Personally, I would let people know about the marriage as soon as you return home from your visit. (Assuming that your immediate families know ahead of time, of course.) You could send wedding announcements, or simply phone and write your friends and family.

Invitations for the reception depend on how formal the reception will be. For an informal reception, such as a beach party or barbecue, consider writing personal letters of invitation. For a more formal reception, such as dinner and dancing at a function hall, use something like:

The pleasure of your company

is requested at the

wedding reception of

Jane Smith

and

Timothy Jones

Friday, the fourth of May
at three o'clock

Location

RSVP

Don't mention anything about gifts - people are never obligated to give gifts, but most will want to, and that's up to them. I would consider registering for a few things, maybe china and crystal, so that your families can point guests to a registry if they ask.

Best of luck to you!

Jack and Jill
announce their marriage
on September XX in City
and request the pleasure of your company
at a celebration
on date
at place
time

Some people discover they have no real conflict between the two. but lots of times people say "we're not going to get married unti we can save up for the reception," which never makes sense to me.

(though I realize now that I actually waited 1.5 years from engagement to wedding, bcs we wanted to get married in early fall and didn't think we'd have enough time to buy a home and get a date at a NYC catering hall by then. But, unlike you, the stakes weren't as high. And actually, now i think we were stupid; we should have just gotten married that very fall)