Don't let invite etiquette trip you up.
The etiquette of addressing formal invitation envelopes can leave you scratching your head. When you're inviting a single mom or a family where not everyone has the same last name, the formal address gets tricky. Don't fret about making an etiquette faux pas. Just educate yourself on the proper titles, and your wedding invitations will make the invitee smile.
Instructions
1. Address an invitation to a a female guest that is single and not married, with Ms. in front of her first and last name. For example, "Ms. Sally Brown."
2. Use Mrs. in front of the guest's first and last name if it is a female guest who is divorced but still uses her married name. For example, "Mrs. Sally Rose." You can also use Ms. in this instance. Use whichever courtesy title you think the recipient would prefer.
3. Address an envelope to a female guest that is divorced and now uses her maiden name, with the same address you would use for a single female, for example, "Ms. Sally Brown."
4. Use Mr. in front of an unmarried male guest's first and last name. For example, "Mr. Bobby Rose."
5. Address the envelope of the invitation to a married couple using the same last name with "Mr. and Mrs." in front of the first and last name of the husband. For example, "Mr. and Mrs. Bobby Rose."
6. For a married couple where the wife kept her maiden name, you would address it as "Mrs. Sally Brown & Mr. Bobby Rose."
7. Send an invitation to an an unmarried couple that does not live with each other only to the more intimate friend. Address her as a single female, "Ms. Sally Brown."
8. Inviting an unmarried couple that lives with each other, means you address the invitation to both as single people, but you would do so alphabetically by last name. So, in the case of Sally and Bobby, it would be "Ms. Sally Brown & Mr. Bobby Rose."
9. If you have a same gender couple, address them alphabetically by their last names. For example, "Ms. Sally Brown & Ms. Susan Smith."
10. Do not include children under 18 on the outside envelope. Children over the age of 18 should be sent their own wedding invitation, even if you are already sending one to their parents and they live at home with them.
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