Invitations for a wedding in Cyprus: guests from three countries, one invitation
6 min read
A wedding in Cyprus often brings together a Cypriot family who will hear about it at church, friends who need a passport and a flight, and relatives who read Greek, Hebrew, Russian or English but not all four. One invitation has to work for all of them.
Two clocks
A Cypriot wedding at home is often announced a month or so before, and the whole village knows by then anyway. Guests who fly need far longer.
- Nine to twelve months before: the save the date, with the island, the town and the dates.
- Ten to twelve weeks before: the invitation, with times, places, the airport and where to stay.
- Six to eight weeks before: the reply deadline. Venues and transport on the island want numbers early.
- The week before: one short message with the times, the weather and the dress code.
Send it to the family in Cyprus at the same time. Nobody minds being told early, and it saves the call asking why the cousins in London knew first.
How a Cypriot invitation is worded
A traditional Cypriot invitation is written in the parents' names: both sets of parents invite you to the marriage of their children, with the church, the date and the time, and often the names of the koumbaroi, the couple's sponsors, at the foot. The reception follows in a line of its own. Couples marrying from abroad usually write it in their own names, which reads more naturally in English.
Wording examples
- Formal, with the families: "Together with their families, Christina Georgiou and Ben Walker invite you to their wedding at the church in Omodos on Saturday 11 September 2027 at half past five, and to dinner in the village square afterwards."
- A civil wedding and a party: "Noa and Ido are getting married in Cyprus! The ceremony is at Larnaca town hall on Thursday 20 May 2027 at eleven, with our families; dinner by the sea that evening, with all of you."
- A weekend: "Come to Cyprus with us, 10 to 12 September 2027: a welcome meze on Friday, the wedding on Saturday, and the beach on Sunday."
- The same line in a second language: "Η Χριστίνα και ο Μπεν παντρεύονται", or "נועה ועידו מתחתנים בקפריסין", for the guests who read Greek or Hebrew first.
What guests flying in need to know
- Which airport: Larnaca or Paphos. The drive between them is close to two hours.
- How they get from the airport and the hotel to the ceremony, and back after the party.
- Where to stay: the hotel with a group rate, and until when it holds.
- Every event of the weekend, with its time, its place and who it is for.
- What to wear for the heat, for a church, and for village stone.
That is too much for a printed card and exactly right for an invitation with its own pages, where guests can look again on the day they book.
One invitation, each guest's language
A Cypriot grandmother, a cousin in Tel Aviv and a best friend in Manchester should all be able to read the times without asking. On MyEventOS every drawn design is written in English, Greek, Hebrew, German and Russian, Hebrew right to left, and each guest reads it in the language they choose. Lefkara, Cyclamen and Mosaic were drawn with Cyprus in mind.
The replies come back to one list, whatever language they were sent in, with each guest's arrival date or meal choice if you asked for it.
Sending it
Most guests will open it on their phone. Send each guest their own link by WhatsApp or email, so their reply is theirs and nobody answers for the wrong family. For the relatives who would rather hold paper, print a card with a QR code that opens the same invitation.
Collect the answers while you are at it
MyEventOS turns the invitation, the RSVP and the guest list into one link, and counts the replies as they land. Free to design, free to send, and the first ten replies are included.
Start creating free
