Short wedding wishes: 68 lines for the card, the gift tag and the guest book

A short line does a different job from a full message. It goes where space or time is tight: a gift tag, a group card with thirty signatures, a guest book between two photos, a text that should arrive before the ceremony. On a card it works best as the opening line, followed by one sentence that could only come from you.

For longer messages sorted by family, friends and colleagues, see the collection of wedding wishes; how a card is built from greeting to sign-off is in what to write in a wedding card.

Every line here is original and written for guests. Famous quotations are left out on purpose, because checking who really said them is a job of its own; couples choosing a line for their stationery will find that covered in choosing a wedding quote.

Romantic lines live on a single image: a road, a room, a porch light. They land best when the image fits the couple, the road for two people who travel, the slow morning for two who guard their weekends.

• May you always find each other first in a crowded room.
• Wishing you a love that feels as easy on a wet Tuesday as it did today.
• Here's to a lifetime of holding hands in the car.
• May every year together be your favourite one so far.
• May your love keep surprising you both.
• Two lives, one direction and a long, happy way to go.
• Wishing you the kind of love that turns ordinary evenings into good ones.
• May you never run out of things to say, or of comfortable silences.
• You found each other. Now take your time.
• May the way you looked at each other today never wear off.
• Wishing you slow mornings, long walks and a lifetime of each other.
• May your porch light always be on for each other.
• A wedding lasts a day. We wish you everything that comes after it.
• Love like yours makes everyone around it a little braver.
• Here's to the adventure of a lifetime, and the person you are sharing it with.

Romantic lines suit cards from family and close friends. From someone who barely knows the couple, a lot of feeling can read as borrowed, and one of the simpler lines below is the kinder choice.

Modern lines are almost as brief as a text message. They suit plain cards with plenty of white space, and gift tags, where there is barely room for anything else.

• Married suits you.
• Best decision. Congratulations!
• Team of two, as of today.
• You two. Forever. Brilliant.
• Congratulations on the easiest yes you will ever say.
• New chapter, same favourite characters.
• Here's to you both. Enjoy every bit of it.
• Love wins again. Congratulations!
• Just married, just right.
• So happy for you both, truly.
• It was always going to be you two.
• Signed, sealed, married. Congratulations!
• Cheering for you today and every day after.
• The world makes a little more sense with you two in it.
• All the love, none of the fuss: congratulations.

English has no formal "you", so every line works for anyone; formality lives in length instead. For a manager or a neighbour you hardly know, the three-word lines can feel clipped, and a full sentence ending in "to you both" sits better.

A light touch makes a card easier to write and to read, provided the joke lands on both of them equally and exposes neither. Jokes about the end of freedom or about exes do not belong here; they read badly to whichever partner opens the card first. There are more in the collection of funny wedding wishes.

• May your only disagreement be whose turn it is to choose the takeaway.
• Congratulations on finding someone who laughs at the same terrible jokes.
• Married life tip: let each other win at board games. Occasionally.
• You have found your person. Now find the remote.
• Here's to a lifetime of "Have you seen my…?"
• May your group chats be busy and your laundry pile small.
• Now you get to be lovingly annoying to each other for life. Congratulations!
• May all your arguments be about where to go on holiday.
• Well done, both of you. Please now enjoy the cake.
• Congratulations! Next challenge: the thank-you cards.
• Here's to many years of stealing each other's hoodies.
• Married at last: now you are officially each other's problem. Lovingly.

One check before you write it: would you be comfortable if the card were read out at the family breakfast the next morning? If so, it is fine.

Rhyme has an old-fashioned reputation, yet a couplet is often the line people remember. It only works if the rhythm holds, so read it aloud; if a syllable trips, choose another. The religious lines are verses from the King James Version, with the reference so they can be looked up.

Rhyming

• The rings are small, the vows are grand: may every year go hand in hand.
• A little luck, a lot of cake, and love in every choice you make.
• From morning rush to evening tea, may you be glad you're "we", not "me".
• One pair of rings, two happy hearts, and this is just the place it starts.
• The cake is sweet, the night is long; may love like this stay just as strong.
• The glasses clink, the speeches end: here's to the marriage and the friend.
• Two cups of tea, one shared debate; may every year be twice as great.
• A toast to you, a cheer, a kiss, and many more good days like this.
• May every storm pass quickly by, with someone near to keep you dry.
• May all your roads, both near and far, lead home to where the two of you are.

From the Bible

• "Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour." (Ecclesiastes 4:9)
• "Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it…" (Song of Solomon 8:7)
• "…whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge…" (Ruth 1:16)
• "Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God…" (1 John 4:7)

The ellipses mark where a verse continues; the words themselves are unchanged. Ruth's line was first spoken to her mother-in-law, Naomi, but it is widely chosen for weddings.

A verse fits when the couple marry in church or their faith matters to them. For a couple with little connection to religion it can read like a comment, and a blessing in your own words, such as one of the romantic lines above, is the friendlier choice.

Some places call for a line shaped to fit them. These are written for exactly those spots.

Gift tag

• From our house to yours, with every good wish.
• Open together, preferably with a cup of tea.

Guest book

• We came for the vows and stayed for the dancing. Thank you for a perfect day.
• Save us a seat at the tenth anniversary. Thank you for today!

A text on the wedding morning

• Morning, you two! Deep breath, big smile, and enjoy every second of it.
• Can't be there, but I'm in the front row in spirit. Go and get married!

With flowers or a bottle

• Something bright for the table, and all our love for the years ahead.
• For a quiet toast, just the two of you, once the last guest has gone home.

After an elopement or a tiny ceremony

• Two people, one promise, no fuss. Perfect. Congratulations!
• The best news we have had all year, even if we heard it afterwards!

A late card

• Fashionably late, sincerely delighted. Congratulations!
• We missed the date, not the moment. Much love on your marriage.

For an envelope with money in it there is a separate collection of lines for a wedding card with money, because there the line also has to say what the gift is for.

From a line to a card

On its own, a short line is a friendly gesture. With one sentence of your own beneath it, it becomes a card the couple keeps. Two examples: "May you always find each other first in a crowded room. We watched you do exactly that at [Name]'s party last summer. Love, [names]". Or, lighter: "May all your arguments be about where to go on holiday. After that camping trip in the rain, we know you will survive anything. Warmly, [Name]".

Writing your own short line

1. One image, one wish. Take something that belongs to the couple, the dog, the allotment, the terrible car, and turn it into a wish: "May your marriage be as loyal as your dog and far better at sharing."
2. Today and every day after. A contrast between the party and ordinary life almost always works, because it takes the day seriously and still looks ahead.
3. Three words and a full stop. Three qualities of the couple, separated by commas, then "Congratulations." It sounds modern and can never be swapped onto another couple's card.

A short line does not need to be clever. It needs to fit the couple and sound right read aloud, because that is how most couples read their cards, together, the morning after.