Addressing your save the dates and wedding invitations

When addressing your wedding invitations there are some etiquette rules one should follow.  Addressing your envelopes will be a time-consuming venture.  It is a necessary evil and you will want to get started sooner rather than later.  Instead of sitting down and doing them all in one sitting plan on doing 10-20 per day to avoid hand cramps.  Here are a few things to remember when addressing your envelopes.

1. Address the envelopes to only those invited- this may seem obvious but it can lead to confusion.  If you are having an adult only wedding you won’t want to address the invitation to “The Smith Family” but instead to “Mr. and Mrs. Smith.”  If you have a single friend and you don’t want to address it to “Mr. Friend and guest” if you don’t want them to bring a plus 1.  You want to be sure to be diligent in addressing to avoid confusion.
2. Return address- We are all used to seeing the return address on the upper left corner of mail.  For wedding stationery, the return address traditionally goes on the back flap and centered.  Some people still choose to put the return address on the front and that is ok if you are having a more casual wedding.  When I do address printing for my clients I always put it on the back flap.
3. Stick to mailing rules- You may want to make artistic decisions in addressing your envelopes (which is a wonderful way to make them stand out) but make sure you follow postal guidelines for address formatting.  If you don’t follow guidelines your invitations and save the dates will not get to your guests and will be returned to you.
4. Name formatting- Etiquette dictates that nicknames should not be used when addressing your wedding invitations.  Even if you have never heard your Uncle Jim called “James” your invitations should be addressed using his legal name.  Proper titles should also be used including military rank, doctor, honorable (for judges), as well as the proper female title (Ms., Miss, or Mrs.).

Keywords: wedding, wedding invitations, save the dates, wedding etiquette, invitation addressing
Photo by Marina Goktas Photography https://marinagoktas.com/