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Helpful Hints for Addressing and Assembling Wedding Invitations
We have prepared this handy guide to help make the addressing
and assembly of your wedding stationery a simple task. An
orderly approach will not only save time, but also reflects your
personal care and thoughtfulness.
Addressing
Before you begin addressing, make sure that you have a well
organized guest list, complete with full names and addresses.
Using 3 x 5 cards gives you flexibility and a simple way to
record names and addresses, acceptances, regrets and thank you's.
This also allows you to separate your guests into three
categories:
-
Those to
receive a wedding announcement
-
Guests to
receive an invitation to the ceremony only
-
Guests who
will be invited to both the ceremony and the reception
Your invitations should be addressed by hand in black ink. To
create an added touch of elegance, you may wish to call upon a
friend with beautiful handwriting or hire a calligrapher to do
the addressing.
Traditionally, two envelopes are used for wedding invitations
and announcements. The inner envelope, which may be plain or
lined, is without glue and remains unsealed. It is used to
enclose the invitation or announcement and any accompanying
cards. It also insures the delivery of the invitation itself in
a clean envelope. The outer envelope has a glued flap and is
used for the complete mailing address. The guest's full name is
always used on the outer envelope followed by the street
address:
Mr. and Mrs. Laurence Sutton
908 South Main Street
Hingham, Massachusetts 02043
Nicknames or abbreviations should be avoided when possible
except for Mr., Mrs., Dr., Jr., etc. and for military rank. You
may use an initial if you do not know the full name or if the
person never uses his given name. Cities, states, and numbered
streets are written out in full. Remember to include zip codes.
The inner envelope always carries the last names only with no
address:
Mr. and Mrs. Wilford
The phrase "and family" should be avoided. If you wish to
include younger children, they should be mentioned by first
name, according to age, on the line following that of their
parents:
Mr. and Mrs. Wilford
Mark, Cynthia, Thomas
These names should appear on the inner envelope only. The outer
envelope would be simply addressed to the parents. Never write
"No Children" on the invitation or envelope. If you do not want
children to attend, the situation should be handled verbally.
Formally, dates of single guests should be sent separate
invitations. You may wish to enclose a personal note in the
invitation of a single guest saying. "Please bring an escort" or
"Please bring Miss Marie Quinn".
Two unmarried people who reside at the same address may be sent
a single invitation. Their names would appear on separate lines
in alphabetic order:
Miss (Ms.) Roberta Trent
Mr. Robert Williamson
This same format may also be used when inviting a married
couple, if the wife has kept her maiden name or uses a
professional title.
Divorced women are formally addressed by their maiden name plus
their married name:
Mrs. Benton Dover
However, contemporary etiquette does allow for the use of the
woman's first name:
Mrs. Janet Dover
A widowed woman is always addressed using her husband's first
and last names:
Mrs. Henry Clearmont
In addressing clergymen, military officers and medical doctors,
always use their titles in full:
The Right Reverend William Prentice
Doctor and Mrs. Martin Swift
Colonel and Mrs. Quinlan Roberts
The return address may be written, imprinted or embossed on the
flap of the outer envelope. Your return address should be
included on the outer envelope so the invitation can be returned
to you if the address is incorrect or if the invitation is not
deliverable for some reason.
How to Prepare for Mailing
Your invitations and announcements will arrive flat. Single fold
invitations should be folded with the printing on the outside.
Those with a cover design should be folded with the design on
the outside and the imprinted area on the inside. If the
invitation is folded a second time, all insertions are placed
inside the second fold with the
printed copy facing the flap of the envelope.
Assemble Your Invitations in the Following Manner
With the invitation face up place the tissue over the imprint
area. Enclosure cards are then placed face up on top of the
tissue with the reception card closest to the invitation.
Remember to place a postage stamp on the response envelope. The
invitation and accompanying cards should then be placed inside
the inner envelope. The printed side faces you, leading into the
envelope with the folded edge first.
Note that at-home cards bearing the couple's married name should
not be sent with the invitation.
Finally, the inner envelope, with all of the contents mentioned
above, is inserted into the outer envelope. The guest's name
should face the back of the outer envelope so that it is seen
immediately when removed from the outer envelope.
Mailing
It is advisable to have an invitation weighed at the Post Office
before buying your stamps. Occasionally, invitations with lined
envelopes and several enclosure cards require extra postage.
Additionally, due to their shape, square invitations also
require extra postage. The use of a decorative postage stamp is
always a nice added touch.
Your invitations should be mailed six to eight weeks before the
wedding. Announcements and at-home cards are always mailed after
the wedding has taken place.
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