Wedding Invitation Addressing Etiquette

ADDRESSING

Using the proper invitation addressing etiquette can make a huge impression on your wedding guests. One secret to properly addressing your envelopes is to make sure that you have a well-organized guest list, complete with full names and addresses. By using our Guest List Organizer found at www.SeeMyAccount.com, you are given flexibility and a simple way to record names and addresses, acceptances, regrets and thank yous. You are given the flexibility to separate your guests into categories, such as:

Guests to receive a wedding announcement
Guests to receive an invitation to the ceremony.
Guests to receive an invitation to the reception only
Guests to receive an invitation to both the ceremony and the reception

You can even keep track of those coming to a dinner, brunch, or various showers, and from whom you have received a gift. For your convenience, Calligraphy By Computer can upload an existing list into your password-protected Organizer, but you must provide name and address data exactly the way you want it to appear on your envelopes.

To give your wedding invitations a touch of elegance, Calligraphy by Computer will address both your outer and inner envelopes. As part of our service we can stuff, seal, stamp, and mail your invitations, freeing you up to concentrate on other wedding preparations.

Traditional or Contemporary
Traditional wedding invitations come with two envelopes, an inner envelope and an outer one.

Outer Envelope
The outer envelope should be addressed formally. This means no nicknames nor abbreviations should be used except for Mr., Mrs., Jr., or Dr. The guest's full name is always used on the outer envelope You may use an initial if you do not know the full name or if the person never uses his given name. The number “One” should be written out, but other numbers may be written as digits (such as 1347). Write out the names of cities and states. Make sure your names and addresses are spelled correctly and entered in our Wedding Guest List Organizer exactly as you want them printed on your envelopes.

The return address may be imprinted on the flap of the outer envelope. Calligraphy by Computer can provide that service.

The envelope is addressed like this:

Married Couple:
Mr. and Mrs. John Carlton
1500 Main Street
New York, New York 10053

Professional Couple:

Dr. Alice Anderson

Mr. Charles Anderson

680 West 85 South

Provo, Utah 84601

Single Person:

Mr. William Smith

233 East Dumas Street

Salt Lake City, Utah 84111

Unmarried Couple or when Wife uses Maiden Name:
(use separate name-lines. Alphabetical order by last name):

Miss Judy Gibson

Mr. Melvin Ottoson

295 Maple Lane

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19102

Divorced Woman

Mrs. Janet Dunkirk

Widowed Woman

Mrs. John Williams

Judge

The Honorable and Mrs. Mary Rogers

Clergy

The Reverend Donald Swaner

Married Woman Doctor

Dr. Susan Goodall

Mr. Scott Goodall

Married Couple, Both Doctors

Drs. Robert and Sharon Lindsay

Officer-Man (active or retired)

Colonel and Mrs. Jason Colton

Officer-Woman (active or retired)

Lieutenant Sandra Snow

Mr. John Snow

Inner Envelope
The inner envelope is smaller and usually doesn’t have gumming on the flap. Contemporary invitations are often square shaped and come with only one outer envelope.

The inner envelope should read Mr. and Mrs. Smith (no first names). If you are inviting a family with children, only the parents’ names should be included on the outer envelope. Children’s first names should be listed in chronological order on the line below their parents on the inner envelope.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Mary and Steven

The phrase "and family" should be avoided. Never write "No Children" on the invitation or envelope. If you do not want children to attend, contact the guest verbally.

Children over age 16 should receive their own invitations.

HOW TO PREPARE FOR INSERTING
Your invitations and announcements may arrive flat. Single fold invitations should be folded with the printing on the outside. Those with a cover design should be folded with the design on the outside and the imprinted area on the inside. If the invitation is folded a second time, all insertions are placed inside the second fold with the printed copy facing the flap of the envelope.

MAILING
You should take one of your pre-stuffed invitations to the post office, or bring them to Calligraphy By Computer, to determine the postage rate. Depending on the size of your invitations and the number of enclosures you include, your invitations can weigh over an ounce and therefore require extra postage. Square envelopes also have an added postage surcharge. When invitations are stuffed with different pieces, make sure you have each invitation type weighed.

Your invitations should be mailed four to eight weeks before the wedding. Announcements and at-home cards (with couple’s new address) are mailed just after the wedding has taken place.