Tips on Addressing Wedding Invitations
September 14, 2009
The sooner you start addressing your wedding invitations the better. The most organized brides will have their wedding invitations in hand at three months prior to the wedding. The easiest way to get this daunting task done is to organize a lunch or dinner party with your bridesmaids and get those girls to help out. Don’t put undue stress on yourself or your mother and try to do it all yourself.
Typically you will have two envelopes to address when it comes to your wedding invitation ensemble. There usually is the inner envelope and the outer envelope. The outer envelope has the name and address of a particular guest or guests.
The inner envelope contains all the enclosures. The inner envelope would have the name or names of the guests you’re inviting to the ceremony and reception. There is no address on the inner envelope.
As soon as you sit down to start writing these envelopes out, things get complicated. Here are guidelines for how to address the inner and outer envelopes for common name situations. Remember, the inner envelope will not have an address. The outer envelope has the name and address.
(1)Single Man named Adam Smith. Inner envelope: Mr. Smith. Outer envelope: Mr. Adam Smith
(2)Young Boy named Adam Smith. Inner envelope: Master Smith. Outer envelope: Master Adam Smith
(3)Single Woman or Girl named Jennifer Brown. Inner envelope: Miss Brown or Ms. Brown. Outer envelope: Miss Jennifer Brown or Ms. Jennifer Brown
(4)Single Woman and a Guest (let us use: Jennifer Brown and Adam Smith). Inner envelope on two lines: Miss Brown, Mr. Smith or Miss Brown, And Guest. Outer envelope: Miss Jennifer Brown
(5)Single Man and a Guest (let us use: Adam Smith and Jennifer Brown again). Inner envelope on two lines: Mr. Smith, Miss Brown or Mr. Smith, And Guest. Outer envelope: Mr. Adam Smith
(6)Widow named Beverly Carter (assume her deceased husband’s name is Gary Carter). Inner envelope: Mrs. Carter. Outer envelope: Mrs. Gary Carter.
(7)Divorcee named Beverly Carter. Her maiden name was Jones. Inner envelope: Mrs. Carter. Outer envelope would be Mrs. Jones Carter (a combination of the maiden name and former husband’s last name).
(8)Unmarried couple that lives together (let’s use Adam Smith and Jennifer Brown). Inner envelope: Miss Brown and Mr. Smith (go alphabetically by last name). Outer envelope in two lines: Miss Jennifer Brown, Mr. Adam Smith.
(9)Husband and Wife with same last name (let’s use Greg Green and Sally Green). Inner envelope: Mr. and Mrs. Green. Outer envelope: Mr. and Mrs. Greg Green.
(10)Husband and Wife with different last names (let’s use Gregg Green and Sally Hill). Inner envelope: Ms. Hill and Mr. Green (wife’s name goes first). Outer envelope on two lines: Ms. Sally Hill, Mr. Greg Green.
(11)Husband and Wife from example 9 also have 3 kids: Alice, Betsy and Mark. Inner envelope on two lines: Mr. and Mrs. Green, Alice, Betsy and Mark (kids go on line two in order of age). Outer envelope just has the husband and wife: Mr. and Mrs. Greg Green.
These are situations you are bound to run into when addressing your wedding invitations. Once you get the hang of it, it will be easy. You should assemble your guest list and their addresses in an Excel spreadsheet. Make a column for inner and outer envelopes. This way if you take the time to figure it out prior to addressing the envelopes, you and your bridesmaids won’t screw up envelope after envelope. You won’t have to think at all. You and your bridesmaids could even be drinking margaritas and be fine. Just not too many. Be organized and you’ll be fine.
Lisa Gunther
http://www.articlesbase.com/marriage-articles/tips-on-addressing-wedding-invitations-657141.html
Wedding invitation addressing…?
September 14, 2009
It is proper to use computer printed labels for addressing wedding invitations? (I would be using clear ones if we do). Is a place like Kinko’s able to indiviually address 100 invitations in a nice font instead of us doing labels? What would it cost to pay someone to address them in calligraphy?
You asked if it is proper to do this, so I will give you strictly proper wedding etiquette. Etiquette rules that invitations are to be addressed in handwritting. The only acceptable way ro print them is in a font that duplicates handwriting. (This does not mean that French Script on Microsoft word is acceptable!)
Calligraphy artists’ charges can greatly vary. Location and other factors contribute to this. Maybe you have a community college nearby with an art department- there may be a student that possesses the talent necessary… and for cheap!
What should the "respond by" date be for our wedding invitation response cards?
September 14, 2009
It is November 23, 2008 and we will be sending out our wedding invitations within the next 10 days for our April 18, 2009 wedding. What date should we have on our "please respond by" line of our response cards? What is typical? Please help. (We are not asking guests to choose their entrees now, so that isn’t a factor.)
I got married on February 16th – we asked our guest to respond no later than January 25th. It gave our guests enough time to respond and it also allowed for extra time to contact the people who did not RSVP as well as for the people who sent in their RSVP cards late.
I think that asking people to respond one month to 3 weeks before the wedding is a good time…
Has anyone used computer calligraphy for addressing their wedding invitations, etc..?
September 14, 2009
I am having a small wedding and am trying to keep my budget in check. I can have a business address my invitations with computer calligraphy–inner & outer envelopes for $.99 a set. It is a home-based business only a few miles from my home and was recommended by a friend. Has anyone used this process? Were you happy with it?
We printed our envelopes, and they looked very nice. Neither one of us has good handwriting, and paying someone to write names on envelopes just seemed like a totally unnecessary expense. Our invitations and envelopes looked perfectly fine.
EDIT: In response to the previous post: maybe writing all of them by hand is more personal, but it’s far too time-consuming for most of us. Like many traditions, you need to figure out whether it is practical for you or more trouble than it’s worth. Besides, a nicely printed envelope looks much better than an envelope with messy writing.
Contemporary cute (hunting theme) wedding invitations?
September 14, 2009
My fiance likes to hunt and I like contemporary type of things- i am having a really hard time finding wedding invitations we both like – any suggestions?
I have searched on the net and there is nothing that fits us both.. thanks!
i would go for the contemporary theme and leave the hunting out of it…. unless you can design and make something yourself i can’t imagine you’ll find many hunting themed wedding invitations, hunting’s main themes are killing, shooting, and death… not things most people want to show their guests regarding their wedding. maybe you can use contemporary design and green and brown colors (camoflauge).
Wedding invitation etiquette regarding "no gift box" request?
September 14, 2009
My fiance and I are getting married in his country. Pretty much straight after the wedding, we plan to move back to the country we live in. We both know that any gifts his relatives might give us will be difficult to be carried back to our country. We’re thinking of writing "no gift box" on our invitation card that encourage people to give money instead of gifts cos it will mean much more to us then. The thing is that we really dont know how to write it in a polite way and to write it in the way that people would understand and not getting offended by it. Please help!!! Any advices is appreciated! THANKS
If you’re going to write "No boxed gifts" ("no gift box" doesn’t make sense), then you might as well just sell tickets to the wedding instead. You never directly tell a guest what to give you as a gift. The gift is of their choosing.
Unless you’re inviting a whole bunch of people to your wedding that neither you nor your fiance know, then people already understand your issue of transporting bulky objects, and will likely give you money in one form or another (cash, checks, gift cards). Leave it at that.
