Although considerably less formal than dinner invitations, those of the luncheon follow them in wording. They are issued about ten days before the day set for the luncheon, if it is to be an elaborate, formal affair, and only in the name of the hostess, unless men are invited and the hostess' husband intends to be present. They are engraved on large square white cards, with the name of the person invited, the day and hour, written in by the hostess' own hand. The correct form follows, but it must be remembered that this form can be used only when the luncheon is an elaborate, formal occasion:
Mrs. John Roy-Thorndyke Blake
requests the pleasure of
.......................
company at luncheon
on ....................
at ................. o'clock
11 Park Row
Very often a hostess invites friends and acquaintances to a luncheon for the purpose of presenting to them a certain visiting guest, and perhaps to attend, after the luncheon, a matinée planned for the purpose of enabling the newcomer to become better acquainted with the hostess' friends. In this case, an invitation like the one following should be used:
To meet Miss Helen Rhodes
Mrs. Robert Blake
requests the pleasure of
Miss Joyce's
company at luncheon
on Tuesday, April the eleventh
at one o'clock
and afterward to the matinée
167 Grand Concourse
The name of the play and the theater may be included in the wording of the invitation.
Breakfast invitations are rarely issued, for the very good reason that formal breakfasts are very rarely given. But when they are, the wording of the invitation is identical with the wording given above for the luncheon invitations, substituting in each case the word "breakfast" for "luncheon." Acknowledgments are also the same as those used for the luncheon.
ACKNOWLEDGING THE LUNCHEON INVITATION
A prompt acceptance or regret must be sent upon receipt of an invitation to luncheon. The following two forms are correct for use with the two invitations given above.
Mrs. Frank Parsons
accepts with pleasure
Mrs. John Clancy Blake's
kind invitation to luncheon
on Friday, October the fourteenth
at one o'clock
146 Park Place
Miss Jean Joyce
accepts with pleasure
Mrs. Blake's
kind invitation for luncheon
on Tuesday, April the eleventh
at one o'clock
to meet Miss Rhodes and to go
afterward to the matinée
48 Fremont Avenue