Etiquette For Mailing Wedding Invitations
Before you buy stamps, take an assembled invitation to the post office and have it weighed. Its likely that the inserts, or even an unusually shaped envelope, will call for extra postage. The post office usually has wedding-themed stamps that will cover the cost of most invitations with enclosures. Some post offices may be out of stock, however, so leave time to find them at another branch or to order them online.
Remember that maps and other inserts sent to out-of-town guests will make those invitations heavier than ones sent to local guests and may require a postage adjustment. In that case, be sure to assemble two sets and have both weighed.
Lastly, ask at your post office if it is possible to have your envelopes hand-stamped. This produces a different postmark than if your invitations were run through an automatic sorter.
Envelope Addressing For A Married Couple
The most traditional form of addressing an invitation. You may also wish to include both persons names instead to read Mr. Benjamin and Mrs. Rebecca Gilbert. If you are using an inner and outer envelope, the outer envelope should be addressed as shown above. For the inner envelope you may choose either Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert for a formal invitation, of Benjamin and Rebecca for a more modern or casual invitation.
How To Address Wedding Invitations When One Parent Is Deceased
Getting married is already emotional enough without adding the stress of how to honour a loved one who has passed away. We do have some suggestions on alternate ways to honour them, but if you would really like to include their name on the invitation, you definitely can. It is important to make sure that you dont make it sound like they are hosting or helping host the wedding, as this can cause painful confusion.
An example of alternate wording:
Cassandra Elsa
daughter of John Bourke and the late Elsa Bourke
son of Michael and Jessica Kane
request the honour of your presence at their wedding
Other ways to honour a deceased loved one at your wedding:
- A poem or song during the ceremony
- A photo and inscription on the ceremony order of service
- Lighting a candle
- A mention during speeches, or reading of a letter
- Sharing a short memory during the ceremony
Read Also: How To Plan A Wedding Under 5000
Addressing Wedding Invitations For A Casual Wedding
You might be wondering, “What if my wedding isn’t going to be that formal? Do I still have to make the wedding invitations formal?” Well, when it comes to addressing wedding invitations for a more casual event, we understand the temptation to just use first names, or first and last names without titles. While this isn’t traditional, if the vibe is really backyard barbecue or a picnic in the park, you may be able to get away with it.
But this is definitely the right time to use more formal wording for older or more conservative gueststhey may not notice that you were being particularly respectful, but they definitely will if they feel that you were too informal!
A Married Woman Doctor Or Two Married Doctors
If a woman uses her maiden name professionally and socially, the envelopes should read the following way below. This may feel overwhelming, but trust us, this matters. Thoroughly review your guest list and notate who this may apply too.
On the outer envelope: Dr. Lynn Shadow and Mr. Colton Kappel
If she uses her husband’s name socially:
Dr. Lynn and Mr. Colton Kappel
If both parties are doctors, you can address the outer envelope:
Doctors Lynn and Colton Kappel
On the inner envelope: Dr. Shadow and Mr. Kappel Or The Doctors Kappel
Recommended Reading: How To Address Families On Wedding Invitations
Example 16 Casual Wording With All 4 Grandparents As Hosts
If you feel the need to make a generous invitation. Plus, see how they made the host line interesting!
It gives us immense pleasure to invite you to the marriage of our grandson
Anshul
Son of Rina & Anuj Mehta
to Megha
Daughter of Smt. Kusumben & Shri Sudhirbhai Goenka.
Your presence at the wedding celebrations will enhance the joy of the occasion and will add blessings to this happy union.
We will be filled with pleasure if you and your family will join us for the joyful
UNIQUE IDEA ALERT! A fun way to include all your grandparents in the wedding card matter is to add their names in their own handwritings!
For A Doctor On Your List:
For a married male doctor, address the invite as shown below:
For a married female doctor, list the female first as shown below. Her name would then be followed by her husbands title and first and last name.
If both are doctors with the same last name, address the envelope to The Doctors and their last name.
What about people with official titles? There are many nuances depending on whether the person is a politician, religious leader or military official. In most cases, people with official titles put THE in front of their title followed by their first and last name. If you are looking for a specific example, we suggest referencing Emily Post!
Also Check: Wedding Hashtags For F Last Names
How To Address To Same Sex Couples
Wondering how to address wedding invitations for a same sex couple? It is similar to other couples, which makes it easy. If one persons parents are paying for the wedding, their name should appear first. If both parents are paying equally, or the couple is paying equally, the names are listed in alphabetical order. If you are planning a slightly less formal occasion and only want to include first names, you could put them in whichever order comes naturally, like if everyone refers to you as Rachel and Jess.
How To Address Wedding Invitations Without An Inner Envelope
Traditional wedding invitations have both an outer mailing envelope, which contains the mailing address, postage, and return address, and an inner envelope. The inner envelope is printed with only the recipients names, and contains all the pieces of the invitation suite: the invitation, RSVP card, RSVP envelope, and any additional enclosures such as a reception card, a map with directions, or invitations to additional weekend activities. When two envelopes are involved, the outside envelope is addressed more formally while the inside envelope is slightly more casual and frequently incorporates first names.
If you choose to send wedding invitations without an inside envelope, which is more common these days, simply focus on properly addressing the outer envelope. Below, we provide guidelines for how to address invitations with a single envelope vs. an inner and outer envelope for your reference.
Also Check: How To Stuff Wedding Invitations Without Inner Envelope
The Proper Way To Address Your Wedding Invitations
Photo by Mango Studios. Stationery by Palettera Custom Correspondences.
