Addressing your wedding invitations is not as simple as putting your guests names and addresses on the envelopes. There is a specific etiquette for addressing wedding invitations. If you are having a formal wedding, there are certain etiquette guidelines to follow when addressing your wedding envelopes.
- Do not use abbreviations.
- Do not use the "&" sign, spell it out.
- Use numbers for the recipients address; do not spell out the numbers.
- Spell out words like "street, drive, avenue, apartment, and state names." If the state name does not fit, then you may abbreviate.
All titles other than Mr. and Mrs. should be completely spelled out. A good example would be Doctor instead of Dr., Reverend instead of Rev. Any type of elected official like the Mayor would be addressed as The Honorable Mayor. If only one of them has a title, use that person's name first.
If a guest is in the military, use appropriate titles like Sergeant or Major before their name.
Examples for military etiquette for addressing wedding invitations:
Outer Envelope:
Major and Mrs. Edwin Williams
352 Martin Drive
Houston, Texas 77678
Inner Envelope:
Major and Mrs. Williams
If they both have the same rank/same last name:
Sergeant Major Edwin and Laura Williams
If they have different ranks/same last name:
Sergeant Major Edwin and Sergeant Laura Williams
Etiquette for addressing wedding invitations uses the person's full name. If you use an inner and outer envelope with your invitations, you may skip the first names on the outer envelope and use full names on the inner envelope without the address. On the inner envelope you may use a more casual tone if you wish.
Example:
Outer Envelope:
Mr. and Mrs. John Smith
123 Casper Road
Houston, Texas 45678
Inner Envelope Formal Tone:
Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Casual Tone:
Megan and John
or
Auntie Meagan and Uncle John
If inviting a married couple with small children, it should read:
Outer Envelope:
Mr. and Mrs. John Smith
123 Casper Road
Houston, Texas 45678
Inner Envelope:
Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Tony, Sandy and Kayla (List by oldest to youngest)
Or
Mr. and Mrs. John Smith and Family
Children over 18 years old.
If they have older children, 18 and over, you can send them two separate invitations or a joint invitation. Write the names in alphabetical order for joint invitations on separate lines.
Chris Smith
Andy Smith
Paula Smith
Married couple's names belong on the same line unless there's no room. Unmarried couple's names go on two separate lines with the name of the person you know on the first. If you know both individuals then the woman's name goes first. They will not each get a separate invitation. If you are inviting a couple that does not live together, then you should send two separate invitations.
Do not use nicknames on invitations. If you have a friend that goes by Joe but you know their full name is Joseph you should use "Joseph" on the invitation. If he is allowed to bring a guest, write out his full name "and guest" or "plus one".
Example:
Mr. Joseph Craig and Guest
Addressing the back flap of your wedding invitation envelopes.
You should always address the back flap of your wedding invitations with your return address just in case the post office needs to return your invitation for any reason. The return address must be that of the person receiving the reply cards. You may either handwrite the address or print it out on the computer. Nowadays, you can purchase clear stickers, print them out with beautiful, elegant font, and stick them on the back flap of the wedding envelopes.
In the end, these are your invitations so any wedding invitation etiquette you see fit to change is completely up to you.
Tip: Mail out your wedding invitations eight weeks before your wedding. Average RSVP from guests should be requested three weeks prior to your wedding date.
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