Wedding Tips | Envelope Addressing Etiquette
One question I get a lot from couples is, "How in the world do I address our wedding invitations?!". The answer is most definitely not a simple one, but when you have our tips, tricks and guides, you can be on your way to creating the address spreadsheet of your dreams in no time hand over to your calligrapher! (Okay, maybe not your dreams, but a pretty handy spreadsheet you'll make!)
Formal vs. Informal Addressing
There are two basic ways to address your envelopes - formal or informal. Depending on the level of formality in your wedding, you'll want to know how to address them right!
Formal - We're gettin' wordy here! Add in all the salutations (Mr., Mrs. Miss, etc.), include professional titles (Ph.D., MD, etc. - more on these below), and spell most everything out. Here is an example of a formally addressed envelope:
So, that being said,
- Include salutations (Mr., Mrs., Miss)
- Spell out all numbers twenty and below
- Do not abbreviate anything (with the exception of salutations); "ave" becomes "avenue", "apt" becomes "apartment", but Mrs. stays as-is.
Informal: Ditch the salutations, numbers are numbers, and abbreviations are allowed. Here is an example of an informally addressed envelope:
Marriage, Dating, & Plus Ones
Married couple, shared last name: Salutations + Husband's first name + last name
i.e., Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Powell
Married couple, different last names: Mr. Matthew Powell and Ms. Rosanna Copas (same line)
Dating couple living together:
First line - Mr. Matthew Powell
Second line - Miss Rosanna Copas
Individual plus an unnamed guest: Mr. Ethan Powell and Guest
Families & Children
This one's fun! Where do the little munchkins go? For children 17 and younger, their names are on the line below the parents names. List them separately with commas, and use first names only. If the child is 18 or older and still living with mom and dad, do not list them under their parents' - they get their own invitation addressed to themself! The same goes with aunts, uncles, and grandparents living with their siblings or children. Here's an example:
William and Katherine English
George, Charlotte, and Louis
1459 Manhattan Avenue South
New York, NY 10010
Professional Titles
Got some Ph.Ds and honorable judges on your guest list? Formal invitation wording says to include their titles, but they may be abbreviated! For instance, Ph.D., M.D., but for judges, "The Honorable" is spelled out. Note: If you are addressing an envelope to a couple where one person has a title and the other does not, the titled guest gets listed FIRST, regardless of gender. See here:
Mrs. Penelope Desai, M.D. and Mr. Anand Desi
Informal invitation wording says "Who cares about the professional titles?!". They are not needed!
Apartments, Condos, Suites, Etc.
Formal: Write out the numbers into words (4th = fourth) and dear goodness, don't use pound/number signs.
Informal: "You can write numbers as numbers. But which line should it go on? My personal preference is to include the apartment/condo number, suite number. etc., on the next line after the address. It looks cleaner, and doesn't make the second line with the street address insanely long.
Zip Code
Again, this is personal preference, but I like zip codes centered and dropped below the address. Traditionally, zip codes are listed right after the state, if you want to abide by formal addressing.
International
This one bites me in the butt sometimes! Please have your guests email you their written out non-US address as they would have it written on an envelope, line by line. You don't want to send a beautiful invite to your cousin in Perth, Australia to only have it return to you a month later!
Final Notes
Here is our Songbird Envelope Addresses Template for your big day! This is the spreadsheet I send to all of my envelope calligraphy clients, and it can be yours too! It'll be a great help to you and whoever is addressing your envelopes (hopefully me!)
Hopefully this post helps! If you have questions, please comment below and I will answer you as soon as I can!
xoxo,
Rosie
Songbird Wedding | I Do Sodo 2018 | A Kentucky Derby-Inspired Wedding
I Do Sodo is one of my favorite events of the year, and this year was definitely no exception! Our venue, Westland Distillery, was decked out in a very Southern-charm Kentucky Derby-inspired way! We brought the elegance and poise of the derby party and made it work in the gorgeous whiskey tasting venue.
Annalise and Megan with A Kurant Event did such a fabulous job at planning the whole affair - they are AMAZING wedding planners to work with! Kim from Alante Photography took absolutely beautiful photos of everything, capturing the carefully curated art of our collective presentation. And lastly, the pièce de résistance according to yours truly - WE HAD REAL LIVE PONIES! Every little girl's dream just came true!
