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Addressing envelopes
Pick the guest and the formality; the envelope writes itself. The same rules run our printed addressing and our hand calligraphy.
The envelope
412 Cherry Lane
Austin, Texas 78701
Printed addressing follows these rules automatically from your guest list; hand calligraphy follows them by hand. Addressing options →
Where things go
Guest address centred on the front, three or four lines. Return address on the back flap for a wedding (the one place etiquette prefers the back), or top-left of the front for everything else. RSVP envelopes carry your address on the front and a stamp already on.
The rules
- Formal envelopes spell everything out: Street, Avenue, Apartment, the state name, no abbreviations except Mr., Mrs., Ms., Dr.
- Pluralise a family name by adding s or es: the Okafors, the Joneses. Never an apostrophe.
- Order: the person you know best first, or alphabetical when you know both equally. For married couples sharing a name, "Mr. and Mrs. James Okafor" is the formal form; "James and Amara Okafor" is the warm one.
- Children under 18 are listed by first name on the line under their parents; over 18, they get their own invitation.
- When you are unsure of a title, use the name without one. A wrong title is worse than none.
Every guest
- Single guest: Ms. Priya Raman
- With a plus-one: Ms. Priya Raman and Guest
- Married, same name: Mr. and Mrs. James Okafor
- Married, different names: Mr. James Okafor and Mrs. Amara Nwosu, on one line or two
- Unmarried couple at one address: each name on its own line
- Same-sex couple: the same rules; order by who you know best or alphabetically
- Family: parents on the first line, children by first name on the second
- Distinguished titles: Doctor, Captain, The Honourable, Reverend, spelled out on formal envelopes; the titled person goes first
Return address, seals and postage
The return address is set once in the Suite Builder and printed on every outer envelope and the RSVP envelope. A wax seal or sticker goes on the back flap over the point; on a square or thick envelope, expect a non-machinable postage surcharge. Weigh one fully assembled suite at the post office before you buy stamps for all of them.