Principal Sponsors on Your Wedding Invitation: How to List Them

You have your list of ninong and ninang. Now the names have to appear on the invitation, spelled correctly, in the right order and without pushing every other name off the page. Four things settle it: how many sponsors you have, how each line is written, what to do with a sponsor who cannot come, and what to do when the list outgrows the paper. A name fixed after printing is a reprint.

What a principal sponsor is, and is not

The Family Code needs "not less than two witnesses of legal age" at the ceremony (Art. 6). Nuptials.ph and Sinta and Co both treat principal sponsors as those signing witnesses, and Nuptials.ph says their purpose is to act as witnesses and sign the marriage contract. Secondary sponsors, who handle the candle, veil and cord, have no legal role; see our secondary sponsors guide.

Question	Answer	Source
Legal minimum	Two witnesses of legal age	Family Code, Art. 6
Minimum age	18	Nuptials.ph
Must they be married?	Traditionally, yes, but single sponsors are fine, and a married couple can be the two	Nuptials.ph
Must every sponsor sign?	No; not all ninongs and ninangs sign the certificate	A reply on the Bride and Breakfast post
Must they attend?	At least one pair must be physically present to sign	Same reply, in a Zoom question

The last two rows come from replies in the comments of a Bride and Breakfast post, not from the article itself. Ask your parish which sponsors it wants as signing witnesses.

How many principal sponsors should you have?

Source	What it says
Family Code	At least two witnesses
Nuptials.ph, entourage guide	"You only need two"; no firm maximum, but a church may cap it
Nuptials.ph, principal sponsors FAQ (May 2020)	"For small weddings, we suggest having two to four pairs"; for larger weddings "a maximum of six to eight pairs"
Nuptials.ph, Differences page	At least two pairs; some couples have six to eight pairs
Wikipedia	Multiple pairs are customary, for example six ninangs and six ninongs
Manila Cathedral	A maximum of eight pairs, to keep to the time allotted for the ceremony and photos
Nuptials.ph, church requirements	Some churches charge a fee if you exceed their cap, or a fee per sponsor
The Smile Bar, a dental-whitening company's blog	Two to four pairs for a small wedding; six to eight for a larger one. Supporting only

Nuptials.ph's own pages differ: "you only need two" and no firm maximum on the entourage guide, at least two pairs on the Differences page, and a suggested two to four pairs with a six-to-eight-pair maximum on the FAQ. Our advice: get your parish's cap and any per-sponsor fee in writing before you invite anyone. That number decides how much room this section needs.

Where the section sits

Principal sponsors are listed before the secondary sponsors. Nuptials.ph says so, and WedPlanner says they are "listed first on invitations." On an Imbitasyon Ko invitation the Principal Sponsors group is second, after the parents and ahead of the best man and maid of honor. Other layouts put them first, and our entourage layout samples show the group order and seven layouts. For what each group does on the day, see our entourage duties guide.

How to write each name

Principal sponsors are listed as couples, one per line, with titles spelled out. Copy each name from something official or from the sponsor, not from memory.

Situation	How it is written	Basis
A married couple	Mr. Juan Dela Cruz & Mrs. Maria Dela Cruz	The format Imbitasyon Ko prints
A sponsor on their own	On their own line: Mrs. Maria Dela Cruz	Our advice
A professional title	The title they use: Engr., Atty., Dr.	Our advice
Different surnames	Write both in full; do not shorten to Mr. & Mrs.	Our advice
A deceased sponsor	the late Mr. Juan Dela Cruz; for parents, Nuptials.ph says add "late" or a cross. Ask the family first	Nuptials.ph; our deceased parent guide
Order of the list	Alphabetical, "To exhibit good etiquette and fairness"	Nuptials.ph
Who goes first in a pair	The gentleman's line "on top or on the left side"; hold one convention	Nuptials.ph
A sponsor who cannot attend	Keep them listed; a stand-in can be shown as Tita Last Name for Ninang Last Name	A reply on the Bride and Breakfast post

Here is a complete block, alphabetical by surname, as the published page shows it (example names):

Principal Sponsors
Engr. Ramon Aquino & Mrs. Luz Aquino
Mr. Juan Dela Cruz & Mrs. Maria Dela Cruz
Dr. Elena Reyes & Dr. Carlos Reyes
Mrs. Teresa Santos

Keep each couple on one visual line so nobody reads a wife's name as belonging to the next couple. If you print a caption above the names, Nuptials.ph's Differences page introduces principal sponsors with "To stand as witnesses to our vows." That is its wording, and the Imbitasyon Ko page prints only the heading.

How to enter them in Imbitasyon Ko

1. Open the "Entourage & Dress Code" step and use the Principal Sponsors (Ninong & Ninang) group.
2. Add a row. Put the husband's name in the name field and the wife's in "Partner's name (optional)". The page prints them as Name & Partner on one line.
3. Or use "Paste names (one per line)" and put each couple on one line, as the tool's hint shows: Mr. Roberto Garcia & Mrs. Carmen Garcia.
4. Enter the names in the order you want them printed. There is no reorder step, so type them alphabetically, and fix a wrong slot by removing and re-adding.
5. The public page prints the group heading "Principal Sponsors" and the names. It shows no role labels or captions.

The editor takes up to 120 entries. On the Free plan the published page shows the first 10 entries you added, counted across all groups in the order entered. A couple entered as one row is one entry. Standard (₱499) and Premium (₱999), both one-time, show the whole list. The editor and preview show everyone either way.

That makes entry order a decision on Free. Parents first (two rows), then six sponsor couples, then the best man and maid of honor is exactly ten. The free entourage list tool lets you draft and copy the list by role first.

When the list is longer than the paper

Option	What it costs	When it works
Leave the entourage off the printed card	Saves money. Juan Carlo's invitation guide says "you can omit this part of the invitation as it can occupy 2 to 3 pages" (source)	Tight print budget; keep the paper to ceremony details
Tighten the layout	Nothing, until the type gets too small	A couple or two over
Add an entourage insert	An extra printed sheet per invitation	Formal printed suites. Nuptials.ph lists an entourage card as a usual part
Move the full list to your digital invitation	Nothing extra if you already send one	Long lists, late additions or names you may still correct

On a digital invitation the list scrolls, and you can fix a misspelled name after sending. On a printed suite the fix is a reprint or a correction slip.

The order of operations before printing

1. Ask before you print. Nuptials.ph describes an informal heads-up first, then a formal request in person or with a card. Our ninong and ninang asking guide has copy-ready messages. Nobody should learn they are a principal sponsor from the invitation.
2. Get your parish's cap and fee in writing, and ask who it needs as signing witnesses.
3. Collect each sponsor's full name and address. Nuptials.ph says churches want "full name (not just their nickname)" and an address on the sponsor list.
4. Confirm every couple. Someone widowed, separated or attending alone changes their line.
5. Lay out the section last, then read the names aloud against your source list.

This is clerical work. Our advice: give it an hour, because a wrong name is the error your families will notice first. Settle the parish's cap and the exact spellings first, and the layout follows. For the roles around them, see our guide to entourage roles.