The Proper Way To Address Wedding Invitations
Wedding
Invitation Envelopes:
Wedding invitations used to be delivered by hand. Brides had
footmen who would deliver invitations to each guest's home, where servants
would receive the package, remove the invitation from the outer envelope, and
hand them to the appropriate member of the household to whom the inner envelope
was addressed. While this is no longer
a necessary convention (unless you do, in fact, have a footman at your
disposal), it's a tradition that many brides continue to follow with formal invitations.
Traditional wedding invitations
are complied of an inner and an outer envelope:
The larger outer envelope contains:
Recipient's Name
Street address
Return address
Postage
The inner envelope has less information (usually only the name
of the person(s) being invited). Traditionally, the inner envelope is not sealed with a gummed flap. You may
either tuck the flap inside or place a seal on top of the flap to seal it
loosely. The inner envelope should be
addressed as if you are hand delivering it.
A chart detailing inner/outer addressing
As contemporary invitations and new styles are becoming
increasingly popular, many do not include an inner envelope, but rather just
one outer envelope. Please make sure to
pay close attention to this detail (which can be found in the individual
product description) if having both and outer and inner envelopes,
or outer envelopes only, is important to you.
More about inner and outer envelopes here
Abbreviations
Traditional
etiquette says that you should abbreviate absolutely nothing. It has recently become acceptable to
abbreviate titles (Dr., Mrs., etc.). It
will be up to you how closely you want to adhere to traditional rules as
writing everything out can be time consuming and in some cases costly. Writing out street numbers and state names
is an elegant touch, but it can also be a daunting task and even delay the
delivery of your invitations. The
United States Post Office would rather you adhere to standard abbreviations
("CA" instead of "California"). Either
option is acceptable and left to your own personal judgment.
Hand Addressing
Traditional
etiquette says that your invitations should be hand addressed in black
ink. This too is a time consuming task!
Consider enlisting the help of friends and family whose handwriting you admire.
MyGatsby.com
offers lovely computerized calligraphy of your guests' names and addresses on
the outer envelopes of select Mix ‘n Match invitations. As a stunning final touch to your
invitations, we can print to match your invitation and enclosure ensemble
perfectly. This option will not only impress guests, it will save you valuable
time and prevent printing mistakes.
The Return Address
The
return address should be printed (again, by hand if possible) on the back envelope flap. This should the address of the person or
persons hosting the event. For example, if the bride's parents are hosting the
wedding, the invitations should use the parents' address. Traditionally, names are not included on a
formal return address. It's important to note that guests who are unable to
attend or who wish to send their gift before or after your wedding date will
send packages to this address.
Traditionally
speaking, the names of the bride and groom should not appear together in print
until after the wedding. In most cases, if an unmarried couple is living
together, the return address should be addressed to the bride only.
For more Wedding Invitation
Mailing Etiquette, click here.
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