Wedding Invitation Addressing Guide

Step 2:   Determine Guest Type

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Every single invitation you will send out will fall into one of the following three types:

One key to the entire process is understanding that each step is virtually independent of the others. The titles you assign people do not have any effect on the type of contact. Titles are essentially part of guest's names and the types are rules for how all their information should appear on their invitations.

Likewise, the actual address has no bearing on the rules of each type. Therefore, all the below examples will use personal titles and the address "123 Main Street, Memphis, TN 38103"

Type 1:     Single Addressee

This type consists of just one person's information. When you have only one name to send an invitation to, this is the proper format to use for each envelope of the invitation:

For a single guest, the outer envelope displays their title, first name and last name all on the same line. Below that is their mailing information. The inner envelope of a single guest does not include their first name or mailing information. It just shows their title and last name.

The only place that " and Guest" is written is on the inner envelope. Furthermore, the ability for the people you are inviting to bring a guest is at your discretion. You do not have to allow guests.

Type 2:     Couple With Same Last Name

This guest type is a married couple who share the exact same last name. If the wife hyphenates her name or uses a different last name, then Type 3 would apply to their invitation.

When you are mailing to a married couple who share the same last name, this is the proper format to use:

The outer envelope displays the husband's title, the word "and", the wife's title, the husband's first name and then the husband's last name. Remember, these examples use only personal titles. If the wife was a doctor, judge, or in the military, she would receive her proper professional title instead of "Mrs.". The same is true for the husband, he would receive his proper professional title.

There is one exception to this case. If the husband and wife share the same professional title (both are doctors, both are judges, etc.), then their envelopes would be addressed as such:

When a married couple with the same last name share a professional title, the outer envelope displays a pluralized title, both of their first names and their last name. The inner envelope, displays a pluralized title followed by their last name.

Type 3:     Couple With Different Last Names

This type includes couples who have different last names, regardless of their relationship. The overriding rule for this case is that each individual's name will appear on its own line. This is true for both the inner and the outer envelope. Determining who gets top billing is they key to addressing these envelopes correctly.

If the couple is married, then the wife will appear on the first line and her husband on the second, as such:

If the couple is not married, then you list them alphabetically by their last names. The person's gender and title has nothing to do with it.

If a couple is not married and not living at the same address then you should not include them on the same invitation. In that instance, you can mail one invitation to each person or mail just one invitation to the person with whom you are closest and allow a guest. As far as etiquette is concerned, both ways are proper and your relationship with that couple should dictate which method is chosen.