To announce, inform or invite your relatives, friends, and colleagues to your wedding, the wedding invitation would play an important role. However, preparing the wedding invitations can be a big task for the couple. Here are some tips about how to prepare your Chinese wedding invitation card.
How To Write A Chinese Wedding Invitation Card
1. Addressing your family and guests
Being the first thing a guest will see on the invitation envelope, properly addressing the guests is crucial when drafting Chinese wedding invites. It is important to show your respect to them, especially the elders. Adding ‘Dear Uncle’ (伯父大人) before the whole name is preferable when addressing your uncle in the invitation.
The invitation should also specify whether you’re inviting only them or their spouse and children. Addressing both of their positions, names, and relationships to one another is appropriate if you are inviting their spouse.
For instance, if you are inviting the whole family, you could follow the name of the invitation recipient with ‘whole family’ (阖府) whereas if you are inviting the the guest with their spouse, you could add ‘married pair’ (夫妇).
2. Information that need to provide
- The name and title of the guest
- The date of the wedding on the Gregorian and Lunar calendars
- The bride and groom’s names
- The address of the wedding and reception location
- Wedding and reception time
- The number of table (optional)
- The RSVP card and envelope (optional)
3. Example of a Chinese Wedding invitation
送呈：客人称谓
To: Name and title of the guest
谨定于农历 –年–月–日，即公历 –年–月–日（星期 — ）为 新郎、新娘名字 举行婚宴
On Month, Date, Year, please join us for the wedding of (names of the couple)
恭请：邀请对象 光临 婚宴地址
We would love to invite you and your family to celebrate their marriage at (the venue name and address)
设席时间：– 点 — 分恭候
— 点 — 分入席
Cocktail hour: time
Reception dinner: time
席设：– 号枱
Table number: —
落款：新郎新娘名字 谨上
Signature of the bride and groom
What To Include In Chinese Wedding Invitations
1. Red envelopes
Chinese wedding invitations are distributed to the guest in red envelopes with a double happiness symbol (囍) that stamped on the invitation envelopes to proudly announce the forthcoming wedding.
2. Wedding Cake Cards (Only for the Bride’s Family)
Wedding cake cards are vital in Chinese wedding invites for the bride’s guests. Historically, the groom’s family would send wedding cakes (喜饼) to the bride’s family as an engagement present. The more wedding cakes the bride’s family received, the more symbolised that the bride was marrying into a prosperous family.
The more wedding cakes the bride’s family received, the more symbolised that the bride was marrying into a prosperous family. The bride’s family would then share the joy by distributing the wedding cakes to their friends and family.
In modern Chinese weddings, the wedding cake will be substituted by the wedding cake cards so that the guests can redeem the cakes whenever they want. The wedding cake cards will be distributed to the guests along with the wedding invitations.
3. Red Packets (Only for the Groom’s Family)
The red package will contain cash that is given to the guests as a present. The Chinese virtue “Courtesy demands reciprocity” is the source of this unusual tradition. It implies that when someone is shown compassion by others, they will do the same for them.
In Chinese culture, guests typically present the newlyweds with red envelopes as wedding gifts. The bride’s family would then kindly give some of the money back to the visitors.
However, the red packets are optional to include in the invitation. These can also be distributed at the reception, in which the groom’s family could return the money back to the guests when they hand out the red envelopes.
When To Send Chinese Wedding Invitations
Chinese wedding invitations can be sent out as soon as the traditional Chinese engagement ceremony (过大礼) is over. Nonetheless, it is polite to send out the invitations at least three months before the wedding so that your guests will have enough time to make plans.
How To Send The Chinese Wedding Invitations
Another tips for Chinese wedding invitation are the way to send the wedding invitation. Normally, the parents will send the wedding invitations on behalf of the newlyweds to the family members. The groom and bride only will send invitations to their friends or colleagues.
Besides that, more couples nowadays opt to mail every invitation by themselves. To demonstrate your respect, it is strongly advised that you personally distribute the invitations to the guest, especially to the older people. However, sending the invitations via mail is also permitted if your guests are staying overseas or in another state.
