card.

Send your invitation message with Ceremo

With the wording done, the work left is sending it to every household and tracking who answered.

In Ceremo's guest list you write one invitation message and copy it per household. Each copy fills in that household's name and its own RSVP link, which lists the guests invited in it, ready to paste into Messenger or Viber. A group can have its own message, such as Taglish for the titas and formal wording for sponsors. Guests reply without an account, and you get a notification when a household answers. Invitation emails with the same link are free, and the welcome section of your wedding website holds the longer note.

It's free for up to 50 guests. Premium is a one-time ₱2,499 for unlimited guests, custom colors and a custom URL. If you're only printing cards and collecting replies by phone, the samples above and a free design app are all you need.

Pick a design in the invitation maker, paste in your wording, and send the first message tonight.