Is putting 'dinner party' on an invitation uncouth?

[Tailfeather]

I'm getting an invitation designed for my husband's and my joint 40th birthday. We're having caterers in and we're planning on canapés and cocktails followed by a 3-course supper. Would I invite people to a 'dinner party' or just invite them for supper or just invite them to a party?

(I do realise this isn't a massive issue in the grand scheme of things! But google hasn't helped, so I'm just looking for some opinions).

Thanks!

Never in real life anyway , I may be an utter Prole myself , but I do know some proper Non-proles and have never heard of anyone using them ...

This is just the thread that keeps on giving! I love how dinner is substituted for supper and music/a disco is referred to as dancing!

I would LOVE to live in this world!

Well, what can I say. A nice formal sit down deserves proper invitation.

This is a neat little insight into the British class system, and very amusing. I'm from a working class background where 'are you staying for your tea' was the usual invitation same! But then I got into a heated discussion a while back for being of the view that having friends for tea is having friends for tea, not a dinner party as a dinner party seems to be a more formal occasion. On MN dinner party seems to mean anything from 'inviting friends over for some scran on Friday' to 'formal invites, 3 course meal with matching wines & port to follow where people wear evening clothing and women would be appalled if they didn't get to keep their sparkly shoes on because they match their cocktail attire'. Nowt as queer as the British class system eh?

Actually I didn't get the concept of matching wine to food until I was into my thirties. I've read the labels where they say "goes with a steak" or whatever but assumed they were suggestions, didn't realise it was a thing people actually did. I like red. I drink it with anything. I don't want white just because of what I'm eating. Unless it's fizzy. I suspect that's a no no as well.

We used to call 'at home' and other formal invitations ‘stiffies'

Larger format cards for pageant of life events and other quite formal occasions are stiffy invitations to me. I still call formal invites stiffy invitations. At Home cards were smaller and definitely not substantial enough to support a glass so not stiffy

My DGMs wouldn’t have considered At Home cards particularly formal, more a standard shorthand form for invitations in the days of less phone calls and no electronic media (although would have RSVPd unless it was a general At Home).

Even more confusingly WRT 'at Home' cards, you can of course be 'at Home' in a party venue which is not your actual house, such as a club or hotel...

Lol, C8H10N402 - we called them stiffys too! If we were feeling very U bitchy, we'd run our fingers over them to see if they were printed or embossed!

we'd run our fingers over them to see if they were printed or embossed!

DGM used to do that sometimes - she wasn't judgemental but she did like a "proper stiffy"

we'd run our fingers over them to see if they were printed or embossed!

I do this too - no judgement or snobbery, I promise. I just really love the tactile nature of good stationery.

A friend of mine sent beautiful letterpress invitations for her wedding, which I complimented her on when I RSVPed. She said that I was the only person to notice! We cheated and had ours thermographed.

There is something a bit grubby about the whole Harry-Meghan- Soho House unholy trinity. Matthew Freud and Nick Jones, its chief investors, are also co-owners of Freud PR and have a lot of links with the Daily Mail and Evening Standard.

Sorry, wrong thread!