It is #WeddingWednesday! As promised, I am presenting a blog on
one of the most common questions about wedding planning!
This week’s question asks what the proper way to address your
invitations is. Often individuals find
themselves stressing over this. If you
take a breath and look at these tips, you’ll find yourself tossing those
invites in the mail in no time!
The invitation, or Save-The-Date, is the first indication to
your guests what the atmosphere of your event will be. This will help them determine what to wear,
how to groom, how they act, etc. As
such, it is important to send a clear message.
Will your event be formal? Will
it be super casual? Let’s break this
down into design/style and wording.
Design/Style
When deciding on the design and style of your invitation, the
first thing you should think about is the formality of your event. If you are hosting a White- or Black-Tie
function, a more elaborate invitation would be appropriate. Think lush paper, multi-layered envelops and
inserts.
If you are going for a laid-back, casual affair, a single
sheet/single envelop invite works great.
You could use postcards, or even email depending on the event and audience!
Don’t forget to consider your theme and/or color scheme, if you
have one. Are you planning an “under the
sea” waterside picnic? It’s probably going to be a little confusing if you send
out movie themed invitations!
Wording for Invitees
The next big hang-up is how you write the names on the
invitations. Again, first, consider the
formality of your event. If you are
hosting a White- or Black-Tie affair, formal titles are a must. Imagine if you received a lush wedding
invitation with tons of layers and inserts, but then it was addressed “Kaylee
and Simon,” instead of “Miss Kaywinnet Frye & Dr. Simon Tam.” It would be a little confusing as to the
environment of the affair.
Here are some ideas for how to word your invitations:
Man’s name first, Woman’s name second when listing them together
formally. If listing them separately
and/or informally it would be Woman’s name first, Man’s name second. If you were inviting the crew of the Serenity,
the invite might look something like this:
Formal: Mr. and Mrs. Hoban and Zoe Washburne
Informal: Zoe & Hoban Washburne
If the couple has the same last name, you can keep them on the
same line, as above. If not, you can list
them on separate lines…with the Woman’s name first, Man’s name second.
Ms. Zoe Alleyne Washburne
And
Mr. Hoban Washburne
With same-sex couples, I would follow the rule of thumb to list
the person you are closest to first (This also applies for male/female couples
where you don’t really know one of the people).
If you are just as close to both people, list them alphabetically.
Ms. Yolanda Saffron Bridget
And
Ms. Inara Serra
If you don’t have a multi-layered invite, the envelop should
list all of the individuals invited, including children. If you do have a multi-layer invitation, you
can list the adults on the outside envelop and add the children to the inner
envelop, if children are invited. I
follow the rule of listing children from oldest to youngest.
Formal: Mr. and Mrs. Hoban and Zoe Washburne, Mr. Stegosaurus,
Mr. Apatosaur, & Miss Ceratosaurus
OR
Mr. and Mrs. Washburne & Family
Informal: Zoe & Hoban Washburne, and Stegosaurus, Apatosaur,
& Ceratosaurus
OR
The Wasburne Family
In regards to single invitees, the following examples works:
Shepard Derrial Book
OR
Shepard Derrial Book and Miss River Tam
(If You Know Their Guest’s Name)
OR
Shepard Derrial Book and Guest
(If You Don’t Have a Guest Name)
When deciding to use titles, be sure to use the correct
titles. Don’t list someone as Mrs. if
she uses Dr. or hasn’t taken her husband’s last name…in which case it should be
Ms. (Unless of course it is Dr…lol!)
CORRECT: Dr. Simon Tam
INCORRECT: Mr. Simon Tam
Wording for Host(s)
When
deciding whether to list who is hosting the wedding, and if so how to word it,
once again the formality of the wedding should be taken into
consideration. A formal wedding
invitation is more likely to have the host/parental information listed. For example:
Ms. Inara Serra and Capt. Malcolm Reynolds
Wish to Invite you to the Wedding of their Daughter
Miss Kaywinnet Lee Fyre
To
Dr. Simon Tam
Son of Mr. and Mrs. Regan and Gabriel Tam
If neither set of parents is contributing to the wedding, the
bride and groom may opt to leave this out.
If they decide to list their parents’ names in the invitation, it should
be bride’s parents first, groom’s parents second. This should also be the order if both sets of
parents are contributing to the wedding.
If one set of parents is contributing, but not the other, some
may argue that the non-contributing parents should either be left off the
invitation or listed second.
I hope this helps you check off your Save-the-Date/Invitation to
do on your wedding planning checklist!
Send me your questions, and I’ll answer you in depth in a future blog!
