Invitation Wording: The Informal Note Of Acceptance Or Regret

by Emily Post

The Informal Note Of Acceptance Or Regret

Dear Mrs. Town:

It will give us much pleasure to dine with you on Thursday the seventh, at eight o'clock.

Thanking you for your kind thought of us,

Sincerely yours,

Margaret Smith.

Wednesday.

Dear Mrs. Town:

My husband and I will dine with you on Thursday the seventh, at eight o'clock, with greatest pleasure.

Thanking you so much for thinking of us,

Always sincerely,

Margaret Smith.

Dear Mrs. Town:

We are so sorry that we shall be unable to dine with you on the seventh, as we have a previous engagement.

With many thanks for your kindness in thinking of us,

Very sincerely,

Ethel Norman.

When you receive, a formal invitation there may be a response card supplied or if it is extremely formal, you will be expected to reply in writing on personal stationery. However, if the invitation is informal there may or may not be a response card. Depending on how far in advance you receive the invitation you may need to phone the host and accept or give your regrets. If the informal invitation was by email or text, you may respond in kind and that is probably, what the host is expecting you to do. On the other hand you may have received, a handwritten informal invitation or one printed on a computer. Many people will get computer paper with a design they like and print out informal invitations. In a case like that, you will need to send a written reply. Chances are the invitation is from a friend or family member and your reply can be very informal. However, remember, they were thoughtful enough to send you an invitation, so just because it is not formal do not feel that a reply isn’t needed.

If you are handwriting an informal note of acceptance or regret, write it on good note cards or nice quality stationery. It does not have to be white or cream and can have a design. Take your cue from the tone of the invitation in the wording. For example: Dear Mrs. Johnson, We would be delighted to dine with you on Friday, the second of March at seven o’clock. It was so thoughtful of you to invite us. Sincerely, Molly Jean Smith. Note that in this example the day, date, and time are spelled out. That is because they were spelled out in the informal invitation that Mrs. Johnson sent.
Special thanks to Emily Post on her wonderful tips on etiquette and invites.
Acceptance Or Regret Informal