When Creating Invitations Focus on the Basics

Have you ever received an invitation that left you scratching your head? Who is ABD Dynamics? Why are they inviting you to their event? And look as you might, there is a time and location but no date. Oops. Someone goofed badly; just wait till the boss finds out.


At a minimum invitations should contain basic information, including the names of the hosts and/or honoree, the purpose of event, date, location, and time. An invitation such as the following is woefully inadequate:

Please join us as we celebrate Mom's 90th birthday

Saturday the 20th at 2 p.m.

Our house

Sally and Joe

So, who is Mom? Do you know, or perhaps remember Sally and Joe? Where do they live? Better wording would be:

The children of Thelma Smith invite you to a celebration of her 90th birthday

Saturday, April 20th, 2017 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

First Baptist Church

123 Easy Street, Montgomery, AL

Please RSVP to Sally at 555-123-4567 or sallyz@wmail.com

It is particularly important that invitations to business events include details. Invitees will want to know why they are being invited. Is it a grand opening? Customer appreciation event? A seminar or training meeting or something else. 

Invitees also need to know how to respond. Are they to return a formal RSVP card, send an email, make a phone call or something else? The more formal the event, the more formal the invitation and response should be. Inviting guests to a BBQ allows for a more informal RSVP than when guests are invited to a ball.

When planning the invitation to your special event, take the time to be certain recipients can easily understand what they are invited to, when, where, and why and how to appropriately respond.