Wedding Invitation Wording Etiquette | Groom’s Parents Deceased

If you are reading this, I am truly sorry that your parents have passed away. Weddings can be tough for anyone who had a good relationship with their parents and they have deceased.

Should you include groom’s parents’ names on the wedding invitation even though they have passed away?

This is entirely up to you. Some grooms want to honor their parents by putting their names on the wedding invitation. If the groom’s parents passed away a long time ago or the groom did not have a close relationship with them, you may decided not to include their names. Either decision is absolutely fine.

Wedding Invitation Wording Examples with Groom’s Deceased Parents’ Names Included

Decorum #1 – Deceased Parents Cannot Do the Inviting
Technically, because the groom’s parents are deceased, they cannot invite people to the wedding. The bride’s parents or the bride and groom themselves (whoever is paying for the wedding) would do the inviting.

So how do you include the groom’s parents’ names in an honoring way? One way of doing this is to add the word “the late” before their names.

Here is one example as to how this might work when the bride and groom are hosting the wedding:

Heather F. Reed
daughter of Fredrick and Sally Reed
and
George P. Johnson
son of the late Donald and Ella Johnson
invite you to share the joy of their marriage

Here is an example as to how this might work when the bride’s parents are hosting the wedding:

Fredrick and Sally Reed
request the honor of your presence
at the marriage their daughter
Heather F. Reed
to
George P. Johnson
son of the late Donald and Ella Johnson

Wedding Invitation Wording Examples without the Groom’s Parents’ Names Included

If you chose to not include the groom’s parents’ name, check out our wedding invitation wording page that displays a variety of wording options based on your family situation. Click on the appropriate square in the chart to see many examples under “Groom’s Parents” subcategory “No Parents.”

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