With all the pieces included in a wedding stationery set, it might be easy to overlook the envelopes. But according to Deborah Lau-Yu, founder of Palettera Custom Correspondences, envelopes can say a lot about the tone of your wedding.
A lot of people want to save money, and yes, thats important, Lau-Yu says. You can try to print the envelopes yourself, but home printers arent perfect. If you spent money on your invitations, it can cheapen them if you have a label thats shifted, she adds. This is why Lau-Yu recommends that couples have their envelopes professionally addressed in typography or calligraphy by their stationery designer. When its printed in beautiful script or font, it shows something special, she explains.
The details of how your envelopes are printed are just as important as what is printed. Lau-Yu tells couples that the most important thing is to always be intentional when it comes to addressing their guests. Weddings are sacred things, she says. Having your envelopes properly labelled conveys respect, properness and sacredness.
Here are some tips to keep in mind when addressing your invitations:
Here are some examples of templates you can use for addressing your envelopes:
For a married couple using different names:Put the names on two separate lines, alphabetically.Mrs. Jane Doe
How To Address Wedding Invitations To Children And Families
Include younger guests on the inner envelope of their parents’ invitation by their name. For girls under 18, you can use “Miss” if you’d like. Boys don’t need a title until they’re 18then they can be addressed as “Mr.” As with the other guests invited, you can always forgo titles or use the gender-neutral title of “Mx.”
Note: If you don’t include each child’s name, you’re implying that children are not invited. That said, don’t be surprised if some guests still mistakenly assume their children are welcome. If you’re concerned this will happen with your guests, ask your immediate family and wedding party to help spread the word that the wedding will be adults only and add the message to your wedding website. You may still have to follow up with guests who don’t get the message via phone to gently explain the situation.
On the outer envelope:
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Abraham
On the inner envelope:
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Abraham
Daniel, Jeffrey, Miss Brittany and Mx. Kelly
Recommended Reading: What To Put In Wedding Guest Gift Bags
How To: Addressing Envelopes With Cricut Easy Wedding
On the invitation and envelope, the guests would be styled as ‘Dr and Mrs Tom Bryant’ or ‘Mr Tom and Dr Jo Bryant’ Reception-Only Invitations. The same rules of address apply for evening-only invitations. Same-Sex Rules. As there is no tradition or precedent for joint forms of address for same-sex couples, the style can vary How To Address Wedding Envelopes. We know that when planning a wedding there are a million and one things to plan, prep and do. Couples have found our ‘Wording Your Perfect Wedding Invitations’ a really handy guide so we thought we’d offer you a helping hand and put together a simple guide on wedding envelope addressing etiquette. Not a good idea to upset the receiver of your gorgeous. Wedding Invitation Addressing Samples. Your guest list most likely includes a variety of living situations, such as married and single folks, divorced guests, widows, same sex couples, and guests with formal titles such as doctors, judges and military officers. Below are specific examples for each of these scenarios
How To Make Address Labels
Wondering how to print address labels for the invitations, or even how to use a printer to address your wedding invitations? There are apps and programs you can use at home to print your own address labels, but make sure you count the cost of blank labels, ink and time. Sometimes DIY projects dont actually turn out cheaper and the risk is considerably higher. If you are wondering how to use a printer to address your invitations, you may want to consider following a tutorial.
Consider ordering professionally printed address labels when you order your invitations and other wedding stationery to save yourself the hassle of printing your own labels. This will ensure everything matches and looks great.
Wrap around labels are a practical way to save time and money because you dont need to use two labels and the different sides of the label display their relevant information.
Also Check: Engagement Or Wedding Ring First
Request / Invitation Line
This line basically invites your guests to your nuptials. According to Martha Stewart, you say request the honour of your presence for a religious ceremony and request the pleasure of your company for a non-religious function.
In Indian cards, however, youll find you have a LOT of options of how to word this line. Weve seen everything from solicit the honour of your benign presence to bless their beloved daughter to the simple request your company at the wedding of.
Youll find more ideas when you get to the Real Wedding Invites section.
Wedding Etiquette: How To Address Your Invitations
Lets talk envelope etiquette! Its 2021 people, there are options. You can take the traditional path and follow the Emily Post guidelines. You can play it safe and skip titles, which makes it less formal. Or have some fun with it.
Working in the wedding business, we know addressing envelopes can be a somewhat contentious debate between couples and their parents. Or perhaps, others are just confused about what is protocol! In our viewpoint, there are some traditional approaches and some more modern-day approaches. We do BOTH based on the couples preference. You can choose to be more formal or embrace the changing landscape of our world. But whatever you choose, dont let this be a pain point or cause unneeded wedding planning stress.
Weve broken down the variety of options for addressing your envelopes below! And mega bonus: You can to start working on your own list!
Also Check: Wedding For Less Than 5000
How To Address For Families
If you are wondering how to address invitations to families, weve got you covered. Many people dont know how to properly address wedding invitations to a family but here is an example of a basic invitation to a family where the parents are married and the children are under 18.
Outer Envelope:
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Bingley
Inner Envelope:
Katherine, Maryand Elizabeth
You could also add Miss or Mr in front of the childrens names. Knowing how to address a family on the invitations can be a little tricky but you want it to be clear to avoid confusion over who is included in the invitation.
Addressing & Mailing Wedding Invitations
Imagine … your wedding envelope standing out like a diamond in the sand among the other pieces in the pile.
Casting all other mail aside, your addressee will pore over the contents and pay attention to the details.
Both pretty and practical, Wedding Envelopes must do the heavy lifting of communicating whos invited .
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Addressing And Mailing Invitations Martha Stewar
