Writing a warm and heartfelt wedding card message can be easier said than done! Whether you’re sending wedding day wishes to your distant cousin or closest friend, you might find yourself stuck with writer’s block as you try to craft the perfect wedding day sentiments.
Don’t panic – if you’re looking for some last-minute wording inspiration for the perfect wedding card, you’re in the right place. From formal to casual and funny, we’ve got you sorted with our top tips and examples on exactly what to write in a wedding card below.
The Do’s and Dont’s of Writing a Wedding Card
Dos
- Address it to the couple as a pair. The wedding card will be read by both partners, not just the person you’re closest to, so make sure you congratulate them both and leave out the inside jokes for another time!
- Plan in advance. Saying the right words for this special occasion is hard. That’s why you’re here! To avoid any errors, take the time to write out what you want to say on another piece of paper. This will relieve the pressure of making a mistake on the actual wedding card.
- Have fun and be real. Your friends are going to keep this card as a memento long after the wedding. Write from the heart, but don’t say anything that doesn’t sound like you.
Dont’s
- Misspell their names. This is the first thing the couple will notice when reading the wedding card, so make sure you spell the couple’s names correctly!
- Write a novel. As much as you may want to express your excitement and share a story or two, keep your wedding card message short and sweet. Wedding cards usually don’t allow for a lot of space, so if you do have a lot to say, it is best to save it for a personal letter or email.
- Do it last minute. Chicken scratch on notepaper is a total faux-pas and, to avoid embarrassment, look for the perfect wedding card in advance!
- Get too cheeky. Don’t forget that both partners will read the wedding card! By all means, be real and genuine, but keep it clean and save the cheeky stories for another place.
Wedding Card Etiquette
Before you start writing those wedding wishes, let’s chat first about wedding card etiquette. What should you keep in mind as you begin crafting a meaningful message to the newlyweds?
As a general guideline, wedding card messages should be warm, genuine and personalised to the couple. The format of a wedding card message might look something like this:
- A word of congratulations to the couple
- Some warm wishes for their marriage
- A more personal message, anecdote, joke or marriage advice (if that suits your relationship to the couple)
- A note of thanks and appreciation for letting you share in their day
- A loving sign off
What you choose to write in your wedding card will be influenced by the kind of relationship you share with the newlyweds. If you’re sending wedding wishes to a close friend or family member, you can use a more casual tone and get away with injecting some humour or personal anecdotes. But if you’re sending wedding wishes to a distant relative or work colleague, it might be better to keep your wording more formal and sincere.
Wedding cards are traditionally given at the wedding reception via a wishing well. But if you’re unable to attend the wedding, you’ll want to mail your card to the couple as close as possible to the wedding instead.
Once you’ve decided on format and tone, draw some inspiration from our wedding card wording examples below to get started with crafting the perfect message!
What to Write in a Wedding Card
A formal tone is best suited if you don’t have a close relationship with the couple, such as extended family or work colleagues. Formal wedding card messages are usually simple, timeless, and sincere. Some classic and romantic wedding wishes that fit perfectly for a formal wedding card include sentiments like:
Formal Wedding Card Wish Examples
- Congratulations on your wedding day. Wishing you a lifetime of love, joy and happiness.
- Congratulations on taking this next step together. May your love for each other see you through all of life’s ups and downs.
- Wishing you both love and joy on your wedding day, and as you begin your new life together.
- Sending our best wishes as you embark on this new journey together.
- Congratulations on your wedding day. May today be the beginning of a long and happy life together.
- Congratulations on your special day. May the years ahead be filled with lasting joy, love and happiness.
- Congratulations on your union. Wishing you all the best as you build your life together.
- Life will bring all sorts of things your way, but it’s better to share it with someone by your side. Wishing you many more joyful moments to come.
- Congratulations to you both on finding the perfect person to share all your days with.
You’ll also want to include some words of appreciation for inviting you to the wedding. Some examples for a formal wedding card could include:
- Thank you for letting us share in this joyful day.
- Thank you for inviting us to join in your union.
- Thank you for inviting us to celebrate with you and your families on this special day.
- Thank you for letting us play a small part in your special day.
- Thank you for inviting me to your wedding. It’s an honour to share in such a beautiful and important celebration with you.
To bring it all together, your final wedding card message might look something like this:
To Harry and Sally,
Congratulations on your wedding day. May the years ahead be filled with lasting joy, love and happiness.
Thank you for inviting us to celebrate with you and your families on this special day.
Best wishes today and always,
Mike and Sandra
Funny/Casual Wedding Card Wish Examples
If you’re writing a wedding card for a close friend or family member, it’s completely okay to keep things more casual! You can use informal language, insert personal jokes, offer marriage advice and inject a sense of humour if that suits your relationship to the couple.
Our tip: if you are using jokes or humour, try to balance this with some more genuine and heartfelt sentiments, too. This is a pretty special milestone after all!
Draw inspiration from these fun and casual wedding card wishes below:
- Congratulations on your wedding day! Our marriage advice to you: Remember, no matter how hard it gets, the first 50 years of marriage are always the hardest.
