Before you begin addressing, make sure that you have a well organized guest list. Guests are generally
separated into three categories:
- Those to receive a wedding announcement, if these are being sent.
- Guests to receive an invitation to the ceremony only. This only works if you have a separate
Reception Card.
- Guests who will be invited to both the ceremony and the reception.
Your invitations should be addressed by hand in black ink. You may wish to call upon a friend with
beautiful handwriting or hire a calligrapher for an especially elegant look.
- Traditionally, two envelopes are used for wedding invitations and announcements. The inner
envelope, which may be plain or lined, is without glue and remains unsealed. It is used to enclose the
invitation or announcement and any accompanying cards. The outer envelope has a glued flap and is
used for the complete mailing address. The guest's full name is always used on the outer envelope
followed by the street address.
Mr. and Mrs. James Ryan
Street
City, State Zip
- Nicknames or abbreviations should be avoided when possible except for Mr., Mrs., Dr., Jr., etc. and for
military rank. You may use an initial if you do not know the full name, or if the person never uses his
given name. Cities, states, and numbered streets are written out in full. Remember to include zip
codes.
- The inner envelope always carries the last names only with no address.
- The phrase "and family" should be avoided. If you wish to include younger children, they should be
mentioned by first name, according to age, on the line following that of their parents.
Mr. and Mrs. Ryan
John, Mary, Kody
These names should appear on the inner envelope only. The outer envelope would be simply
addressed to the parents. Never write "No Children" on the invitation or envelope. If you do not
want children to attend, the situation should be handled verbally.
- Formally, dates of single guests should be sent separate invitations. You may wish to enclose a
personal note in the invitation of a single guest saying. "Please bring an escort" or "Please bring Miss
Julia Barnes". Contemporary etiquette allows that you may write ‘Mr. James Ryan and Guest’ on the
inner envelope.
- Two unmarried people who reside at the same address may be sent a single invitation. Their names
would appear on separate lines in alphabetic order.
Miss Coleen Currier (you may use Ms. if you prefer)
Mr. James Ryan
This same format may also be used when inviting a married couple, if the wife has kept her
maiden name or uses a professional title.
- Divorced women are formally addressed by their maiden name plus their married name.
Mrs. Rapp Cooney
However, contemporary etiquette does allow for the use of the woman's first name.
Mrs. Sharon Cooney
- A widowed woman is always addressed using her husband's first and last names.
- In addressing clergymen, military officers and medical doctors, always use their titles in full.
The Right Reverend Howard Johns
Doctor and Mrs. George Whitehall
Colonel and Mrs. Franklin Beals
Your invitations and announcements will arrive flat. Invitations without a fold should be placed with
the printing facing up. 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.
ASSEMBLING YOUR INVITATIONS
- Start with the invitation face up and place the tissue over the imprint area.
- Enclosure cards are then placed face up on top of the tissue with the reception card closest to the
invitation.
- Remember to place a postage stamp on the response envelope.
- Place the invitation and accompanying cards inside the inner envelope. Make sure the printed side
faces you, leading into the envelope with the folded edge first.
- The guest’s name should be written on the front of the inner envelope.
- Lastly, the inner envelope, with all of the contents is inserted into the outer envelope. The guest's
name should face the back of the outer envelope, so that it is seen immediately when removed from
the outer envelope.
MAILING YOUR INVITATIONS
We advise you to have a complete invitation weighed at the Post Office before buying your stamps.
Occasionally, invitations with lined envelopes and several enclosure cards require extra postage.
Additionally, due to their shape, square invitations also require extra postage. If time allows, you may
wish to order special stamps that reflect the mood of your ceremony or that may coordinate with
your invitations. Your invitations should be mailed six to eight weeks before the wedding. The
return address may be written or imprinted on the flap of the outer envelope. Your return address
should be included on the outer envelope so the invitation can be returned to you if the address is
incorrect, or if the invitation is not deliverable for some reason.
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