Civil wedding invitation samples you can copy (7 examples)
Seven civil wedding invitation samples for Filipino couples: city hall and lunch, family-only, civil then church, reception after, Tagalog and Messenger.
A civil wedding invitation sample for the Philippines names the couple, the date and time, the civil venue (city hall, a judge's chambers or a private venue) and the reception, then asks for an RSVP by a set date. It says "the pleasure of your company" instead of "the honour of your presence" and lists a few principal sponsors.
Below are seven complete samples to copy. To see how the same details look as a one-page digital invitation, open this minimal sample invitation.
How many Filipino couples have a civil wedding?
More Filipino couples marry this way than in church. Of the 371,825 marriages registered in 2024, 155,604 (41.8 percent) were civil ceremonies, against 31.7 percent in Roman Catholic churches, according to Philippine Statistics Authority figures reported by the Philippine News Agency.
Most wording guides still hand you a church invitation and leave you to cut the Mass out. A civil card is shorter, drops a few church-only lines and adds one or two civil ones, as the table below shows.
What goes on a civil invitation, and what to leave off
| Include | Leave off or change |
|---|---|
| "The pleasure of your company" or a plain "invite you" | "The honour of your presence" and "Nuptial Mass" |
| The venue: city hall, the judge's chambers or your venue | Church name, parish priest, "Holy Matrimony" |
| The officiant, if you like: "Hon. [name], City Mayor" | Secondary sponsors (cord, veil, candle) and bible or coin bearers |
| Two or more principal sponsors, or "Witnesses" | A long entourage page, unless your venue ceremony has a processional |
| Lunch or dinner venue, if separate | A second address when everything happens in one place |
| Dress code and RSVP deadline | Nothing changes here |
The "pleasure" rule is an etiquette convention: "honour of your presence" is for a ceremony in a house of worship, per the Emily Post Institute, and "pleasure of your company" is for every other venue.
Naming the officiant is optional. Filipino church invitations often name the priest, so some families expect a name on a civil card too. Mayors can officiate under the Local Government Code (Sections 444 and 455), and judges within their court's jurisdiction under Family Code Article 7. Our civil wedding requirements guide covers booking them.
Who are the witnesses, and do they go on the invitation?
Every civil wedding needs at least two. Family Code Articles 3 and 6 require you to declare your consent "in the presence of not less than two witnesses of legal age." Legal age is 18 (Republic Act 6809). The witnesses sign the marriage certificate.
Many couples ask their ninong and ninang to be those witnesses and list them as Principal Sponsors. If your witnesses are a sibling and a best friend, "Witnesses" is the honest heading. Two pairs is common for a civil wedding. Our sponsors guide covers how many to ask.
Seven civil wedding invitation samples and examples
Swap the names, dates and places in brackets. All names below are made up.
1. City hall ceremony with lunch after
The classic civil wedding: a short ceremony before the mayor, then lunch with family and friends.
Together with their families
Carla Mendoza and Paolo Reyes
request the pleasure of your company at their civil wedding
Saturday, March 6, 2027, at 10:00 AM [Name] City Hall, [room or office] Officiated by the Hon. [full name], City Mayor
Lunch to follow at 12:00 noon [Restaurant name], [street, city]
Principal Sponsors Mr. and Mrs. [name] Mr. and Mrs. [name]
Smart casual Kindly reply by January 23, 2027
City hall wedding rooms are often small, and no LGU we checked publishes a capacity. Ask the office how many people can come in, and invite the rest to lunch only.
2. Formal, parent-hosted, judge at a private venue
For families who want the traditional register. A judge can marry you outside the court if you both ask in writing and name the place in a sworn statement (Family Code Article 8). Confirm the judge accepts before you print.
Mr. and Mrs. Ramon Villanueva and Mrs. Teresa Santos request the pleasure of your company at the marriage of their children
Bianca Villanueva and Marco Santos
Saturday, the twenty-fourth of April two thousand twenty-seven at four o'clock in the afternoon
[Garden or venue name] [Town, province]
Dinner reception to follow
Semi-formal or Filipiniana R.S.V.P. by the thirteenth of March
3. Intimate, family-only
For 20 guests or fewer, the card can read like a personal note.
We're getting married, and we're keeping it small.
Joy and Enzo would love to have you with us on Friday, February 5, 2027, at 2:00 PM at the [Name] Regional Trial Court, Branch [number]
Merienda after at Tita Luz's house [street, barangay, city]
Only our closest family will be there, so this invitation is for you by name. Please let us know by January 8.
The last line does the work a "no plus-ones" rule would, without saying it.
4. Civil now, church wedding later
Some couples marry civilly first and hold the church wedding when a parish date opens. Tell guests both plans on one card so nobody wonders which one counts.
Andrea Lim and Josh Navarro invite you to their civil wedding
Saturday, May 15, 2027, at 11:00 AM [Name] City Hall Lunch to follow at [restaurant], [city]
Our church wedding will follow in 2028. Invitations for that celebration will come later.
