The series continues. Kudos to Kailyn Clay once again for doing the extra research to provide some useful information regarding your Big Day registry! Do you have a burning wedding etiquette question? Let us know over on Facebook!
#mannersmonday: Addressing Wedding Invitation Envelopes | by guest blogger: Kailyn Clay
It’s about 12 weeks before the wedding day, and Jamie Lynne Creative has supplied the final, assembled wedding invitations. They’re glossy and flawless; exactly what you wanted. Now all that’s left to do is get them in the mail, which means addressing every single one.
If you’re not up for addressing each envelope by hand, there is always the option of hiring a calligrapher or asking a friend or family member with impeccable penmanship to help you out.
Even with someone else handling that detail, it’s up to you and your fiancé to determine how each envelope should be addressed. And how each envelope should be addressed depends on a few factors about each person or persons that you’re inviting.
While addressing the envelope to a married couple is pretty self explanatory, there are other family situations which make the appropriate addressing less obvious. What if one of them is a doctor? What if you’re inviting a family where the parent is divorced but steadily dating someone new? How do you address the envelope for your aunt and uncle’s family when your cousin lives in Colorado during the school year and spends summers at home?
Here’s a short cheat sheet to get you started:
Unmarried woman:
“Ms.” should generally be used, as in “Ms. Jennifer Andrews,” for any single woman, unless she is very young, like 16 years old or younger.
An entire family:
Simply add “and family” to the “Mr. and Mrs.” address, as in “Mr. and Mrs. Joshua Smith and Family.
A single parent and children:
“Mr. Joshua Smith and Family.”
The officiant:
“The Reverend and Mrs. Joshua Smith”
One of the pair is a doctor:
“Dr. and Mrs. Joshua Smith” or “Dr. Amanda Smith and Mr. Joshua Smith.”
Of course, there are many more family situations you may find among your wedding guests. For other trustworthy sources for addressing envelopes, especially if you’re using a very traditional, outer and inner envelope system, check out these additional websites:
http://emilypost.com/advice/guide-to-addressing-correspondence/
https://www.theknot.com/content/addressing-wedding-invitations
And to ensure you have exceptional wedding invitations, ordering from Jamie Lynne Creative is the way to start. You’ll be given a beautiful blank canvas to address to your guests for your special day.
