Yours faithfully? Yours truly? Something else?

[mummynumber2]

Know I should know this one. If I'm replying to a formal wedding invitation and start the letter with 'Dear .......' How should I end it?

[WanderingTrolley]

Dear Sir? Dear uncle Sue?

Depends how it's addressed.

Dear Sir or Madam = Yours faithfully
Dear Uncle Sue and Auntie Derek = Yours sincerely

[Bink]

Yours sincerely, if "Dear" is followed by a name - is the business correspondence rule.

But actually, the total formal wedding reply rule is in the third person (maybe you knew this, but anyway ...) so:

"Gertrude Trumpington thanks The Right Reverend and Mrs Whatserface for their kind invitation to the wedding of their daughter Minky-Rae ...."

In truth, if you are replying per ordinary letter format, ie in the first person, I don't think you need to sign off formally. I think "best regards" or even "love from" will be happily accepted.

[PortAndLemon]

Dear ... Yours sincerely

Dear Sir [or Madam] ... Yours faithfully

But if replying to a properly formal wedding invitation you don't use either. It should go

Mr. and Mrs. mummynumber2 accept with pleasure the kind invitation of to the wedding of and on at .

[mummynumber2]

Ah! It's Dear Mr and Mrs ....' So it's yours sincerely.

Thanks WanderingTrolley!

[ScienceTeacher]

Reply to those who invited you, eg parents of the bride....Dear Mrs and Mrs

Sign it Yours sincerely

The Yours sincerely/faithfully rule is that if you address it to a specific name, then it's yours sincerely. If you say Dear Sir/Madam, it's yours faithfully.

[mummynumber2]

Oh! Thanks Bink and Partand lemon. You're right. Can you tell we're not invited anywhere nice very often?

[Swedes]

Dear Mr and Mrs Walker or Dear Malcolm and Margaret (if you know them well)

Yours sincerely

[LaComtesse]

An easy way to remember the rule is that you don't write two "s"s in the same letter

ie Dear Sir/Madam = yours faithfully

Dear Mr Blinkspot = yours sincerely.

Yours truly is sometimes substituted but I'm never quite sure when to use it myself

[mummynumber2]

Like the way you're thinking Waswondering.

I actually don't know them at all as it's from the brides parents so I really need to go for the more formal response.

Thanks everyone!