Wedding Photography Advise

SINGLE GUESTS	OUTER ENVELOPE	INNER ENVELOPE
Unmarried female	Miss (or Ms.) Kim Jones	Miss (or Ms.) Jones(and Guest)
Divorced female, uses married name	Mrs. Kim Jones	Mrs. Jones(and Guest)
Divorced female, uses maiden name	Miss (or Ms.) Kim Jones	Miss (or Ms.) Jones (and Guest)
Unmarried male	Mr. John Jones	Mr. Jones (and Guest)

COUPLES	OUTER ENVELOPE	INNER ENVELOPE
Married Couples	Mr. and Mrs. John Jones	Mr. and Mrs. Jones
Married Couples & Family	Mr. and Mrs. John Jones & Family	Mr. and Mrs. Jones& Family
Married Couple - woman kept maiden name	Mrs. Kimberly Jones Mr. Bob Smith	Mrs. Jones Mr. Smith
Unmarried couples who do not live together - send to the closest friend	Miss (or Ms.) Kim Jones	Miss (or Ms.) Jones Mr. Smith
Unmarried couples who live together - alphabetical by last name	Miss (or Ms.) Kim Jones Mr. Bob Smith	Miss (or Ms.) Jones Mr. Smith
Same gender couples - alphabetical by last name	Mr. John Jones Mr. Bob Smith	Mr. Jones Mr. Smith

CHILDREN	OUTER ENVELOPE	INNER ENVELOPE
Child under age 18	Nothing on outer envelope	Tom, Linda, and Kelly (first names only, oldest to youngest)
Children over 18 - should receive their own invitation, even if still at home	Miss Kim Jones or Mr. John Jones	Miss Jones(and Guest) or Mr. Jones (and Guest)

OTHERS	OUTER ENVELOPE	INNER ENVELOPE
Judge	The Honorable and Mrs. John Jones	Judge and Mrs. Jones
Clergy	The Reverend John Jones	The Reverend Jones
Doctor (medical)	Doctor John Jones	Doctor Jones(and Guest)
Doctor (PhD)	Dr. John Jones	Dr. Jones(and Guest)
Married Woman Doctor	Doctor Kim Jones Mr. John Jones	Doctor Jones Mr. Jones
Married Couple, Both Doctors	Doctors John and Kim Jones	The Doctors Jones
Officer - Man (active or retired)	Colonel and Mrs. John Jones	Colonel and Mrs. Jones
Officer - Woman	Lieutenant Kim Jones, U.S. Navy Mr. John Jones Mr. John Jones Mr. John Jones	Lieutenant Jones Mr. Jones

Addressing Wedding Invitations & Zip Codes

There is nothing more frustrating than having a beautifully addressed invitation be returned to
sender with postage markings all over it because of an incorrect address. Please be sure to
double check your addresses and zip codes. To check zip codes go on the Internet to
http://www.usps.com/zip4. Making sure you have the correct address is paramount.

Wedding Invitation Wording

Nicknames or abbreviations should be avoided when possible except for Mr., Mrs., Jr., etc. You
may use an initial if you do not know the full name, or if the person never uses his given name.
Cities, states and numbered streets are written out in full (with the exception of D.C.). In
regard to addresses, the only optional abbreviations are for Saint (St.) or Mount (Mt.), which
can be written either way.

Assembling Your Wedding Invitations

The best way to assemble your invitation is to set everything up on a cleared table, in an
assembly line fashion - placing them in the order in which they go. No more than two people
should be assembling the wedding invitations at the same time (one on each side of the table),
because it creates too much confusion. It also makes it easier if you place stamps on all of
your response envelopes before you start assembling.
If your invitations are single fold and the wording is on the outside only, insertions are placed
on top. If your invitations are multi-fold and/or the wording is inside the fold then insertions
are placed inside the first fold.
The insertions go in the following order (from bottom to top):

•          tissue paper
•          reception card
•          map
•          response envelope
•          response card (tucked under the flap of the response envelope)
This is all placed inside the inner envelope, printed side facing the flap. The inner envelope is
then placed inside the outer envelope, flap side facing the front of the outer envelope.
Make sure before you begin that every stack has the exact same count. For instance, if you
are starting with a stack of 100 invitations, make sure you have a stack of 100 of everything
else (tissue paper, reception card, maps, respond envelopes, and respond cards). Start else
assembling your invitations one at a time, but do not seal the outer envelope. When you are
finished, make sure your counts are still even. If you have 4 invitations left, make sure you
have 4 of everything else left. This is why you don't seal the envelopes - if your counts aren't
the same, then you can check the invitations to see which one is either missing an insertion, or
has an extra insertion, and still correct it. Once everything is correct, then you can seal your
envelopes!
envelopes!
has an extra insertion, and still correct it. Once everything is correct, then you can seal your
envelopes!
envelopes!
else (tissue paper, reception card, maps, respond envelopes, and respond cards). Start
assembling your invitations one at a time, but do not seal the outer envelope. When you are
finished, make sure your counts are still even. If you have 4 invitations left, make sure you
have 4 of everything else left. This is why you don't seal the envelopes - if your counts aren't
the same, then you can check the invitations to see which one is either missing an insertion, or
has an extra insertion, and still correct it. Once everything is correct, then you can seal your
envelopes!
envelopes!
assembling your invitations one at a time, but do not seal the outer envelope. When you are
finished, make sure your counts are still even. If you have 4 invitations left, make sure you
have 4 of everything else left. This is why you don't seal the envelopes - if your counts aren't
the same, then you can check the invitations to see which one is either missing an insertion, or
has an extra insertion, and still correct it. Once everything is correct, then you can seal your
envelopes!
the same, then you can check the invitations to see which one is either missing an insertion, or
has an extra insertion, and still correct it. Once everything is correct, then you can seal your
envelopes!

When should I send out my Invitations?

Invitations should be sent out six to eight weeks before your wedding date. If you have a large
number of out of town guests, we suggest eight weeks to give your guests the courtesy of
making reservations and securing travel arrangements more economically.

Mailing Your Invitations

When you first receive your invitations, assemble one complete invitation (including the tissue
paper, any maps or additional insertions, and the stamp on the return response envelope) and
take it to your local Post Office for weight and measurement. Sometimes it's the size and not
the weight which may require more postage than one first class stamp, so we encourage you to
take it to the window and have a postal worker weigh and measure it for you. This step can
save a lot of aggravation later. Ask to see their selection of wedding stamps and see if they
are available as self-stick stamps.

When it is time to mail your invitations, if you hand deliver them to your local post office
window, you can request that they be hand canceled with a rubber stamp, instead of by a
machine. It makes the front of the envelope look a lot more attractive without the large ugly
black postal markings all over it. At our local post office they use a nice maroon colored ink for
hand canceling.

Wedding RSVP Tip

Number your guest list, and then number the response cards somewhere inconspicuously (on the
back or inside if they are folded) in pencil with numbers that correspond to your guest list. If
you receive back an RSVP that is blank (believe it or not, people forget to write their name in
all the time), you will know exactly who it is from by cross referencing the number to your
guest list!