Wedding Times

After you have spent hours pouring over invitation samples and deciding on things such as fonts and styles, you’ll then need to worry about actually sending them out! When it comes time to do this you’ll start to worry about things such as addresses, people’s proper names, what should be included, whether or not registry information is appropriate, and a thousand other things! All of these things fall under the ‘etiquette’ category of sending out wedding invitations and this will explain it all to you!

Etiquette for Addressing the Wedding Invitations

Addressing your wedding invitations is much trickier than it sounds. Because people on your guest list will have different titles (Mr. Miss, Mrs.), and because there may be situations that you’re not too sure how to handle properly, the simple task of writing out people’s names soon becomes very confusing and frustrating! Here are a few things to keep in mind when it’s time to address your invitations:

1. The full name of the invited guest should be included on the invitation even if the wedding and invitation are casual. You should never include nicknames and for formal invitations, the person’s title should always be included. You should also never include terms such as ‘Aunt’ or ‘Uncle’ on formal invitations.

2. If you are inviting couples that live together but are not married, you should write the male’s name first with proper title and full name and then the female’s name with proper title and full name. Example: Mr. Robert Smith and Miss Jennifer Scott.

3. If you are inviting people with children, you should only print the children’s names on the invitation and use first names only. If you are inviting the children, be sure to specifically state their names and to not simply write, “and family.” On both the invitation and the envelope, address the invitation to both parents, using both titles first, then the man’s first names, then their last name. Example: Mr. and Mrs. Robert Smith.

4. If you are inviting divorced females, you should find out if they are using their married name or their maiden name and invite them as such using the term ‘Miss.’

5. If you are inviting guests who are doctors, in the military, or have other special designations, you should include this on the invitation.

Gift Etiquette

Your wedding invitation is one of the few places that you can include your gift information, but it’s important that you never include the information in the actual invitation but instead write it on the back or include this separately with the invitation. It was once believed that asking for money or charitable contributions instead of a gift was tacky but with so many wedding traditions being modernized, it’s acceptable to do this as long as you word it correctly. Instead of “Monetary gifts will be appreciated,” say something such as, “What we really need is a honeymoon!” and your guests will get the hint. Also be sure to register somewhere for a few small items so that the guests who don’t feel comfortable giving money can still get you something special.