Inner Envelope Question

Inner Envelope Question

I am having a black tie optional reception and was wondering if I should put first names on the inner envelopes or make it more formal with Mr & Mrs. I just think that the inners should be more informal to make them more personal but me & my FH don't really know what to do.

Re: Inner Envelope Question

how about first names for family and close friends and Mr. and Mrs. for the parent's friends and/or traditional relatives?

Re: Inner Envelope Question

I'm having a black tie optional wedding as well and I chose to put first names on the inner envelopes. If they were very close family members or friends, I even wrote what I usually call them. For example, I wrote Aunt Mary and Uncle Ed, and Gwyn instead of Gwyndolyn.

Re: Inner Envelope Question

Re: Inner Envelope Question

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Posted by Goldi1021

I just bought a copy of Cranes Wedding Blue Book for wedding invite etiquette. It is a pretty extensive book that deals with wording and addressing invites to all wedding related events.

It says that outer envelopes should read as:

Mr. and Mrs. John Smith

while INNER envelopes should read as:

Mr. and Mrs. Smith
(only titles and surnames are to be used on inner envelopes)

The only people who should be listed by first name on an inner envelope are children under 18.

There are no rules according to the formality of the wedding. It seems to be standard practice to do it this way regardless of if your function is a Saturday night black tie wedding or a Wednesday backyard BBQ wedding. At least that is what this book indicates.

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that is what we used - but she seemed to want to use the first names so I figured that it would be a 'compromise' and do both

Re: Inner Envelope Question

I didn't answer both, because my thinking is that the outer envelope should be formal, but the inner envelope is your chance to be a bit more personal. For example, for a grandfather, the inner envelope could say 'Grandpa'-and he might like that personal touch....it's up to you with the inner envelopes-some can be more formal than others...

Re: Inner Envelope Question

I personally like first names on the inner envelope. Since you are having a black tie wedding, you might want to stick with being formal and writing Mr. & Mrs.