The words "And Family" are no longer used after the parents' names, but separate invitations are sent to the members.
It is quite the courteous thing to include among the people invited to a wedding, especially if it is to be in a church, the special business friends and associates of the bridegroom-elect, his father, and the bride's father.
In case the invitations are for the ceremony only at a church wedding, the address of the bride's parents should be embossed upon the outside envelope.
Acquaintances purely professional do not receive cards to a wedding. One's physician, however, if his family is prominent socially, may be included among the guests.
Announcement cards should be quite ready to post immediately after the ceremony. They should be sent to all the circle of friends and acquaintances of both the bride's and the bridegroom's families, save to those who have been invited to the marriage or the wedding reception.
The announcement of an "At Home" or reception should always be made on a separate card,--not on a corner of the wedding invitation or announcement.
An immediate reply is necessary when one is invited to a home wedding. If the wedding is a church wedding, and there is no reception following it, one makes no reply if one intends to be present, but sends one's card upon the date set, if one cannot attend.
In case of the postponement of a wedding or a dinner or reception because of some grave accident or illness, the cancellation of the invitations, or the announcement of the postponement, should be engraved and sent out at the earliest possible date.
For a wedding it may read somewhat as follows:
_Mr. and Mrs. Maynard S. Taylor_ _regret to announce_ _that on account of serious illness in the family_ _the marriage of their daughter_ _Emmeline and Mr. Fosdick Arlington_ _will be indefinitely postponed_
A family which has passed through a period of calamity and bereavement may wish to make some acknowledgment of the attentions of friends, and may do so in some such form as follows:
_The brothers and sisters of_ _Dr. Ralph J. Harkins_ _gratefully acknowledge_ _your kind expression of sympathy_
The special "At Home" card which is used for a reception in honor of a friend or guest may contain the name of the friend either on the first or the last line of the invitation, with the words "To meet" before it; as: