Envelope Addressing

You’ve finally completed the difficult task of creating the wedding guest list and tracking down all those home addresses … who would have thought that would be the easy part! So, following is a list of the most commonly asked about situations and the appropriate way to letter them all.

Single adult guest: Mr. First then Last OR Ms. First then Last. If a guest is expected, spell out the word “and”

Ms. Julia Richards

Ms. Julia Richards and Guest

Unmarried couple that lives together: Names are listed on separate lines without using “and”between.

Ms. Megan Childs

Mr. Charles Richards

Married couple with same last name: It is traditional and formal to use the husband’s first and last name.

Mr. and Mrs. Adam Rubenfeld

Married, different last names: names can be listed in any order, unless one is a Doctor which would be listed first. If both are doctors, use “Doctors” with names following

Mr. Peter Ulday and Mrs. Anne Smith

Dr. Anne and Mr. Peter Ulday

Doctors Anne and Peter Ulday

If married with different last names, where one last name is hyphenated, the hyphenated name is listed second.

Entire family invited: “and family” is okay, but informal. Better to list the couple on the top line and then list each child, oldest to youngest, on the second line.

Mr. and Mrs. Scott McDowell

Cole, Riley, Lily

Note: Every child invited over the age of 18 should receive their own invitation.

Inner envelopes: That could use it’s own write up, but generally speaking, the outer envelope is formal and the inner informal. It is a place to list everyone who is invited to attend. A few examples of how outer and inner envelopes work together:

Outer: Ms. Julia Richards Inner: Julia

Outer: Mr. and Mrs. Adam Rubenfeld Inner: Mr. and Mrs. Rubenfeld OR Adam and Nicole

Outer: Mr. and Mrs. Scott McDowell and Family Inner: Scott, Mary, Cole, Riley, Lily

And finally, more rules!

Please spell out “and” between names over using the ampersand

Spell out the state (I only use state abbreviations if I will run out of space)

The zip code should be on the same line as the city and state (again, if space is an issue, the zip code can be on a fourth line.

Again, all of the suggestions above are just that! But if you are looking for the “appropriate” (read: traditional) way to address your envelopes, then this is your guide! Remember that the envelope is the very first thing guests will see (even before the invitation) and will be their first impression of your wedding. So make it a good one.