You’ve made your guest list and now you are ready to get those invitations out!

Let’s face it, not too many of us address envelopes on a regular basis these days. I remember feeling overwhelmed with the daunting task of addressing our invitations, which was probably magnified by the fact that I am super picky about being grammatically correct. Add in the fact that you have two sets of envelopes to address, both with different rules, and you may just want to give up and send everyone a Facebook invitation.

You want your invitations to look formal, so here are some guidelines and examples to help you in the process.

First of all, let’s talk about the two envelopes. The outer envelope is for mailing. You should include the adults being invited with first and last names. Do not use any abbreviations on this envelope except for titles. States should be spelled out or written with the two capital letter abbreviation. Decide how you want to do that and stay consistent.

The inside envelope is where you will be very clear about who all is invited. If kids are invited, they should be listed here by name. This is also where you will let people know if they are allowed to bring a guest. This envelope does not need any other information.

Single Guests – Examples

Outer Envelope: Miss (or Ms.) Lacy Carter

Inner Envelope: Miss (or Ms.) Carter (and Guest)

 

Outer Envelope: Mr. Jason Smith

Inner Envelope: Mr. Smith (and Guest)

Of course, if a guest is not included in the invitation you would leave that off.

 

Couples – Examples

Outer Envelope: Mr. and Mrs. Adam Shoufler or Mr. Adam and Mrs. Karen Shoufler

Even if children are invited, you don’t need to include them on the outer envelope. Only address the adults on this envelope.

Inner Envelope:  Mr. and Mrs. Shoufler

Lexee, Hallee, Ainslee, Kolbee, and Brynlee (this line would be under the first line and list first names of kids from oldest to youngest)

If kids’ names are not listed, they are not invited. You may still get some people that assume their kids are invited. Make sure whoever is in charge of receiving the RSVP cards keeps an eye out for uninvited kids added to the RSVP. Some people may just need a kind phone call explaining the situation.

Children 18 and older should receive their own invitation.

This is the basic format you will use for all of your envelopes. Hoewever, there are many cases that aren’t quite as easy to figure out! We will discuss those on the blog next week. If you have a special circumstance that you are questioning, leave me a comment. I will make sure to address them next week.

For all of my Wedding Wednesday posts full of tips and tricks for brides, click here or click on the “for brides” section below.