Enjoy the photos and pin what you love for inspiration for your own wedding or fancy event! Now that Style Me Pretty is gone (sniff, sniff!), never fear - I'll still be here providing wedding and event inspiration from my lovely little corner of the Pacific Northwest.
xoxo,
Rosie
Participating Vendors
Venue: Westland Distillery
Wedding Planning: A Kurant Event
Calligraphy, Signage, Stationery: Songbird Paperie
Bridal Dresses & Attire: BHLDN
Photography: Alante Photography
Custom Rings: With These Rings
Videographer: Dara Ek
Floral: Bloomed Out
Hair & Makeup: Ryann Brady
Photo Booth: Mokpix Photo Booth
Wedding Party Activity: Urban Sprouts
Antique & Vintage Rentals: Vintage Ambiance
Late Night Snack: Top Pot Donuts
Live Music: Harold Belskus
Officiant: Jason Groenink
Dessert: Frans Chocolates
Catering: City Catering
Rentals: Cort
Rentals: Prop Gallery
Up Lights: Braden Landen
Custom Suits: Duchess Clothier
Vote for Songbird! | Seattle Bride Magazine Best of 2018 Awards
How did 2018 get here so fast?! Wait -- it's almost FEBRUARY?! That means it's time for the Best of 2018 Seattle Bride Magazine award voting!
We have been fortunate enough to be nominated as a finalist for the past three years in row and would be so grateful to make the list again for Best Invitation Designer!
You can vote for your 5+ favorite Seattle-area vendors here:
http://seattlebridemag.com/vote-now-best-2018-2
We know, there are SO MANY amazing wedding vendors and it can be hard to choose who to vote for! Below are some suggestions on vendors who we've had a great time partnering with in 2017 and past years.
Wedding Planner AND/OR Day-of-Wedding Coordinator:
Perfectly Posh Events
Wedding Wise
Ginger Bee Events
Little Wedding Blush
It's All in the Details
Lindsey Ellen Events
Manette Gracie Weddings & Events
Alexis Marie Events
It's Your Day Events
Simply by Tamara Nicole
Clutch Events
A Kurant Event
Vows Wedding
Gather Events
Flying Anchor Event Design
Floral Designer:
Sugar Pine
Countryside Floral & Garden
From the Ground Up Floral
Floressence
Seattle Floral Design
Gather Design Company
Videographer:
Unified Cinematic Wedding Videographer
Jennavieve Films
Photographer:
Blue Rose Photography
Sahara Coleman Photography
Barbie Hull Photography
Genesa Richards Photography
Lucas Mobley Photography
Salt & Pine Photography
Rebecca Ellison Photography
Rachel Birkhofer Photography
Rentals:
Vintage Ambiance
CORT Party Rental
Grand Event Rentals
Fanciful Rentals
La Tavola Fine Linen
Caterer:
Herban Feast
Twelve Baskets Catering
City Catering Company
Bar Service:
Wedding Cakes | Groom's Cakes | Desserts:
The SweetSide
Lilac Cake Boutique
Musicians for Ceremony:
DJ for Reception:
Magnolia Rhapsody
Affairs to Remember
Audio/Visual:
Photo Booth:
Drunken Pixel
Fun Frames Photo Booth
The Snap Bar
Invitation Designer:
Dress Shop:
Formalwear for Men:
Hair:
Swink Style Bar
The OuterEdge
Kelsey Marie Hair & Makeup
Makeup:
The OuterEdge
Kelsey Marie Hair & Makeup
Quintessential Seattle-Area Reception Site:
The Edgewater Hotel
Sodo Park
Four Seasons Seattle
Northwest Destination Wedding Site:
Place for a Sunset Wedding:
Place for a Waterfront Wedding:
Golden Gardens
The Woodmark Hotel
The Edgewater Hotel
Place for a Large Gala Wedding:
Sodo Park
Fairmont Olympic Hotel
The Great Hall at Union Station
Place for Intimate Weddings:
Kerloo Cellars
The Woodhouse Wine Estates
JM Cellars
Rehearsal Dinner Restaurant:
Salty's on Alki
Canlis
Ray's Boathouse
Transportation/Getaway Car | Valet Service:
Place to Spend Wedding Night:
Wedding Show:
Weddings in Woodinville
I Do Sodo
Get Hitched Give Hope
Quintessential Wedding Registry:
Crate and Barrel
Macys
Williams-Sonoma
Specialty Registry:
Anthropologie
Sur La Table
Honeyfund
Thank you for loving on Songbird, friends!
xoxo,
Rosie
Songbird Wedding | Laura + Drew
On this gray and stormy Seattle day, I'm daydreaming back to springtime, with the beautiful sky, colorful blooms, and the start of a fantastic 2017 PNW wedding season! The season started with a wedding that was near and dear to my heart - the wedding of my cousin Laura and her knight in shining armor, Drew! Family weddings are always a blast, and this definitely lived up to that expectation and then some! The colors were vibrant and gorgeous (you guys know I love pops of color!!), floral was beautiful, the bride looked like an angel, and she and her groom looked so in love that it made my heart soar.
Before I get all teary-eyed and real mooshy on you, let me take you to what you're here for - the pictures! Let's dive in. But first - huge shout out to their amazing photographer, Sara Parsons! NOW let's dive in!
xoxo,
Rosie
photography: Sara Parsons | invitations, wood signage, & day-of stationery: Songbird Paperie | flowers: the bride and her family & friends | cake: friend of the bride | reception venue: private family home