Today we'll be discussing Envelope Addressing!
Whether you're planning to address the envelopes yourself or have them printed to match your wedding invitations exactly, here are a few tips you can use to ensure that your beautiful invitations get exactly where they are supposed to be!
I think the most important tip to remember is No Abbreviations! Words like Street, Boulevard and Apartment should all be written out, instead of St., Blvd. and Apt. respectively. The same theory is applied to the name of the state – instead of MA, the entire name of the state should be spelled out as Massachusetts.
Typically names are addressed with accompanying titles, such as Mr. Mrs. Dr. etc. (of course, you may choose to omit these if your event is more casual). If one of the guests has a job-related title such as Dr. or Gen. they should be listed first, regardless of the gender. Some other common job-related titles include Honorable (judges), Captain, Reverend, and Rabbi. If both guests are doctors, address them as The Doctors Last Name, if they do not share a common last name use Dr. with each full name, in alphabetical order. Although PhDs should be congratulated on their scholastic achievements, they just get the standard Mr., Mrs. or Ms. when being addressed.
If the couple shares a last name you may address them as Mr. and Mrs. Husband’s First Last. If the couple is married and does not share a last name, or is unmarried, there are two schools of thought. The first is to order the names alphabetically by last name, for example, Ms. Lucy Allen and Mr. Greg Sherwood. The second, is to list the person you know best, first.
Married same sex couples with different last names would be addressed alphabetically as well. If the couple shares a last name they can be addressed as ‘Messrs’ (yes, really) or ‘Madames’ with each first name and the shared last, Madames Ellen & Tracey Smith.
If a women is widowed she should still be addressed according to her late husband’s name (ie Mrs. Henry Greene). Divorced women get addressed as Mrs. First Former Married Last, unless she has chosen to use her maiden name.
Got all that?
Envelope addressing a service we offer that can save you time and money! We can design & print your envelopes to match your invitation suite exactly. Once they arrive in your hands they just need to be stamped and stuffed, a total timesaver! Printing the addresses directly onto the envelopes is also less costly than traditional calligraphy.