Etiquette Tips

For Your Invitations

When it comes to invitations, a lot of questions can arise as far as wording, guests names and titles, as well as who does and does not receive an individual invitation - below you will find some commonly asked questions, and some helpful answers!

Q: A female on our guest list is divorced. Do I address her invitation as Miss. or Ms.?

A: Unless she holds a title, such as Dr., she should be referred to as Ms. on her invitation.

Q: We are inviting the children of a family on our guest list - do we address the invitation with their full names, first names only or do they receive an individual invitation?

A: If the children are under the age of 18, you only need to put their first name(s) on the invitation. However, if the child is over 18 and still residing at home, you can either address their full name on the invitation to their parents or send them their own invitation addressed individually to them.

Q: How do I address an invitation that is being sent to a couple who are both doctors?

A: If they have the same last name; it should read: The Doctors Smith. However, if they have different last names the invitation should read in alphabetical order, such as; Dr. Jones & Dr. Smith.

Q: What if just the woman in the relationship is a doctor and the man is not, should the titled person be addressed first?

A: Yes, a spouse with a professional title always comes first.

Q: How should I word an invitation to a couple who lives together but is not married? Do they each receive an individual invitation?

A: They do not have to receive individual invitations - they can be addresses on the same the same invitation. You should refer to them as Mr. Tom Brown & Miss. Wendy Rutherford. The names should be in alphabetical order.

Q: How do we word an invitation to a same gender couple?

A: The invitation should read either Ms. Lauren Baker & Ms. Kathy Lucus or Mr. Ben Jones & Mr. Robert White. And the names should be in alphabetical order. And if anyone in the relationship holds a title, such as Doctor, they are addressed first.

Q: I want my friend to know that he can bring a guest to our wedding. How do I word that on the invitation?

A: You would address the invitation to your friend with: & Guest OR indicate on the RSVP card that 2 seats have been saved in his honor should he want to bring a guest.

Q: How do I word an invitation to let guests know they should not bring a guest?

A: Address the envelope to just the guest you wish to invite. Etiquette says that unless otherwise noted, a guest should not bring a date if they are not told to on their invitation. Another helpful way to remind guests is, on the RSVP card, indicate how many seats have been saved in their honor. Such as: (1) seat has been saved in your honor. How many of these seat(s) will be attending? ____

Q: I've asked my friend to be my Maid of Honor in our wedding, but she is getting married soon. Do I refer to her as Maid of Honor or Matron of Honor for our ceremony programs?

A: If your friend is going to be a Mrs. by the time she walks down the aisle in your wedding she should be referred to as a Matron of Honor. A Maid of Honor is the title for women who are not married.

Q: How far in advance do I need to mail out invitations?

A: Etiquette says your invitations should go out six weeks in advance - to give your guests time to make arrangements. You should also select an RSVP date that gives you plenty of time to contact guests who have not RSVP'd and allows your enough time to turn in final numbers to any vendors who would need them.

Q: My fiance and I are paying for our own wedding, but our parents have helped us out throughout the process. We want to include them on the invitations, but without listing out all their names - is there a way to do that?

A: Yes, instead of having your parents' names at the top of the invitation, you can say something like; "You & Your fiancé's names, together with their families...

Q: I've gotten mixed opinions about my RSVP cards - do I pay for the postage to have them sent back to me or do I let me guests use their own stamps?

A: Ordinarily the bride does pay for the postage on RSVPs. It helps encourage guests to get their RSVP's back in a timely manner and reduces the risk of someone forgetting to RSVP because they couldn't find a stamp.

Q:I invited a bunch of friends to my bridal shower and wasn't planning on inviting them to the wedding - do I have to invite them to our wedding?

A: If you invited them to your shower, then you should invite them to your wedding. In any event where gift-giving takes place, it can be be seen as offensive if they are not invited to the wedding after they gave you gifts to start your new life with your fiance. It may appear to them that you only invited them to the shower to receive gifts.

View Bag

• {0 items}

GO