How to address wedding envelopes
A handy guide to wedding envelope etiquette
Once you’ve decided on your wedding invitation wording and it’s time to slide your beautiful invitation safely inside its envelope, there’s still the matter of what to write on the front. But deciding how to address envelopes for everyone on your guest list isn’t as simple as it sounds. With different scenarios to consider (married couples, unmarried couples, singletons, those with plus ones and so on) and titles to get right (Ms. Mr. Dr. etc), it’s easy to forget where to start. So to offer a helping hand when you’ve got a million other things to prep and plan, we’ve put together this quick, simple guide to wedding envelope addressing.
To a single male
Use ‘Mr’ if the person is over 18. Otherwise omit.
Contemporary: Joel Harrison
Traditional: Mr Joel Harrison or Mr Harrison
To a single female
Traditionally, ‘Ms’ is used by women regardless of their marital status and ‘Miss’ for unmarried women, usually those under 18. Of course, these are old-fashioned rules, and today you can go with whatever you like!
Contemporary: Yasmin Lin
Traditional: Ms Yasmin Lin or Ms Lin
To a single person with a plus one
The envelope should only feature the name of the person you know, and the invitation should include their name ‘and guest.’
Contemporary: Lillie Ellis
Traditional: Miss Lillie Ellis or Miss Ellis
To an unmarried couple
For unmarried couples who live at the same address, include both names on one line, listing the person closest to you first. If you know the couple equally well, place the names in alphabetical order.
Contemporary: Ed and Kara
Traditional: Mr Ed Parsons and Ms Kara Porter
To a married couple
Contemporary: Carlos and Maria or Mr Carlos & Maria Hamilton
Traditional: Mr and Mrs Hamilton or Mr & Mrs Carlos Hamilton
To a married couple with different surnames
Once again, list the person you're closest with first. If you know both guests equally well, it’s tradition to open with female’s name.
Contemporary: Georgina Evans and Simon Khan or Mr Khan & Mrs Evans
Traditional: Mrs Georgina Evans and Mr Simon Khan
To a family with children
Contemporary: The Underwoods
Traditional: Mr and Mrs Simon Underwood, Lola, Charles and Eva.
To children of friends/family 18 and older
The children of friends and family who are over 18 and no longer live with their parents should receive their own invitation
Contemporary: Rachel or Miss Thompson
Traditional: Ms. Rachel Thompson
To a single person with a title
Contemporary: Dr Smiles
Traditional: Doctor Erica Smiles
To a married person with a title
Contemporary: Dr Isabelle and Mr Josh Steele (if the woman takes her husband’s name day-to-day)
Traditional: Professor Andrew Jackson and Mrs Angela Johnson
Our envelope addressing options
At Papier, we offer recipient addressing and return envelope addressing. Upload your guests’ addresses and a return address, special date or initials to the reverse of your envelopes, and we’ll print each one neatly for you. It’ll add a beautiful finishing touch to your Papier post and save you tons of handwriting, freeing up precious time so you can get on with planning the rest of your big day.
Recipient addressing – 25p per envelope
You can upload your recipient addresses by downloading and completing our handy spreadsheet, or add them manually one by one.
Add your return address - 25p per envelope
Include a return address or add your name, initials or a special date for a sophisticated touch. Whatever you write will show across the back of all your envelopes.