11 Modern Wedding Reception Invitation Ideas plus Etiquette Tips For Your Big Day
Note: This post is sponsored by our friends at Minted. We’re picky about who we partner with, and we’re proud to include Minted’s products in our stationery, art, and gift posts!
Looking back, many couples say their wedding reception was the best part of the entire day, which makes total sense. Everyone loves a party where you can let loose and share your joy with loved ones!
Some couples choose to keep their ceremony small and private (or forego one altogether) and focus their time and resources on a reception instead. Others may opt for a destination wedding but still want to celebrate their nuptials with friends and family back home when they return. For these occasions, a wedding reception invitation without ceremony details is in order.
We’ve gathered up some really neat reception-only invitations that we think will get you into the party spirit!
Wedding Reception-Only Invitations for Your VIPs
1. Falling Branch
by Minted: Amy Kross
Simple with a touch of boho inspiration – this invite is an excellent option for a garden party or even a semi-formal evening reception.
Comes in unlimited color themes (really!) and four silhouette choices with a custom foil text option. Free recipient address printing included.
Dimensions: 7 x 5 inches
Printing: Standard
Card Type: Flat Card
2. Key Ingredients
by Minted: Christie Garcia
This fun, casual invitation would be hard to turn down! Although, we’d humbly suggest the dancing should come after the booze. Some of us need a stiff cocktail before we’re brave enough to get on the dance floor.
Comes in unlimited color themes and five silhouette choices with a custom foil text option. Free recipient address printing included.
Dimensions: 5 x 7 inches
Printing: Standard
Card Type: Flat Card
3. Villa Wedding
by Minted: Chryssi Tsoupanarias
This sophisticated little number makes us want to break out the ol’ little black dress. (We could use an occasion to wear it, honestly.) The Villa Wedding reception invite is perfect for a formal evening bash!
Comes in unlimited color themes (though we’re partial to black) and four silhouette choices with a custom foil text option for extra fanciness. Free recipient address printing included.
Dimensions: 5 x 7 inches
Printing: Standard
Card Type: Flat Card
4. Eucalyptus Evening Printable Template
by Etsy: LovePaperEvent
If you’re a DIY kinda person, these romantic boho invitations are a great option! You can edit and print it yourself or take it to a professional printer for professional results.
You can edit the font size, color, and style, as well as add your own graphics or photos.
Dimensions: 5 x 7 inches
Card Type: PDF
5. Kindly Join Us
by Minted: Laura Hamm
Wedding photos always capture your best side (and your most authentic happy glow). Your friends and family will love these reception-only invitations featuring your favorite wedding pic!
Comes in unlimited color themes and four silhouette choices with a custom foil text option. Free recipient address printing included.
Dimensions: 7 x 5 inches
Printing: Standard
Card Type: Flat Card
6. Rose Gold Confetti Printable
by Etsy: AlwaysBBrave
These DIY printables put a little extra flash in your ceremony invitation card! You can choose to print them yourself, or the ladies at AlwaysBBrave will expertly print them for you. Either way, they’re sure to impress your guests. RSVPs included.
Dimensions: 5 x 7 inches
Card Type: PDF, Flat Card
7. Vintage Rustic Fall Wedding Reception Invite
by Zazzle: Jinaiji
The design of this card is so magical. It’s like an invitation to be whisked away to an enchanted forest! Sounds like a pretty cool wedding reception to us…
Available in your choice of eight sizes and five shapes, plain white envelopes included.
8. Printed
by Minted: JoAnn Jinks
Suppose you’re not going with a theme per se? In that case, this is a fabulous minimal design that would be entirely appropriate for any reception! It looks great in every color, too.
Want to dress it up a little? Add a bit of shine with custom foil text.
Comes in unlimited color themes and five silhouette choices. Free recipient address printing included.
Dimensions: 5 x 7 inches
Printing: Standard
Card Type: Flat Card
9. Painted Frame
by Minted: Kelly Schmidt
A sophisticated combination of fonts and a shimmering border gives this card such a classy feel. If you’re planning a nighttime party full of champagne and revelry, this is the reception card for you.
Available in seven color themes, eight foil options, and two silhouette choices. Free recipient address printing included.
