Replying to a Wedding Invitation
If you live in Japan, you might be invited to weddings by your Japanese friends or acquaintances.
Therefore I'd like to explain the way of replying to Japanese wedding invitations.
Invitation cards are sent encased in an envelope together with a postcard for replying.
The card and envelope is yours to keep but you will have to send the postcard back to the wedding couple.
A stamp will already be affixed to the postcard, which means you don't have to pay for the postage.
First and foremost, write in black ink!!
<Front of Postcard>
Names of the bride and groom are stated with a 行 (gyou) at the end. 行 refers to 行き (yuki) which indicates the addressee of the postcard.
行→̶行様
Double-strike 行 and add 様 (sama) to show respect to the couple.
<Back>
Double-strike the irrelevant sections and add on phrases as shown below
ご出席(shusseki)・ご欠席 (kesseki)→[Able to attend] 慶んで
(yorokonde)̶ご出席させて頂きます・̶ご̶欠̶席 aka I will gladly attend your ceremony.
[Unable to attend]̶ ̶ご̶出̶席・残念(zannen)ながら̶ご欠席させて頂きます aka I decline your invitation with regret.
ご芳名(houmei)→̶ご̶芳名：Fill in your name (in English alphabets with katakana above/on the right)
ご住所→̶ご住所：Fill in your address
メッセージ：This is where you leave a message for the wedding couple. Congratulatory phrases like「ご結婚(kekkon)おめでとうございます。末永く(suenagaku)お幸せ(shiawase)に (Congratulations on your wedding! I wish you both eternal happiness.)」
Any allergies (アレルギー)?：Write down your allergies. If you have none, 「アレルギーはありません。(I don't have any allergies.)」is fine.
＊Instead of striking out single characters, you can write 「寿(kotobuki)」over them either in red or black ink. For more than 1 characters, you will have to draw strikes.
Details and pictorial examples here (Japanese only): https://www.weddingpark.net/magazine/8225/
If you live in Japan, you might be invited to weddings by your Japanese friends or acquaintances.
Therefore I'd like to explain the way of replying to Japanese wedding invitations.
Invitation cards are sent encased in an envelope together with a postcard for replying.
The card and envelope is yours to keep but you will have to send the postcard back to the wedding couple.
A stamp will already be affixed to the postcard, which means you don't have to pay for the postage.
First and foremost, write in black ink!!
<Front of Postcard>
Names of the bride and groom are stated with a 行 (gyou) at the end. 行 refers to 行き (yuki) which indicates the addressee of the postcard.
行→̶行様
Double-strike 行 and add 様 (sama) to show respect to the couple.
<Back>
Double-strike the irrelevant sections and add on phrases as shown below
ご出席(shusseki)・ご欠席 (kesseki)→[Able to attend] 慶んで
(yorokonde)̶ご出席させて頂きます・̶ご̶欠̶席 aka I will gladly attend your ceremony.
[Unable to attend]̶ ̶ご̶出̶席・残念(zannen)ながら̶ご欠席させて頂きます aka I decline your invitation with regret.
ご芳名(houmei)→̶ご̶芳名：Fill in your name (in English alphabets with katakana above/on the right)
ご住所→̶ご住所：Fill in your address
メッセージ：This is where you leave a message for the wedding couple. Congratulatory phrases like「ご結婚(kekkon)おめでとうございます。末永く(suenagaku)お幸せ(shiawase)に (Congratulations on your wedding! I wish you both eternal happiness.)」
Any allergies (アレルギー)?：Write down your allergies. If you have none, 「アレルギーはありません。(I don't have any allergies.)」is fine.
＊Instead of striking out single characters, you can write 「寿(kotobuki)」over them either in red or black ink. For more than 1 characters, you will have to draw strikes.
Details and pictorial examples here (Japanese only): https://www.weddingpark.net/magazine/8225/
