How to Address the Wedding Invitation Envelope

Address a wedding invitation sounds like a fairly straight-forward job on the surface, that is until you start going through your guest list and you get to your favorite cousin, Lucy who is currently shacking up with her new boyfriend. You want to invite them both but how do you properly address the envelope?

Below is a guide to addressing the wedding invitations for just about every situation you will come across:

Single Guests

Unmarried woman over 18 or a divorced woman who keeps her maiden name:
Outer envelope:
Miss (or Ms.) Mary White
Inner envelope:
Miss (or Ms.) White and guest

Divorced woman who uses her married name:
Outer envelope: Mrs. Jane Smith
Inner envelope: Mrs. Smith and guest

Unmarried or Divorced Man:
Outer envelope:
Mr. Joseph Smith
Inner envelope:
Mr. Smith and guest

Couples

Married Couples
Outer envelope:
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Smith
Inner envelope:
Mr. and Mrs. Smith

Married Couple - when the wife has kept her maiden name
Outer envelope: Mrs. Mary White

Mr. Joseph Smith
Inner envelope: Mrs. White

Mr. Smith

Unmarried couples who don't live together. Proper wedding invitation etiquette would be to send the invitation to the closest friend:
Outer envelope:
Miss (or Ms.) Mary White
Inner envelope: Miss (or Ms.) White

Mr. Smith

Unmarried couples who live together should be addressed alphabetically by last name
Outer envelope:
Mr. Joseph Smith

Miss (or Ms.) Mary White

Inner envelope: Mr. Smith

Miss (or Ms.) White

Same sex couples - should be addressed alphabetically by last name:
Outer envelope:
Mr. Joseph Smith

Mr. Robert Whitmore
Inner envelope: Mr. Smith

Mr. Whitmore

Children over 18 years old whether living at home or not, should be considered as adults and receive their own invitation
Outer envelope:
Mr. Joseph Smith
Inner envelope: Mr. Smith and Guest

Other
Judge
Outer envelope:
if single: The Honorable Ronald Mitchell OR if married:The Honorable and Mrs. Ronald Mitchell
Inner envelope:
Judge Ronald OR Judge Ronald and Mrs. Mitchell

Medical Doctor
Outer envelope: if single: Doctor Ronald Mitchell OR if married: Doctor and Mrs. Ronald Mitchell
Inner envelope: Doctor Mitchell and Guest OR Doctor and Mrs. Mitchell

Married Woman Doctor
Outer envelope: Doctor Linda Patterson

Mr. Stephen Patterson
Inner envelope:
Doctor Patterson

Mr. Patterson

Married Couple, Both Doctors
Outer envelope:
Doctors Stephen and Linda Patterson
Inner envelope:
The Doctors Patterson

Clergy
Outer envelope: The Reverend Robert Mitchell
Inner envelope:
The Reverend Mitchell

Officer - Man who is on active duty or retired from the service
Outer envelope: General and Mrs. Delbert Minor
Inner envelope:
General and Mrs. Minor

Officer - Woman who is on active duty or retired from the service
Outer envelope: Captain Cheryl Geller, U.S. Army

Mr. Jacob Geller
Inner envelope:
Captain Geller

Mr. Geller

Now that you have the invitations addressed it's time to relax (for the moment) and think about that honeymoon. Happy Wedding!