Choose the Right Words for Your Quinceanera Invitations
It Doesn't Have To Be Difficult...
What words should I use on the Quinceanera invitations? Do I need to compose a poem? Should I include a famous poet's verse? Should I quote the Bible? English of Spanish? Really, how important are each of these questions? While everyone wants their Quinceanera invitations to be beautiful, don't overlook the functional aspect, which is the wording of the announcement.
The main thing to keep in mind is that the details are the most important part of the text. Make sure you include the date, time, and location of the ceremony or Mass. Leave the details of a reception following the ceremony or Mass for separate cards and include them with the invitations. The next formality is the names of the parents and their daughter, who are doing the inviting. These are the basics. Pretty simple? Not so fast - there are still several more decisions to be made about what else to include and how you'll present it.
Keep it Simple
As a rule of thumb, simple is best. Imagine a single face card and the small amount of space there is to say what you want. You don't want to have so much text that it looks crowded. On the other extreme, imagine a hard bound velvet booklet of several pages with gold cord and tassels announcing the Quinceanera. While this is a relatively expensive approach, it illustrates the extent of possibilities. Most people take a more modest approach, so let's go over the minimum requirements of the wording of invitations.
Names of Hosts on the Quinceanera Invitations
The names of the parents and their daughter are almost always included on the invitations, generally in the form of:
Mr. and Mrs. Carlos Martinez request the honor of your presence....at a Mass celebrating the fifteenth birthday of their daughter, Lisa Marie....
or
I, Lisa Marie along with my parents Mr. and Mrs. Carlos Martinez cordially invite...
If the parents are divorced, you may refer to them as:
Mr. Carlos Martinez and Ms. Maria Martinez (or whatever last name she uses)
... or if they are remarried:
Mr. and Mrs. Carlos Martinez and Mr. and Mrs. Maria Quintana the family of Lisa Marie cordially invite....
On formal Quinceanera invitations, convey the details of date & time by spelling out the numbers in the following format. Day - Saturday, the tenth of July, Year - two thousand and eight Time - ... at five o'clock in the afternoon Location - Saint Joseph's Church Town - Houston, Texas
Remember to capitalize names of people, cities, states, churches, days, and months. That's all you need to have the basics covered. Put it all together and you have something like:
I, Lisa Marie
along with my parents
Mr. and Mrs. Carlos Martinez
request the honor of your presence
at a Holy Mass in the religious
celebration of my Fifteenth Birthday
Saturday, the tenth of July,
two thousand and eight
at five o'clock in the afternoon
Saint Joseph's Church
Houston, Texas.
If the address of the church would be helpful, feel free to include it. Zip code is not necessary.
Additional Content
You may want to include additional content, something along the lines of :
With the love of my family I will express my thanks to God and my feelings of becoming a young woman.
If the design of your Quinceanera invitations allows, you may include a favorite poem, Biblical verse, or something written by you. If godparents are hosting, or helping to pay for the Quinceanera, their names may be included on the invitations, but it's not required. You could also include the names of the court. This may come out to quite a list if there are 14 males and 14 females, and a larger invitation design is nesessary.
When you come up with your final wording, make sure you proofread it and proof again. Ask friends and family to help check for spelling and grammar errors. If your Quinceanera invitations are being professionally printed, be sure to get a proof as well, to let you check no only the text, but the paper and layout as well.
In the end, keep in mind that the main purpose of Quinceanera invitations is to announce the event and invite people to attend. While you want to have something nice, or even suitable for framing, you don't have to create a masterpiece. It will set the tone for your celebration, and is just the first step of your magnificent event. Let your Quinceanera be your masterpiece!
