Here you are. You spent so much time trying to find the right wedding card for the couple, now you’re having trouble figuring out what to say in it. It can be daunting, you don’t want to end up writing something that the couple won’t appreciate or misinterpret.

Thankfully, it isn’t that hard to figure out what you want to write on the card. There are no hard and fast rules, it’s completely up to you. If you’re looking for some help figuring out what to write, we’ve got you covered.

Structuring Your Wedding Greeting Card

One of the first things you should consider when planning your wedding card is the structure. Once you have the structure in place, it’ll be much easier to fill out the rest of the card according to what you’ve set up.

Here’s a basic wedding card structure that you can follow:

  1. Congratulations or another greeting/opening.
  2. Expression of best wishes and regards for the wedding and marriage.
  3. A personal message. This may be a memory between you and the couple, a joke, or other marriage/wedding advice for them.
  4. Another personal message for the couple.
  5. A sincere, personal closing that is addressed to the couple.

Etiquette For Card Writing

As with any wedding, there is traditional etiquette that you should keep in mind when writing your card.

Firstly, it is tradition to either bring the wedding card with you to the wedding or to mail it directly to the couple. Just make sure that the card arrives before it’s too late (usually a few weeks after the wedding).

Back in the day, it was considered improper to write “congratulations” on a wedding card, since it was thought that you were congratulating the bride on obtaining a husband. Today, it’s not thought of like this. This is considered outdated, although some more traditional families may still adhere to this line of thinking.

If you think the word “congratulations” may offend some, it may be best to use another term like “best wishes” instead.

Another thing to take into account is the religious beliefs of the couple, and if the wedding ceremony is a religious one at all. If the couple you’re writing for adheres to a certain faith, it may be good to write a message that references their faith.

If you’re unsure about whether or not the couple would appreciate religious references or undertones in your card, it’s best to just avoid it altogether. Go for something more neutral that someone from any faith or background can appreciate.

Examples Of What To Write in a Wedding Card

If you’re looking for some examples of wedding wishes, here are some for you to consider:

Formal wishes

  • “Sending you wishes for a lifetime of love and happiness.”
  • “Wishing you joy, love, and happiness on your wedding day and as you begin your new life together.”
  • “May your joining together bring you more joy than you can imagine.”
  • “Thank you for letting us/me share in this joyful day. We/I wish you all the best as you embark on this wonderful union.”

Casual wishes

  • “Congratulations on your wedding!”
  • “Best wishes for an amazing future together.”
  • “I’m seeing a fun-filled life in your future. Congratulations!”
  • “Hope the days ahead are filled with lots of hugs and kisses.”

Joking wishes

  • “Being married is like any other job; it helps if you like your boss. Congratulations!”
  • “Here’s to endless sleepovers with your favorite weirdo.”
  • “May Facebook notifications always save you from forgetting your anniversary.”
  • “Hope you guys have more belly laughs than fights overloading the dishwasher!”

What Not To Write in a Wedding Card

aka How to Write a Wedding Card Disaster

When writing your wedding card, keep in mind there are some things you should likely leave off. Here are six examples of what not to include in your wedding card:

No personalization

While you may be struggling with ideas of what to include in your wedding wishes, you should always try to personalize it a little. Writing nothing personal, or even just your name can indicate to the couple that you couldn’t take the time to wish them well — which could signal the end of that relationship.

Inappropriate remarks or inside jokes

Even if you’ve known the bride for her entire life and have plenty of great stories about her, no couple wants to read a raunchy story about them in their wedding card. It’s best to keep the stories or inside jokes to yourself to avoid putting anyone on the spot or making them feel embarrassed when they should be feeling celebrated.

Excuses for not attending

If you RSVP with regrets but still want to send the couple happy wishes, you shouldn’t include the reasoning behind why you couldn’t come. A simple “So sad to miss it, but happy wishes for the future!” should do the trick — not a detailed story about how your brother’s girlfriend’s cousin’s sister’s nephew graduated from college so you couldn’t come.

Anything rude or offensive

This should go without saying, but when writing a wedding card you should be keeping your well-wishes positive and kind. Anything rude (like asking when they’ll have a baby) or offensive (like making fun of the groom in a mean-spirited way) should be kept as far away from a wedding card as possible.

Complaints about the wedding

Some weddings aren’t to your exact taste — and that’s okay! Every wedding is a reflection of the individual couple, and it won’t be for everyone. Your opinions about the wedding should be kept to yourself, and definitely should not be shared in the wedding card. This could seriously upset the couple and make them feel like their special day wasn’t as special to everyone else as it was to them.

One-sided wishes

If you know the groom but not the bride (or vice versa), be careful not to alienate the other party in your wedding card. This could look like only addressing the card to one of them or only mentioning one of them in the card itself. Be careful to always address your card to the couple as a whole to show you support them coming together as a family.

Looking for More Tips?

These are just some tips and examples of what to write (and what not to write) on your wedding card. Remember, weddings can be stressful, from gift-buying to making travel plans.

If you’re looking for more advice on how to write a wedding card, needing more examples, or just wanting more general wedding advice, check out what this site has to offer. They even have printable wedding tags that you can use to tag your gifts with!