Dimensions: 5 x 7 inches
Printing: Foil-Pressed
Card Type: Flat Card
10. Happily Ever After Party Printable Template
by Etsy: AWildBloomPrintables
Pretty script on one side and your best photo on the other? That sounds like a recipe for a fantastic invitation! Make it even better by customizing all the wording, text size, color, font styles, and background color as you wish for a personal touch.
Dimensions: 5 x 7 inches
Card Type: PDF download
11. Elegant White & Black Photo Template
by Zazzle: DesignedforYou
We think this invitation is such a romantic and unique way to show off your wedding pictures – it’ll definitely impress your friends and family!
Available in eight sizes with your choice of round or traditionally rectangular shape options. Standard white envelopes included.
Wedding Reception Invitation FAQ
There are plenty of questions surrounding how to word your wedding reception invitations and how to avoid typical faux pas about who to invite! We’ll answer a few of them here, in the hopes they may help you navigate the waters of wedding reception-only cards.
While traditionally hosted by the bride’s parents, wedding receptions are catching up to the modern notion that there are no hard and fast rules about who throws the party. These days, it’s not uncommon to see the whole family chip in and host, or the newlyweds will host it themselves.
The answer to that rests largely on the type of reception you’re having. At the very least, it should include the names of the happy couple as well as the date, time, and reception venue.
If you’re aiming for a little bit on the fancy side, something like this makes sense:
Mr. and Mrs. Jack Smith
are pleased to announce
the marriage of their daughter
Jane Smith
to
John Jackson
Please join us for a wedding reception to celebrate
on Saturday, July 24
at Seven PM
The Iriquois Country Club
12341 Iriquois Ave.
Nashville, Tennessee
It’s easy to adjust the invitation wording accordingly depending upon who’s hosting. So instead of naming the parents, you could say “the family of.” Or if the newlyweds are hosting: “Jane Smith and John Jackson were (or will be) married in a private ceremony, please join us in celebration…” You get the idea.
Many couples opt for a much more casual tone when inviting family and friends to their wedding reception. For examples of cute ways to word your ceremony-only invitations, check out our post on Elopement Announcement Cards! Similar circumstances, same sentiment!
It’s helpful to your guests to mention the appropriate dress for the occasion as well. Semi-formal, casual dress, evening attire – whatever the case, you don’t want anyone to feel awkward if they show up over or underdressed.
Awww jeez, this one is rife with contention between wedding traditionalists and modern wedding enthusiasts.
You know your guests, and you know how it’ll be received if they’re invited to the reception and not the ceremony, but at the end of the day, it’s your choice.
If your circumstances are such that you just can’t (or don’t want to) have an all-inclusive ceremony/reception, then don’t! If there are hurt feelings, chances are, they won’t stay that way. By the time the reception rolls around, they’ll be happy to party with you!
Helpful tip: Whatever the reason behind your choice to limit your ceremony guests, it never hurts to film the ceremony and show it at the reception. That way, your reception guests will see that everyone else wasn’t hanging out without them! Juvenile? Maybe. Effective damage control? Very possibly.
In our opinion, the answer to this one is a little more straightforward: Yes. It is rude.
That said, it never hurts to go ahead and create a registry in case anyone asks explicitly for it. Or you may already have one put together for your families and close friends who attended the ceremony that you can share with others upon request.
Either way, if no one asks, don’t put it out there. That is all.
Have a Blast!
It’s so exciting to celebrate this new chapter of your life with the people you love most, and throwing a party is the best way to do that! Hopefully, we’ve answered a few questions you may have about wedding reception invitations and given you some inspo for picking out the perfect ones for you.
TIP: Save THIS PIN to your Wedding Planning board on Pinterest and get back to this post later.
Laura Crowley
Laura resides in the fantastic city of Nashville, TN with her very, very patient husband, three well above average boys, a dog the size of a dinosaur, and a fleet of cats. When she’s not writing for work, she’s writing for fun. When she’s not doing that she enjoys reading, fine dining, copious amounts of wine, and philosophical conversations with her children. And some adults on occasion.
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Laura Crowley#molongui-disabled-link
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Laura Crowley#molongui-disabled-link
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Laura Crowley#molongui-disabled-link
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Laura Crowley#molongui-disabled-link
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