As you go along, you’ll be able to figure out who gets invited together and who gets invited separately.

For children over 18, it’s usually best to send a separate invitation. If they live with their parents, you can get away with including them all on the same invitation. Similarly, siblings or other people living together but not in a relationship can be invited together. However, you might find separate invitations to be a more thoughtful gesture. This is up to you.

The guest option is used to invite someone you don’t know well, such as the new partner your friend is seeing.

Ms. is a catch-all address. It works well for unmarried women over 30 and anytime you’re unsure about what title to use. For medical doctors, you must spell out the word doctor. Other doctors get the abbreviation “Dr. ,” which replaces Mr. and other prefixes. Refer to judges like “The Honorable Renley Baratheon” and military personnel like “Lieutenant Loras Tyrell, US Army. ”

The word “guest” is only used when you don’t know the guest’s name. If you do know the name, write the name out under the first one. For example, write “Miss Clara Oswald” then “Dr. John Who” under it. You could choose to leave the “and guest” for the inner envelope. Leaving it out can make the outer envelope feel more personal.

The person whose last name is used on the invitation goes first unless their partner has a professional title, such as Dr. or a military ranking. The same rules apply to married same-sex couples that share a last name. If they don’t share a last name, write the full names on separate lines.

When you are equally close to each person, list the names in alphabetical order.

For example, write “Mr. Joffrey Baratheon. ” Under it, write “Miss Sansa Stark. ”

Remember to follow the other rules, such as denoting couples with different last names. Change it to “Dr. John Who and Dr. Clara Oswald. ”

When there are multiple children over 18 living together, list them by seniority. For example, write “Mr. Bill Weasley. ” Under it, write “Mr. Charlie Weasley. ” Good news! You don’t need to list children under 18 on the outer envelope. You may do it by writing “Sansa and Arya” under “Mr. and Mrs. Ned Stark,” but ask yourself if it’s worth the effort.

Take the time to refer to your guest list for accurate shipping information. You’ll have some explaining to do if grandma’s invitation gets lost in the mail.

In cases of couples not living together, the address used should belong to the person you know best.

Printed address labels, while not as appealing as handwriting, are an option. It’ll give you more time to spend on the important decisions, such as what kind of frosting to use on your cake (like chocolate or more chocolate). If an invitation is returned to you unopened, it most likely means you have the wrong address.

For example, write out “Harry and Ginny. ” Families can be listed easily like this. You can write, “Ned, Catelyn, Robb, Miss Sansa, Miss Arya, Bran, and Rickon. ” Initials are never a valid substitution for a name, but suffixes like Jr. and Sr. are always appropriate.

For example, write “Mr. Potter and guest” or “Mr. and Mrs. Potter,” depending on the relationship.

For example, write out “Miss Granger. ” Under it, write “Mr. Potter. ”

Note the adult names first, such as “Mr. and Mrs. Ned Stark. ” Under that, list the children by seniority. For instance, write “Robb, Miss Sansa, Miss Arya, Bran, and Rickon. " Girls under 18 are denoted as “Miss. ” Boys under 18 don’t get a title. How unfair!

To save a whole lot of time, get pre-printed envelopes. You’ve written enough names and addresses for one day. [14] X Expert Source Minoti MehtaEvent & Wedding Planner Expert Interview. 6 March 2020.