Basic Wedding Invitation Etiquette
When choosing your invitations, keep in mind some basic etiquette before you send them off to your guests.
Proper wedding invitation etiquette is essential in order to ensure that you make a great first impression on your guests. It is often the first point of contact for some of your guests and the first impression that the two of you will make as a couple. Following the general guidelines for etiquette can help you to avoid making any embarrassing mistakes.
If you have decided to send wedding invitations by mail, the wedding invitation should have two envelopes; an inner and an outer envelope. The envelope is the first point of contact for the guest. This should be addressed properly and formally. Here are some guidelines for proper envelope etiquette:
• When indicating if an invitee can bring a guest, address the envelope to only the invitee. Indicate on the inner envelope that a guest is welcome by addressing the invitee “and Guest.”
• Place the first names of children of invitees on the inner envelop underneath the names of the parents.
• Address divorced female guests as “Miss.”
• Couples who live together but are not married should be addressed separately on the outer and inner envelopes. Women should be addressed as “Miss.”
The above rules apply to wedding invitation etiquette when invitations are sent by mail. However, popularity of e-mail invitations has set a premise for a new type of wedding invitation etiquette; the e-mail wedding invitation etiquette.
• Be careful about adding a web address to e-mail wedding invitations. The content of the site should be carefully considered. If the website is to indicate where you are registered or is not relative to the wedding, it is best to leave the web address off of the invitation.
• E-mail wedding invitations should take into consideration that not all guests have access to the internet. For guests that do not have an e-mail address or don’t access the internet regularly, a formal card in the mail should be sent.
Planning a wedding can seem like an overwhelming task. The desire to ensure that all details are perfect and accurately commemorate your new life together is normal. Understanding some of this basic wedding invitation etiquette and following the guidelines can help you to have one less thing to worry about.
