| Wedding Invitation Etiquette |
| Preparation: A well organized guest list is essential. There are several wedding programs and websites Atlanta Bridal, TheKnot.com .....available that help you plan your entire wedding & allow you to build a guest list. Handwritten lists are fine as long as they are legible. Your guest list should include the guests name as you wish them to appear on the invitation. Remember to include instructions for the inner envelope. Everything will be written out in full...space permitting but you can abbreviate on your list. Below are most answers to questions for invitation addressing etiquette. Here are 2 additional links for reference. Crane's (Oldest Paper Co. in America) & Emily Post. ~See an example of a guest list formatted in a Word Document or Excel Document~ Mr. and Mrs. William John Smith 123 Nowhere Road Anytown, USA 12345 Mr. and Mrs. Smith (Informal Inner Only: Uncle Bill and Aunt Sue) Ms. Jane Doe 123 Nowhere Street Apartment 1608 Anytown, USA 12345 Ms. Doe (and Guest -or- Mr. Boyfriend's name) (Informal Inner: Jane -or- Jane and Guest -or- Jane and Boyfriend's name) General Rules: Married Couples Woman keeps her maiden name *(outer - Mrs. Jane Doe and Mr. John Smith / inner - Mr. Smith and Mrs. Doe) *Be sure to note this as the word "and" will be used to show them as a couple Woman hyphenates her name *(outer - Mrs. Jane Doe-Smith and Mr. John Smith / inner - Mr. and Mrs. Smith) Woman is a Doctor, Judge, Clergy... (outer - Doctor Jane Doe and Mr. John Smith / inner - Mr. and Mrs. Smith) Both Husband and Wife are Doctors (outer - Doctors John and Jane Smith / inner - Doctors Smith) Family with Children (Outer Envelope) Mr. and Mrs. John Smith (Inner Envelope) Mr. and Mrs Smith *Christine and Christopher (Informal: John, Jane, Christine and Christopher -or- John, Jane and Family) *Small Children are listed in order by age on Inner Envelope Only. Family with Teen or Adult Children (Outer Envelope) Mr. and Mrs. John Smith *Miss Christine Smith Mr.Christopher Smith (Inner Envelope) Mr. and Mrs. Smith Miss Smith and Guest (optional) Mr. Smith and Guest (optional) *Wedding etiquette states that children over 18 years should receive their own invitation. Adult children not living at home should also receive their own invitation. Unmarried Couples Living Together Female should be listed first. Dating or Engaged Couples List invitee first and their guest second, if known equally list the female first. Same Sex Couples List best known person first. They should be listed on separate lines but the word "and" should be included before second persons name is listed to show them as a couple. Singles Woman under 18: Miss Jane Doe Woman Over 18: Ms. Jane Doe Widowed Woman: Mrs. John Smith Divorced and keeps married name: Mrs. Jane Smith Divorced but returns to maiden name: Ms. Jane Doe Foreign Countries Most foreign countries follow a different addressing formats. Please be sure your list has the accepted format. Assembling 1. Invitation, 2. Tissue (optional), 3. Reception Card, 4. Response Envelope (Don't forget the postage), 5. Response card, slipped face up beneath the flap of the response envelope, 6. Place 1-5 inside inner envelope, 7. Place inner envelope inside outer envelope, the front of inner envelope should face the back of outer envelope. Click here to see an Assembling Diagram. Mailing Wedding invitations should be mailed 6-8 weeks before the wedding. For Summer and Holiday weddings, you should mail your invitations 8 weeks before the wedding since people are more likely traveling at those times. This also gives your guests ample time to make travel arrangements and accommodations. JUST FOR FUN! Postage Your invitations size, number of enclosures and even humidity affect the postage. To determine the correct postage, you should take a completed invitation to the Post Office you will be mailing from and have it weighed. Standard invitations require a .70 stamp. Do not forget to buy .49 stamps for your response card envelopes. Ask to see their beautiful or commemorative stamp choices. Some Post Offices may offer hand stamping, be sure to ask!!! See actual example of machine stamped envelope. |