ENVELOPE ETIQUETTE
posted by Action Envelope at 6:40 AM
All the preparations for your event are paying off. The food’s going to be great; the music, awesome; the guest list, resolved (for the most part); the venue, amazing; your outfit, perfect. Now comes the best part -- inviting people to join you in celebrating whatever it is you’re celebrating. It could be the birth of a child, an anniversary, a special birthday, a wedding... regardless of the occasion, there are friends and family who have to receive the invitation of your dreams, and the envelope that contains it.
There are some pretty basic rules for addressing invitation envelopes, and if you follow them, you’re almost assured the right people will get them, know who they can bring and who they can’t. Although there’s always someone who’ll call and say, “Can I bring my 2, 4, 6, (fill in the number) year old to your beach luau at 11 pm on Saturday night?” You’ll have to deal with that as tactfully as you can. But if you follow the guidelines here, it will give you a leg to stand on when you say “no.”
OUTER
Depending on the formality of your event, there might be an outer as well as an inner envelope. Regardless, your outer shouldt contain some very specific information and be prepared in a certain manner. First, the writing must be straight. A good way to deal with this, is to get out a ruler and draw 4 or 5 evenly spaced straight lines, or you could do it on your computer. Cut the paper down to fit inside your outer envelope, and when the lines show through, use them as guides for writing.
If you don’t have an inner envelope, just make sure the outer says it all. It’s best not to use stickers or labels for addresses or return addresses. Have you printer put your return address on the back flap, and use a nice black pen on the front. It is becoming more acceptable these days to pick a nice font and run your envelopes through your home computer. Your choice. (Everything is actually your choice.)
If you’re event is casual, you can pretty much have at it, at least when it comes to addressing your envelopes. Keep it readable and specific as to who’s invited and you’re all good.
STUFFING
You didn’t think envelope etiquette ended with addressing, did you? There are rules for everything. And of course, we can’t stress enough that these are only guidelines. You can always do whatever you want.
You should always insert your announcement, invitation, whatever, into the envelope bottom down, print facing up. Put a stamp on RSVP card envelopes, don’t forget to put your own postage on the outer-most envelope and ta da, just get them into the mailbox with plenty of time (4-6-8 weeks before the event).
Not too terrible, huh?
Anybody have any excruciatingly painful or funny addressing tales to tell? Please share!
There are some pretty basic rules for addressing invitation envelopes, and if you follow them, you’re almost assured the right people will get them, know who they can bring and who they can’t. Although there’s always someone who’ll call and say, “Can I bring my 2, 4, 6, (fill in the number) year old to your beach luau at 11 pm on Saturday night?” You’ll have to deal with that as tactfully as you can. But if you follow the guidelines here, it will give you a leg to stand on when you say “no.”
OUTER
Depending on the formality of your event, there might be an outer as well as an inner envelope. Regardless, your outer shouldt contain some very specific information and be prepared in a certain manner. First, the writing must be straight. A good way to deal with this, is to get out a ruler and draw 4 or 5 evenly spaced straight lines, or you could do it on your computer. Cut the paper down to fit inside your outer envelope, and when the lines show through, use them as guides for writing.
On formal invitations, use full names and formal titles and don’t abbreviate or use initials. Don’t write “and family” if children are included. If the kids under eighteen, try:
Mr. and Mrs. John Smith
Richard and Mary
000 Any Street
Anywhere, New York 00000
If they’re over eighteen, they get their own invitation (even if they live in the same house as their parents, and that happens a lot these days):
Mr. Richard Smith
Miss Mary Smith
more than one?
Messrs. Richard and Robert Smith
Misses Mary and Helen Smith
If you’re inviting an unknown guest:
Mrs. Jane Doe and Guest
INNER
If you’ve got an outer, you might have an inner. On these, exclude the first names of the recipients:
Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Unknown guest?
Mrs. Doe and Guest
You got rabbis, mayors, military personnel, etc? Use full titles:
Governor John Smith and Mrs. Mary Smith
Major Jane Doe
Father Robert Smith
Professor Mary Smith and Mr. John Smith
Two doctors?
Drs. John and Mary Smith
Mr. and Mrs. John Smith
Richard and Mary
000 Any Street
Anywhere, New York 00000
If they’re over eighteen, they get their own invitation (even if they live in the same house as their parents, and that happens a lot these days):
Mr. Richard Smith
Miss Mary Smith
more than one?
Messrs. Richard and Robert Smith
Misses Mary and Helen Smith
If you’re inviting an unknown guest:
Mrs. Jane Doe and Guest
INNER
If you’ve got an outer, you might have an inner. On these, exclude the first names of the recipients:
Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Unknown guest?
Mrs. Doe and Guest
You got rabbis, mayors, military personnel, etc? Use full titles:
Governor John Smith and Mrs. Mary Smith
Major Jane Doe
Father Robert Smith
Professor Mary Smith and Mr. John Smith
Two doctors?
Drs. John and Mary Smith
If you don’t have an inner envelope, just make sure the outer says it all. It’s best not to use stickers or labels for addresses or return addresses. Have you printer put your return address on the back flap, and use a nice black pen on the front. It is becoming more acceptable these days to pick a nice font and run your envelopes through your home computer. Your choice. (Everything is actually your choice.)
If you’re event is casual, you can pretty much have at it, at least when it comes to addressing your envelopes. Keep it readable and specific as to who’s invited and you’re all good.
STUFFING
You didn’t think envelope etiquette ended with addressing, did you? There are rules for everything. And of course, we can’t stress enough that these are only guidelines. You can always do whatever you want.
You should always insert your announcement, invitation, whatever, into the envelope bottom down, print facing up. Put a stamp on RSVP card envelopes, don’t forget to put your own postage on the outer-most envelope and ta da, just get them into the mailbox with plenty of time (4-6-8 weeks before the event).
Not too terrible, huh?
Anybody have any excruciatingly painful or funny addressing tales to tell? Please share!
Labels: addressing rules, envelope, etiquette
