Placing a Newspaper Wedding Announcement

Useful Tips for Placing a 

Newspaper Wedding Announcement

♥ Your first step should be to decide which newspaper you want the announcement to appear in. You might want it submit it to your own local paper, as well as that of your parents.

♥ If your wedding is being planned soon after the engagement, then get the announcement in to the newspaper as early as possible, as it can take up to a month for it to appear in print.

♥ Once you have decided which newspaper, contact their lifestyle or society editor to establish their submission policy. Questions to ask are what:

        1. Guidelines 

        2. Fees (If any) 

        3. Deadlines

        4. Are Photos of the engaged couple allowed?

        5. Can the picture be emailed?

        6. Does it need to black and white, or can it be in color?

        7. Size and pixel requirements

        7. Word count limitation

♥ Who is making the announcement?: your parents, your fiancé’s parents or by you and your fiancé.

♥ Your announcement should include the following information:

o You and your fiancé’s full names, hometowns and (if you wish) brief education and career credentials;
o Each set of parents’ full names. Include your parents’ hometowns if they do not live in the same town as you or each other;
o The wedding date, or even simply the year you intend to get married; 
o The city and state in which you intend your wedding to take place.

♥ If you have not yet made the decision as to your wedding date and location, then you do not have to include that information at this stage. If you have decided on the month or year your wedding is due to take place, then the following wording could be used instead:

“A fall wedding is planned/An April wedding is planned/The wedding is set to take place in 20XX”.

♥ Here are some sample wordings for your newspaper announcement:

The Bride's Family

Mr. and Mrs. XXXX announce the engagement of their daughter, XX, to XXX XXX, son of XX and XX XX of Yonkers. Ms. XXX graduated …… etc.

Divorced Parents

♥Mr. XXX, of NYC , and Ms. XXX, of White Plains, announce the engagement of their daughter, XX, to XX XXX. Ms. XX graduated …… etc.

Single Parent

♥ Ms. XX XXX announces the engagement of her daughter, XX XX, to XX XX, the son of XX and XX XX of Yonkers . Ms. XX is also the daughter of XX of White Plains. Ms. XX graduated …… etc.

Remarried Parent

♥ Ms. XX XXX and Mr. XX XXX announce the engagement of Ms. XX daughter, XX XX, to XX XX. Ms. Jones …….. etc.

Deceased Parent

♥ Mrs. Angie Jones announces the engagement of her daughter, Ana, to Rob Smart. Ms. Jones, also the daughter of the late Edgar Jones, graduated from the University of Harvard and is a kindergarten teacher at Busy Bees in Elgin. Mr. Sparks, the son of Andy and Kate Smart , graduated from the University of Boston and is a sales executive with the CCC in Westchester.

Announcement by the Bride and Groom

Ana Jones, a graduate of Harvard University, is to be married to Rob Smart, a graduate of Michigan University. Ms. Jones, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Andy Jones, is a kindergarten teacher at Busy Bees in Yonkers. Mr. Sparks is a sales executive with the CCC Corporation in Westchester.

♥ Most newspapers allow you to fill in an online submission form. If this service is not available to you, then the best way to avoid handwriting discrepancies is to type up the engagement announcement for submission to the newspaper.

♥ Ask to see a proof copy for approval before it goes to print to check for mistakes.

Finally always check the newspaper’s submission policy as they do vary between publications.