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  • Invitations should be mailed six weeks to eight weeks prior to the event.  If you are planning a summer or holiday wedding
    you can choose to send a Save the Date cards about eight to four months before your  event. These cards are especially
    helpful for out-of-town guests.

  • Take a completed invitation with all your enclosures to your post office and have them weight your invitation so you will
    know the cost of the stamp that you will need for your invitation to be mailed out to your guests.  Never assume that you
    know how much mailing an invitation will cost. Can you imagine anything more heart-breaking than getting back all your
    beautifully addressed invitations because you were short on postage?

  • Ask you post office to hand canceling your invitations. This will help to ensure that large, thick, or oddly sized envelopes
    don’t get caught in processing machines. It can also minimize the amount of printing (for example, bar codes) the post office
    adds to your envelopes.

  • 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. Eric Washington
        265 Main Street
        Vernon, Connecticut 06066

  • 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. Hartford

  • 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. Power
        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 or Ms. Nancy Summers
        Mr. Robert Williams

  • 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.

  • In addressing clergymen, military officers and medical doctors, always use their titles in full:

         The Right Reverend William Prentice (Clergy)

       Doctor and Mrs. Martin Swift

       Doctor Patricia Neddles (Married Woman Doctor)
       Mr. Charles Lyons  

       Doctors Sam and
       Mary Hepler  (both Doctors)

       Colonel and Mrs. Quinlan Roberts

       The Honorable and Mrs. Thurgood Thompson
       General and Mrs. Barry Lynch (Officer - Male who is active duty or retired from the service)

       Captain Sandra Kellerman, U.S. Army
       Mr. Anthony Giminiani (Officer - Female who is active duty or retired from the service)

  • Single guest unmarried woman over 18 or a divorced women who retains her maiden name should be address as Miss her
    first name and maiden name

        Miss Jennifer Johnson

  • Divorced woman who uses her married name should be either Mrs. or Ms. first name and married name

        Mrs.  Susan Smith or Ms. Susan Smith

  • Same gender couple, their names would appear on separate lines in alphabetically by last name

        Miss or Ms. Sharon Black                                                                               
       Miss or Ms. Janet Brown   

  • Children over 18 years old should be considered adults and receive their own invitation, even if still at the home of their
    parents who will also be invited to your wedding

  • 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.