Envelope Addressing Etiquette
These rules follow the Crane and Co. Blue Book standards. Since Crane is the oldest stationery company in America (It was created in 1801!) I consider them to be the authority on stationery etiquette and also find this format lays out beautifully on an envelope.
Since the last Crane and Co. Blue Book was published, there has been a lot of progressive social change in our culture. As the etiquette is formulaic, I’ve simply extended the examples to include all our friends and family on our guest lists.
Some additional notes:
** Some couples do not like some (or any) of the etiquette rules. If that’s the case for you, I encourage you to break them! For you rebels, I highly recommend dropping prefixes all together so your formatting looks clean and intentional.
** Mx. Can always be substituted for anyone who does not wish to be identified by gender
** It is always acceptable to use “Ms.” instead of “Mrs.” (but not the other way arond). All of the prefixes “Mr.”, “Ms.” and “Mrs.” are all derived from the word “Master” and are all respectfully equal to one another however the female forms are used situationally.
** Inner envelopes are used often used for formal/ black tie events— Ignore inner envelope guide if you did not order double envelopes
Married Couples with Same Last Name:
outside envelope:
Mr. and Mrs. David Hansen
___
Same-Sex:
Mrs. and Mrs. Amy Hansen
inner envelope:
Mr. and Mrs. Hansen
___
Same-Sex:
Mrs. and Mrs. Hansen
Married Couples with Different Last Names
Always ladies first in order
One family name per line
The word “and” indicates marriage
Use “Ms.” instead of “Mrs.”
outside envelope:
Ms. Meghan Smith
and Mr. David Hansen
___
Same-Sex:
Ms. Amy Hansen
and Ms. Meghan Smith
**order of names is a personal preference
inner envelope:
Ms. Smith
and Mr. Hansen
___
Same-Sex:
Ms. Hansen
and Ms. Smith
Unmarried Couples
Always ladies first in order
One family line per name, do not use “and” as it indicates marriage
outside envelope
Ms. Meghan Smith
Mr. David Hansen
___
Same-Sex:
Mr. David Hansen
Mr. Thomas Chen
inner envelope:
Ms. Smith
Mr. Hansen
___
Same-Sex:
Mr. Hansen
Mr. Chen
Married Couples with a Medical Doctor
Female Doctors are on their own honorary line
If the couple are both doctors, please write as “The Doctors Hansen”
outside envelope male doctor:
Doctor and Mrs. David Hansen
___
Same-Sex:
Doctor and Mr. David Hansen
outside envelope female doctor:
Doctor Amy Hansen
and Mr. David Hansen
___
Same-Sex:
Doctor Amy Hansen
and Ms. Meghan Smith
inner envelope male doctor:
Doctor and Mrs. Hansen
inner envelope female doctor:
Doctor Hansen
and Ms. Smith
Married Couple with a Judge
outside envelope male judge:
The Honorable and Mrs. David Hansen
**lines can be divided if it doesn’t fit on one line
___
Same-Sex:
The Honorable and Mr. David Hansen
outside envelope female judge:
The Honorable Amy Hansen
and Mr. David Hansen
___
Same-Sex:
The Honorable Amy Hansen
and Ms. Meghan Smith
inner envelope male judge:
Judge and Mrs. Hansen
___
Same-Sex:
Judge and Mr. Hansen
inner envelope female judge:
Judge Hansen
and Mr. Hansen
___
Same-Sex:
Judge Hansen
and Mrs. Smith
Couples with Children Under the Age of 18
outside envelope:
Mr. and Mrs. David Hansen
Miss Elizabeth and Mr. John Hansen
** Children on outer only if there are no inner envelopes
Use the other situations as listed above for the adults including line splitting if a last name is not shared
Miss instead of “Ms.” is used for girls
Master can also be used instead of “Mr” for boys under 18—this is a personal preference
Children 18 and over living at home should receive their own invitation
inner envelope:
Mr. and Mrs. Hansen
Elizabeth and John
Use the other situations as listed above for the adults including line splitting if a last name is not shared
