Addressing Wedding Invitation Etiquette - Important Tips for Invites

Do you wish to learn about addressing wedding invitation etiquette? Here are some important tips, ideas and suggestions for you to keep in mind when preparing wedding invites.

When you send out your wedding invitations, whether you realize it or not, you are actually sending out a couple of messages.

Your guests will be able to tell, for instance, who in their family is invited just by the simple way that the invitation is addressed. In addition, there is other etiquette to consider as well, such as professional and marital titles. So how do you know which way to address the invitations?

For starters, as part of addressing wedding invitation etiquette, it's important to keep in mind exactly who you want to come to your wedding. If you are having an evening event and you don't particularly want young children to attend, then you should refrain from including the words "and family" on your invitation.

For instance, if you are friends with the Burtons and they have children, then you might want to consider addressing the invitation to "Mr. & Mrs. John Burton." However, if you don't mind if they bring their children along with them, then the invitation could be addressed to "Mr. & Mrs. John Burton and Family."

Although it's not as clear cut as it used to be, addressing single women takes some care as well. If the single woman in question is a doctor, then the invitation should be addressed to "Dr. Emily Burton." However, if the single woman in question is not a doctor, then your choices are to address the invitation to "Ms. Emily Burton" or "Miss Emily Burton." Typically, "Miss" is used to signify a younger woman, usually under the age of 30. This is not a steadfast rule for addressing wedding invitation etiquette, however.

As part of addressing wedding invitation etiquette, if you want your guest to understand that they are able to bring along a guest with them, then you should consider this in your wording as well. A sample envelope might read "Ms. Emily Burton & Guest."

If your single guest is widowed, then you should still use "Mrs." This is particularly important if your guest has kept her married name. If your guest is divorced, however, and has chosen to keep her married name, then you can use "Ms."

If you would like to include children in the invitation, then they should be listed according to age. As part of addressing wedding invitation etiquette, the eldest child should be listed first, after the parents of course, and the younger children listed subsequently. Many people prefer not to list the children on the outside envelope, but do list them on the inside envelope if they choose to include 2 separate ones.

If you have two unmarried friends that do not live together, then you should address the envelope to the person who lives in the household that you are sending the invitation to. However, if you have two unmarried friends that do live together, then the envelope should be addressed to both of them.

There are more points to note regarding addressing wedding invitation etiquette.

If your married female friend has kept her maiden name, then both names should be listed on the envelope. For example, the envelope might read "Mr. John Howard & Mrs. Emily Burton." It is not good etiquette to address the envelope as "Mr. & Mrs. John Howard" if the woman has kept her maiden name.

On the other hand, if she has kept her maiden name and hyphenated it, then the envelope should be addressed to her first. It might read "Mrs. Emily Burton-Howard & Mr. John Howard."

When it comes to professional titles, addressing wedding invitation etiquette can be tricky as well. If the female has a professional title but the male does not, then she should be listed first. If both have professional titles, then you can either list both titles, or simply address the envelope to "The Doctors Burton." (Although this does sound a little awkward.)

You should also try to spell out your words whenever possible and not use abbreviations, such as "St." for "Street." In addition, some people do not use the "&" sign and instead prefer to spell out "and."

Lastly regarding addressing wedding invitation etiquette, your invitations should be hand addressed when possible. If you have poor penmanship, or simply don't have the time to hand address your invitations, then at least use a calligraphy based font that looks interesting and appealing.

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