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Formal address for man who goes by his middle name?

SaraAndrew2010SaraAndrew2010 member
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in Wedding Invitations & Paper
One of the people we are inviting generally goes by his middle name. His parent/grandparents are usually the only people who refer to him by his first name.  What is the proper way to formally address him on an invitation? 
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Re: Formal address for man who goes by his middle name?

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    MyNameIsNotMyNameIsNot member
    First Comment First Anniversary First Answer 5 Love Its
    I use my middle name.  For anything that would normally include a middle initial, I use A. Middlename Lastname.  Are you including middle initials or middle names for the rest of your guests?  If not, address to the name you call him by.  
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    HisCBHisCB
    First Comment

    you can do either:

    mr. cornelius joe smith
    mr. c. joe smith
    mr. joe smith

    i would do Mr. Joe Smith. if he were my friend.

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    tldhtldh member
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    I would go with Mr. T. John Smith or Mr. Thomas John Smith.

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    tenofcups4metenofcups4me member
    5 Love Its Combo Breaker First Comment
    I'd use the name he typically goes by. FIL uses his middle name exclusively. It would be bizarre to address him by his first name even under the most formal circumstances.
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    aerinpegadrakaerinpegadrak member
    5 Love Its Combo Breaker First Comment
    A friend of mine who is an etiquette maven (I swear she was born in the '50s and cryogenically frozen) is married to a man who goes by his middle name.  She signs her name "Mrs. J. Middle Last."  So I imagine that's the proper form of address.
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    SaraAndrew2010SaraAndrew2010 member
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    The guest is a friend of FI from college. We're not planning on including middle names or initials on the envelopes.  I was leaning towards just addressing it to the name he uses, but wanted to make sure I'm not making a huge faux pas. 
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    Karen's MOHKaren's MOH
    First Comment Combo Breaker
    I think either way is fine. My friend's husband is like that (I never knew his first name until I got their wedding invitation). I addressed it to his true first name since I knew it from their wedding. I'm sure he won't mind either.
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    TurtlesAllTheWayDownTurtlesAllTheWayDown member
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    I've heard that the most formal of invitations use a guest's full name. So "Mr. Charles Thomas Smith." So that's one option.

    Personally, I'd probably do, "Mr. C. Thomas Smith."
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    SweetCharadeSweetCharade member
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    My grandma goes by her middle name...her envelope is addressed to Ms. J. Gail Mylastname.
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