Wedding Envelope Etiquette

Now that you are getting married, you will need to invite people also to that wedding, unless you wish for it to be a private affair. Since a wedding is a time for celebration, if you are not careful about how you word the invitation and address the envelope, you risk offending your guests. There are lots of things that need to be kept in mind when writing on the envelope of your wedding invitation. The very first thing you should do before addressing the invitations is to do your homework on all your guests. Find out what they do and what their marital status is. This is very important because if you were to address the envelope in a way that does not conform to the marital status of your guest, then you might seem insensitive.

Invitation Envelope Etiquette
Wedding envelope etiquette is very important if you don’t want to seem like a rude and ill-mannered host. These tips will help you ensure that your wedding invitations are addressed properly.

The most basic etiquette you will need to follow is to make sure that you address the invitation to the right person. If the card is meant for Mr. Smith and is sent to Mr. Jerry, you have made a mistake and potentially damaged the relationship that you share with both of them.
Another basic etiquette you would do well to follow would be to make sure that you use the correct envelope for the invitation. It would not look nice if you sent the invitation in an envelope that was clearly not meant for that card.
Make sure that you do not use initials on the envelope. It is always better to write out the full name of the guest. In case you are not sure about the middle names, you can always skip it and write just the first name and the surname.
Make sure that the card and the envelope have the right combination of words on them. For example, if you are getting married in a church or any other holy place, then you should use the would ‘honour’ (we request the honour of your…) and if you are getting married at home or at a club then you could use the word ‘pleasure’ (we request the pleasure of your…).
Keep in mind that despite the growing popularity of the american spellings, it is generally considered good if you were to use british spellings on the cards and envelops. For example instead of writing ‘honor’, it would be better if you wrote ‘honour’.
It would also serve you well if you kept the marital status of your guests in mind and addressed them accordingly when you write on the envelope.
If you are inviting a couple, you should address both the husband and the wife on the envelope. For example, when inviting a couple always write Mr. and Mrs. Name. If you are addressing the invitation to a commissioned officer of the defense services (serving or retired) ensure that you address them by the proper rank (Colonel Name or Lieutenant Commander Name) instead of using Mr. or Mrs. Remember not to abbreviate or change the rank and if the officer is married then write the name as Colonel and Mrs. Name. However if the guest is an enlisted person, you can use Mr. or Mrs.
If you are inviting someone who is single and you don’t mind them bringing a guest along, you should address the envelope to Mr. Name and ‘Guest’. In case you are inviting a friend and their boyfriend or girlfriend, it would be nice to mention both the names on the envelope. In this case you need not follow the practice of writing the full name of both the guests; just the first names would do.

It may seem like a lot to absorb, but if you follow these few tips, you are less likely to sound rude when you are inviting people to your wedding.

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