Although, it is typically more traditional for the bride’s parents to host or pay for the wedding, there is no firm rule stating the groom’s parents can’t pay and host the wedding. If the groom’s parents are hosting your wedding, how should your wedding invitation be worded to reflect this?

Decorum #1 – Name Position Matters
The groom’s parents should be listed first on the wedding invitation. Yes, this means before the bride and groom names and before the brides’s parents names.

Decorum #2 – Wording Should Reflect the Groom’s Parents Inviting
Because the groom’s parents are hosting, they are doing the inviting. Wording in your wedding invitation should reflect this. For example, it should say something like “Mr. and Mrs. Thomas cordially invite you…” or “Frank and Samantha Thomas invite you to share in the joy…” Anther popular phrase is “Mr. and Mrs. Thomas request the honor of your presence…”

Decorum #3 – Take Into Account the Marital Status of the Groom’s Parents
When the groom’s parents are married, it is traditional that the husband’s name goes first.

Here are some examples for married parents:
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas
Mr. and Mrs. Frank Thomas
Frank and Samantha Thomas

However, if the groom’s parents are divorced, it is traditional that the mother’s name go first.

Here are some examples for divorced parents:
Samantha Thomas and Frank Thomas
Ms. Samantha Thomas and Mr. Frank Thomas

If you want to see full examples of wedding invitation wording, check out our Wedding Invitation Wording page. On there we have a chart pointing you to examples of wedding invite wording based upon your family situation.