Planning the Announcement
Choose your newspaper. Generally, you'll want to run an announcement in the paper where you and your future spouse are living. You may also want to run it in both of your hometowns or where your parents or grandparents live. Some people enjoy also running the announcement in a national newspaper. Keep in mind, though, you will have to contend with more paperwork if you run the announcement in numerous newspapers.
Contact your newspaper, or visit the website. You need to know exactly what your newspaper wants. Some will want to have staff write the announcement; in that case, they will just need information from you. Others will expect you to write it. Also, you'll need other information, such as the word count and what they expect you to include. They may also have a specific format and font that they want you to use when creating your announcement.
Gather the necessary information. You'll likely know all of it, such as the bride and groom's names, the parents' names, and the wedding date. You'll also need information such as the officiant's name and the location of the ceremony and reception. You may also want consider adding the bride’s maiden name, where the wedding will be, and where the bride and groom will live after the wedding. For longer announcements, you may want a description of the wedding, including the bride's gown and the wedding colors, or you may want to provide information about the honeymoon.
Writing the Announcement
Keep it concise. The key to writing the announcement is to keep it concise. That is, you don't want to be too wordy. Even if you are creating a longer announcement, you should still keep the word count in mind because, as mentioned above, some newspapers may charge more for articles with more words.
Consider beginning the announcement with the parent’s names. You can begin the announcement one of two ways. In the first instance, you can start with the parents' names, having them announce the marriage of their children. For example: "George and Loretta Jones would like to announce the marriage of their daughter Jess Jones to Jay Kroner, son of Barbara and Roger Kroner."
Consider beginning the announcement with the couple’s names. Alternatively, the announcement can be made by the couple themselves, for example: "Jess Jones and Jay Kroner would like to announce their marriage." However, it is still customary to include the parents' names at some point, for example "Jess is the daughter of George and Loretta Jones, while Jay is the son of Barbara and Roger Kroner."
Include information about the ceremony. Make sure to include the date. Try to include several bits of information in each sentence, such as the location, the date, and the officiant. For example: "The couple was married on July 17, 2014 in a quiet ceremony at the botanical gardens. The wedding was officiated by Reverend Lisa French and followed by a reception at the community center."
Finish up with any extra information you wish to include. For instance, you can talk about how you met or where you went or are planning on going for your honeymoon. For example: "Jess and Jay are planning on honeymooning in Italy." You could also consider something like "Jay and Jess met while volunteering at the local food bank, and their relationship burgeoned over their love of gardening."
Review and edit the announcement. Look for typos and grammatical errors. Take out anything that isn't strictly necessary. Have your partner read over it, both to check for errors and to make sure the wording is acceptable to him or her. Also, check to make sure it follows the newspaper's guidelines, including the word count. Keep in mind that the paper will likely edit it again for content and style.
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