You want to let your guests know you will serve food and drinks at your event or party. However, the phrase food and drinks will be provided is starting to feel a tad overused.
Fret not! In this article, we’ll show you how to phrase an invitation for both formal and informal occasions.
Below, you’ll find 10 examples of how to say food and drinks will be provided on an invitation:
- Beverages and hors d’oeuvres will be served
- Breakfast/lunch/dinner will be served at [time]
- Refreshments will be provided
- We will be serving appetizers and drinks
- Be our guests for dinner and drinks
- A buffet will be served
- Breakfast/lunch/dinner will be held at [time]
- There will be food and drinks
- A complimentary breakfast will be provided
- Please join us for dinner and drinks
1. Beverages and Hors D’Oeuvres Will Be Served
You can use the phrase beverages and hors d’oeuvres will be served in a formal event invitation. After all, beverages and hors d’oeuvres is just a fancy way to say drinks and a light meal or appetizer.
This is a good phrase to use for large work events or galas in particular. After all, it may come across as rather stiff for a regular party invitation.
Therefore, let’s see an example that includes this phrase:
Dear Mr. Robinson,
You are cordially invited to the Pre-Easter Gala taking place at Kaleidoscope Manor in Greensfield.
Beverages and hors d’oeuvres will be served in the pavilion.
Sincerely,
Regina Bucket
2. Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner Will Be Served at [Time]
The phrase breakfast/lunch/dinner will be served at [time] is suitable for an invitation to a formal event, such as a wedding.
This phrase isn’t as formal and flowery as the one above. However, it still indicates that the event in question includes a sit-down meal, which signifies a more formal occasion.
Moreover, this is a straightforward and comprehensible phrase. Therefore, it works well for a wedding invite that is going out to hundreds of people from a variety of places and backgrounds.
See the example below:
Dear Dr. Ibrahim,
Please join Elliot Padman and Terry Lobe on their wedding day at the Royal West Vineyard.
The ceremony will take place at 2 pm in the Crossroad Church, and dinner will be served at 6 pm in the events room.
Yours truly,
Agatha Wesley (Maid of Honor)
3. Refreshments Will Be Provided
In a professional invitation, it is good to use formal and clear phrasing. Refreshments will be provided is a suitably clear alternative to food and drinks will be provided.
Moreover, it has a formal tone that suits an invitation to a work-related get-together.
This is a great phrase to include if you are inviting members from another organization to a meeting. The word “refreshments” usually refers to light food and drinks.
Therefore, this phrase is ideal if you will be providing finger foods as opposed to a sit-down meal.
Have a look at the following example:
Dear Miss Dumont and Team,
We would be delighted to discuss our potential collaboration at our offices on the 4th of May.
Refreshments will be provided, and our team will prepare a brief presentation to aid in your consideration of our proposal.
We look forward to seeing you there.
Regards,
Clyde Armani
4. We Will Be Serving Appetizers and Drinks
For a social event, you can use more personable invitation wording like we will be serving appetizers and drinks.
The phrase “we will be serving” implies that this is a more close-knit event in which the hosts will be catering to their guests.
Therefore, this is a better phrase to use for a get-together with friends and family rather than a formal or work event.
For instance:
Dear Lisa and Heather,
Please join us as we celebrate our 10th year of marriage with a vow-renewal ceremony at Clapton Park.
We will be serving appetizers and drinks, but we encourage our guests to bring along any additional snacks they would like.
Warm regards,
Gage and Aphiwe
5. Be Our Guests for Dinner and Drinks
Another way to say food and drinks will be provided at your occasion is to say be our guests for dinner and drinks.
Firstly, this phrase makes it clear that the hosts of the event will be preparing and serving a sit-down dinner to their guests.
Secondly, be our guests for dinner and drinks has a friendly tone. However, it sounds formal enough for an invitation to people you don’t know very well.
Check out the example below:
Dear Moira and Patrick,
Thank you for your warm welcome to the neighborhood.
To show our appreciation, we would love for you to be our guests for dinner and drinks on Thursday night.
All the best,
Bill and Frank
6. A Buffet Will Be Served
If you will be serving a variety of foods and drinks in a buffet style at your event, it’s a good idea to mention this in your invitation.
Buffets are great for all kinds of social and professional events. Thus, the phrase a buffet will be served is tonally neutral enough to suit any kind of invitation.
For example:
Dear Jennifer,
Please join us for the end-of-year office party at Mortimer Station.
A buffet will be served in the concourse, and you are invited to attend a whiskey tasting in the evening.
Yours sincerely,
Ehsan Abbar
7. Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner Will Be Held at [Time]
The phrase breakfast/lunch/dinner will be held at [time] has a formal tone and therefore suits a work event or other formal occasion.
The use of “will be held” makes this phrase a tad impersonal. Namely, it sounds less like a host will be providing food and more like food will be provided by the organizers of the event through a catering company, for instance.
Consider the example below:
Dear Mrs. Pearl,
This is your formal invitation to the Piercings Charity Auction, taking place on the 25th of June 2023 and Morden House.
Dinner will be held at 7 pm in the Morden dining hall.
Sincerely,
Lillian Ghost
8. There Will Be Food and Drinks
A more informal way to say food and drinks will be provided on an invitation is to simply say there will be food and drinks.
This phrase is very casual. Therefore, it wouldn’t suit a professional invitation to your work colleagues, nor an invitation to a formal event.
However, it works perfectly fine if you are inviting your friends over for a get-together or party.
To see what we mean, have a look at the example below:
Dear Friends,
It’s official – Ryan’s turning 30!
Please join me at my place on the 26th for an epic celebration of my 3 decades on Earth.
There will be food and drinks, but you’re always welcome to bring some extras with you.
See you there!
Best,
Ry
9. A Complimentary Breakfast Will Be Provided
Sometimes, small businesses will invite their clientele to specific events. Thus, a great way to ensure that people turn up to such an event is to promise free food!
The phrase a complimentary breakfast will be provided is formal enough to suit an event held by a business or organization (as opposed to a social occasion between friends).
However, it uses plain phrasing, which comes across as less formal than some of the professional invitations on our list.
See how we’ve used this phrase in an example:
Dear Miss Keats,
We will be holding our annual yoga meet and greet next weekend, and we hope that you will participate.
A complimentary breakfast will be served, and you will have the chance to meet fellow yoga fanatics and our top instructors.
Best wishes,
Janine Cole
10. Please Join Us for Dinner and Drinks
You can use the phrase please join us for dinner and drinks in a formal invitation to your friends and family. In particular, to celebrate an important milestone in your or a loved one’s life.
When hosting a dinner party, in particular, you may use more formal phrasing in your invitation even though the event is between loved ones. This is in contrast to a more informal invitation to a party, for instance.
Let’s see this phrase in an example:
Dear Friends and Family,
Please join us for dinner and drinks this Saturday to celebrate Loise’s graduation.
Sincerely,
The Fitzgeralds
