The Etiquette of Addressing the Wedding Envelopes
It is traditional to use the complete, formal name and address of your invited guests. For instance:
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Lewis Smith
- Use full name when known. If not known, do not use initials, simply omit.
- It is also traditional to spell out Avenue, Road, and Street as well as State names.
- If you are providing reply cards, it is traditional to place a postage stamp on the reply envelopes to make it as easy as possible for your guests to respond.
How do I address Inner Envelopes?
- A Married Couple’s inner envelope is addressed to: “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” with neither their first names nor address.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith
- When the invitation is addressed to several young children, the inner envelope is addressed to: “Jessica, Saul and Shaun.”
- If an envelope is addressed to the parents and a young daughter, her name is written on the inner envelope below her parents` name:
Mr. and Mrs. Anderson
Miss Anne Anderson
- An intimate relative may be addressed on the Inner Envelope as “Aunt Kate and Uncle Reid” or “Grandmother”
- When the invitation is sent to an unmarried couple living at the same address, their names are placed on two lines:
Ms. Victoria Franks
Mr. John Doe
- If the person invited is encouraged to bring a guest, the inner envelope is written:
Brittany and Guest
or
Mr. Greenum and Guest
How do I address Outer Envelopes?
- Wedding invitations are always addressed to both members of a married couple.
- Invitations to an unmarried couple are addressed to “Ms. Mary French” and “Mr. John Burns,” with each name appearing on a separate lines.
- A person’s middle name may or may not be used, but if it is, it must be written out in full.
- Children over 18 should, if possible, receive separate invitations. Young brothers and sisters may be sent a joint invitation to “The Misses” or “The Messers Jones”:
The Messrs. Jones
The Misses Jones
18 and over:
(Outer)
Ms. Juliet Kinder
1234 West Washington Street
San Francisco, California 94123
(Inner)
Ms. Kinder
Children of the same household:
(Outer)
Mr. Matthew Kinder
Mr. Austin Kinder
1234 West Washington Street
San Francisco, California 94123
(Inner)
The Messrs. Kinder
- If the children are not to receive a separate invitation, then they may be written below the parents names on the Inner Envelopes.
- Single friends with a guest invited: when using an Inner Envelope, the “and guest” should not appear on the outside envelope.
(Outer)
Ms. Sheryl Jones
(Inner)
Ms. Jones and Guest