Kindly reply by April 2, 2027
Ask your parish early what it needs from couples who are already civilly married. The civil wedding requirements guide touches on this.
5. "We're already married" reception
For couples who married quietly and are throwing the party afterwards. Lead with the fact, so no guest asks when the ceremony starts.
We did it!
Nina and Carlo were married at [Name] City Hall on March 6, 2027, with our parents beside us.
Now we'd love to celebrate with everyone else.
Dinner and dancing Saturday, June 19, 2027, at 6:00 PM [Venue name], [city]
Cocktail attire Kindly reply by May 14
Leave out anything that sounds like a second ceremony, such as an officiant, a processional or a "Holy Matrimony" line.
6. Tagalog civil wedding invitation
A full Tagalog card suits families who read Filipino more easily than English, often the lolos and lolas. Our Tagalog wedding invitation guide has more wording for church and civil cards.
Kasama ang aming mga magulang,
Liza Dela Cruz at Ramil Bautista
ay buong-pusong nag-aanyaya sa inyo na saksihan ang aming kasal sibil
Sabado, ika-20 ng Marso 2027 alas-diyes ng umaga [Pangalan] City Hall, [lungsod]
Salu-salo pagkatapos ng seremonya [Pangalan ng lugar], [lungsod]
Mga Ninong at Ninang G. at Gng. [pangalan] G. at Gng. [pangalan]
Kasuotan: Filipiniana o smart casual Mangyaring ipaalam sa amin bago ang ika-12 ng Pebrero kung kayo ay makadadalo.
"Kasal sibil" and "kasal sa huwes" both work. Keep venue names as they appear on the building.
7. Messenger or Viber message (Taglish)
For a small civil wedding, a chat message may be the whole invitation. Send it to each household privately, not as a group-chat blast, so you can see who has answered.
Hi Tita Marie! Ikakasal na po kami ni Paolo sa civil wedding namin on Saturday, March 6, 10 AM, sa [Name] City Hall. Lunch after at [restaurant], 12 noon. We'd love for you and Tito Ben to be there po!
Pa-confirm na lang po by January 23 para ma-finalize namin ang headcount. Here's your RSVP link: [link]
Name each person invited in the message. It settles the headcount before anyone asks.
When to send a civil wedding invitation
Send invitations 10 to 12 weeks before the wedding and set the RSVP deadline 4 to 6 weeks before it, with at least four weeks between the two. That's the same schedule as a church wedding, and our RSVP guide explains the reply-timing data behind it.
The civil timeline adds one condition. Print or send only once the office has confirmed your slot, since the officiant's calendar sets the date. Your marriage license is valid for 120 days from issue (Family Code Article 20), so apply no more than about four months before the wedding. The marriage license guide walks through each step.
For more layouts, see our wedding invitation examples and the broader wording samples.
Put the civil invitation online with Ceremo
A civil wedding with 15 family members may need nothing more than sample 7 and a group chat. Canva is enough for a printed card. A digital invitation helps once you're past a few dozen guests, or once lunch is at a different address from city hall.
Ceremo gives you one invitation page with separate ceremony and reception venues on a map, an entourage section for your principal sponsors, and one RSVP link per household. Guests answer without making an account, and you get a notification when a household replies. You write the text, so Tagalog wording works; the buttons stay in English. If the date is set but the rest isn't, Save the Date mode publishes just the cover and a countdown.
It's free for up to 50 guests. Try the minimal sample invitation, then start your own.
Frequently asked questions
What should a civil wedding invitation include?
A host line, both full names, the date and time, the ceremony venue (city hall, the judge's chambers or a private venue), the reception venue if it is somewhere else, a dress code and an RSVP deadline. Naming the judge or mayor and listing your principal sponsors is optional.
Do civil weddings have principal sponsors?
They can. The Family Code requires at least two witnesses of legal age, which is 18, and many couples ask their principal sponsors to be those witnesses. Secondary sponsors for the cord, veil and candles come from the Catholic rite, so most civil invitations leave them out.
Should a civil wedding invitation say "honour of your presence"?
Use "the pleasure of your company" instead. By etiquette convention, "the honour of your presence" is kept for ceremonies in a house of worship, and a civil ceremony at city hall, in a court or at a garden venue is not one.
How do you word a reception invitation after a civil wedding?
Say plainly that you are already married, give the date you married, then invite guests to the celebration. For example: "We were married at city hall on March 6 with our families. Now we would love to celebrate with you." Leave out ceremony details and anything that sounds like a request for a second wedding.
When should you send civil wedding invitations?
Send them 10 to 12 weeks before the wedding and set the RSVP deadline 4 to 6 weeks before it, the same as for a church wedding. Wait until the city hall, court or mayor's office has confirmed your date and time, because the officiant's schedule sets both.