- Thanks for the free booze. Oh, and congratulations on your marriage!
- Woohoo, you got hitched! Wishing you a lifetime of Netflix and chill together.
- Congratulations! It’s so great to see two equally amazing people find their perfect match. Wishing you all the love and happiness on your special day.
- Congratulations guys, it’s official – you’re stuck with each other now!
- Congrats guys, you did it! You found the one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your lives!
- Congratulations guys! Now it’s time to knock back the champagne and pretend like this hasn’t been the most stressful day of your entire lives.
- Congratulations guys! We can’t wait to watch you two turn into the cutest little old married couple there ever was.
- Woohoo, you did it! Congratulations on hosting the most Instagram-worthy wedding of the year.
- Congratulations, you two. Everyone can see that you guys are perfect together. Our marriage advice: date nights, and lots of them!
- Congratulations on your wedding day! From the moment you two met, I knew it was a match made in heaven. I’ll never forget the time (insert brief personal anecdote or memory).
Don’t forget to follow up your wedding wishes with a heartfelt thanks to the couple. These examples are a perfect fit for a casual wedding card:
- In all seriousness, we couldn’t be happier to witness two perfect soulmates tie the knot today! Thanks for inviting us to the party of the year.
- I’m so grateful for the friendship we share, and the memories we’ve created over the years. Thanks for having me here to celebrate with you – I hope your day is everything you imagined and more.
- We are so ecstatic to see you two finally hitched! Thanks so much for your love, friendship and support – we’re so happy we could share in this perfect day with you.
Your final wedding card message might read something like this:
To the happy couple,
Woohoo, you got hitched! Wishing you a lifetime of Netflix and chill together. We can’t wait to watch you two turn into the cutest little old married couple there ever was.
In all seriousness, we couldn’t be happier to witness two perfect soulmates tie the knot today. Thanks for inviting us to the party of the year.
Sending you lots of love,
The Smith Family
Wedding Wishes for a Family Member
Celebrating the wedding of a close family member? Writing a personal wedding card message is a great way to welcome their new partner into your family. You might want to personalise your wedding card wording to include one of the following sentiments:
- Congratulations on your marriage, and welcome to the family (Name)!
- Congratulations on your wedding day! (Name), we couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome you to our family.
- Huge congrats on your wedding day! (Name), we’re so happy you’ve found the one.
- Congratulations, you two. We couldn’t be happier with our new addition to the family.
- Welcome to the family, (Name)! We couldn’t be happier to have you join our crazy tribe.
- Congratulations guys – we’re overjoyed to call you both family.
After including some warm words of appreciation, your final wedding card message for a family member might look something like this:
To John and Jenny
Congratulations on your wedding day!
John, we’re so happy you’ve found the one. Jenny, we couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome you to our family.
We love you both, and wish you a lifetime of joy and happiness.
Lots of love,
Susie and Nick
Wedding Wishes When You Can’t Attend
If you’re unable to make the celebration itself, sending a personal wedding card is a beautiful way to share your thoughts and well wishes to the newlyweds.
When it comes to crafting the perfect message for this situation, you’ll want to make it clear how much you wish you could be there to celebrate. You don’t need to apologise over and over again for your absence, but do acknowledge your love and support for the couple and their union. The following sentiments are perfect for sending a wedding card from afar:
- Congratulations on your wedding day! We hope you can feel our love and support even though we can’t be there.
- Congratulations on such an exciting day! We really wish we could be there to celebrate with you and your families.
- Congratulations, you two! We’re with you in spirit on this special day.
- Congratulations on your wedding day! We’re so sorry we couldn’t make the trip, but are celebrating with you from afar with a glass of champagne (or two!).
- Wishing you both the very best on this special day. We hope you can feel us joining in your joy and celebrations.
You might also want to acknowledge how much you’re looking forward to hearing about the day with a sentiment like:
- Wishing you all the best for a perfect day – we can’t wait to see pictures and hear all about it!
- We can’t wait to catch up with you both soon and hear your favourite memories from the day. We’re sure you’ll have some stories to tell!
- We are so looking forward to seeing you both soon and hearing all about your special day.
- Dinner and drinks on us sometime soon! We can’t wait to hear all the beautiful details from your day.
Your final wedding card message might flow something like this:
To Katie and Chris
Congratulations on your wedding day!
We hope you can feel our love and support even though we can’t be there.
Wishing you all the best for a perfect day – we can’t wait to see pictures and hear all about it!
Lots of love,
Tilly and Tom
Write From The Heart
Above all, if your wedding card wishes are warm, genuine and written from the heart, you really can’t go wrong. Simply think about the kind of sentiments you’d love to hear in your own wedding cards, and use this as inspiration to get started.
Currently planning your own wedding celebration? We’ve got you sorted with wording examples there, too! Check out our wedding invitation wording examples to set the tone for your upcoming day, or our complete guide to writing your wedding website sections here.