Do you have questions about addressing your invitations? We connected with Charlotte Miller and Betsey Reiche; the owners of the San Francisco made wooden card company, B-Spired for their advice. Once your invitations have arrived, and your guest list is finalized, the next step is addressing the invitations, which is no simple feat! Here are their tips and for addressing your invitations simply and flawlessly.
Pro tip: The rule of thumb for addressing invitations is to spell everything out. This includes both names as well as addresses.
Example:
Mr. and Mrs. John Smith
2685 Pacific Avenue
San Francisco, California 94115
For the inner envelope, write their respective title and the last name, omitting the first and middle names.
Example: Mr. Smith
How to address the Outer Envelope:
Married Couple
The proper format for a married couple is to spell out the first and last name of the husband. If you wish to include the husband’s middle name, then spell it out, as well.
Example: Mr. and Mrs. John Mason or Mr. and Mrs. John Robert Mason
Female Flying Solo
For your single female guests, address the invitation as “Ms.” For female guests under 18, use “Miss” instead.
Example: Ms. Charlotte Scott or Miss Charlotte Scott
The Bachelor
For your single male guests, address the invitation as “Mr.”
Example: Mr. Brock Miles
Unmarried Couple Who Lives Together
For unmarried couples living together, you would put address the male first, then the female.
Example:
Mr. Timothy Miller
Ms. Samantha Roberts
Military Title
For a woman who outranks her husband, put her name first.
Example: The Honorable Christine Droessler and Mr. Matthew Droessler
Doctor Title
For a woman who outranks her husband, put her name first.
Example: Dr. Mary Russell and Mr. Scott Russell
For couples who are both doctors and use the same last name, address the invitation as “The Doctors” and their last name.
Example: The Doctors Miller
For couples who are both doctors but use different last names, you would use their title “Dr.” then spell out both their first and last names putting the party with the higher ranking first.
Example: Dr. Samantha Jones and Dr. Samuel Goodman
The Plus One
When you know the name of the guest, you should address the invitation according to the above rules.
Example:
Mr. Michael Rocks
Ms. Ruth Goodman
For guests with a plus one and you do not know the name of the guest, address the outer envelope as according to the rules above. On the inner envelope, you would then address it with “and Guest”.
Example: Outer Envelope: Mr. John Marks, Inner Envelope: Mr. Marks and Guest
Love the look of B-Spired? You can find their greeting cards and custom invitations here.