Outer and Inner envelopes

d2va

So, my invitation suite came with both.

I know I obviously have to put the address on the outer,  but on the inners would it be the just the same names?

Is there something I am missing here? lol Sorry

Maggie0829

For a person you are inviting with a guest the outer envelope would be addressed as Mr. John Doe, but then the inner envelope would state Mr. John Doe and Guest.

I believe the same can be done for families with kids.  So say you have a married couple with 3 kids. You could address the outer envelop as Mr. and Mrs. John Doe.  And then the inner envelope could be written as:

Mr. and Mrs. John Doe

Mr. Shawn Doe

Ms. Suzy Doe

ETA:  But for other couples invited together you basically address the outer and inner envelope the same.  I have also seen the inner envelope just include the first names of those invited so like the outer envelope would say Mr. and Mrs. John Doe while the inner envelope says John and Mary but I am not sure if that is correct etiquette.

huskypuppy14

Maggie0829 said:

For a person you are inviting with a guest the outer envelope would be addressed as Mr. John Doe, but then the inner envelope would state Mr. John Doe and Guest.

I believe the same can be done for families with kids.  So say you have a married couple with 3 kids. You could address the outer envelop as Mr. and Mrs. John Doe.  And then the inner envelope could be written as:

Mr. and Mrs. John Doe

Mr. Shawn Doe

Ms. Suzy Doe

ETA:  But for other couples invited together you basically address the outer and inner envelope the same.  I have also seen the inner envelope just include the first names of those invited so like the outer envelope would say Mr. and Mrs. John Doe while the inner envelope says John and Mary but I am not sure if that is correct etiquette.

This is what I'm doing, but for aunts and uncles we put Uncle John and Aunt Sally, and for our parents we put Mom and Dad on the inner envelope. 

The outer envelopes have the proper Mr. and Mrs. so and so. 

CMGragain

Maggie0829 said:

For a person you are inviting with a guest the outer envelope would be addressed as Mr. John Doe, but then the inner envelope would state Mr. John Doe and Guest.

I believe the same can be done for families with kids.  So say you have a married couple with 3 kids. You could address the outer envelop as Mr. and Mrs. John Doe.  And then the inner envelope could be written as:

Mr. and Mrs. John Doe

Mr. Shawn Doe

Ms. Suzy Doe

Sorry, but it should be Mr. and Mrs. John Doe on the outer envelope.  On the inner envelope, it is simply, Mr. and Mrs. Doe, then list the children under age 18 below.

Maggie0829

CMGragain said:

Maggie0829 said:

For a person you are inviting with a guest the outer envelope would be addressed as Mr. John Doe, but then the inner envelope would state Mr. John Doe and Guest.

I believe the same can be done for families with kids.  So say you have a married couple with 3 kids. You could address the outer envelop as Mr. and Mrs. John Doe.  And then the inner envelope could be written as:

Mr. and Mrs. John Doe

Mr. Shawn Doe

Ms. Suzy Doe

Sorry, but it should be Mr. and Mrs. John Doe on the outer envelope.  On the inner envelope, it is simply, Mr. and Mrs. Doe, then list the children under age 18 below.

That is what I said.  Maybe you should re-read my post.

Jen4948

For the outer envelope, you would address it to the homeowners.  For the inner, you would address it to everyone in the household who is actually invited, or if you are inviting someone with a guest, this is the place you would so indicate that a guest is invited.

banana468

Maggie0829 said:

CMGragain said:

Maggie0829 said:

For a person you are inviting with a guest the outer envelope would be addressed as Mr. John Doe, but then the inner envelope would state Mr. John Doe and Guest.

I believe the same can be done for families with kids.  So say you have a married couple with 3 kids. You could address the outer envelop as Mr. and Mrs. John Doe.  And then the inner envelope could be written as:

Mr. and Mrs. John Doe

Mr. Shawn Doe

Ms. Suzy Doe

Sorry, but it should be Mr. and Mrs. John Doe on the outer envelope.  On the inner envelope, it is simply, Mr. and Mrs. Doe, then list the children under age 18 below.

That is what I said.  Maybe you should re-read my post.


It's not what you said. You're advocating to put the first names on the inner envelope and that's incorrect.

If Robert and Mary are married with no kids and she took his last name it would be:

Outer
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Smith
123 Main Street
Anytown, Connecticut. 06333

Inner
Mr. and Mrs. Smith

If they have children under 18 them the outer envelope is the same. The inner is:

Mr. and Mrs. Smith
James, John, Jordan (oldest to youngest)

When I doubt, Crane's has a great reference page on their site.

Maggie0829

banana468 said:

CMGragain said:

Maggie0829 said:

For a person you are inviting with a guest the outer envelope would be addressed as Mr. John Doe, but then the inner envelope would state Mr. John Doe and Guest.

I believe the same can be done for families with kids.  So say you have a married couple with 3 kids. You could address the outer envelop as Mr. and Mrs. John Doe.  And then the inner envelope could be written as:

Mr. and Mrs. John Doe

Mr. Shawn Doe

Ms. Suzy Doe

Sorry, but it should be Mr. and Mrs. John Doe on the outer envelope.  On the inner envelope, it is simply, Mr. and Mrs. Doe, then list the children under age 18 below.

That is what I said.  Maybe you should re-read my post.

It's not what you said. You're advocating to put the first names on the inner envelope and that's incorrect. If Robert and Mary are married with no kids and she took his last name it would be: Outer Mr. and Mrs. Robert Smith 123 Main Street Anytown, Connecticut. 06333 Inner Mr. and Mrs. Smith If they have children under 18 them the outer envelope is the same. The inner is: Mr. and Mrs. Smith James, John, Jordan (oldest to youngest) When I doubt, Crane's has a great reference page on their site.

I'm not advocating that.  I just said that that is what I have seen and I even said I that is probably not correct etiquette wise.  But in my response I did say that the inner envelopes should be addressed as Mr. and Mrs. John Doe.  But I was just giving examples of other things that I have seen and noted that that it was probably not following etiquette.

banana468

Maggie0829 said:

banana468 said:

Maggie0829 said:

CMGragain said:

Maggie0829 said:

For a person you are inviting with a guest the outer envelope would be addressed as Mr. John Doe, but then the inner envelope would state Mr. John Doe and Guest.

I believe the same can be done for families with kids.  So say you have a married couple with 3 kids. You could address the outer envelop as Mr. and Mrs. John Doe.  And then the inner envelope could be written as:

Mr. and Mrs. John Doe

Mr. Shawn Doe

Ms. Suzy Doe

Sorry, but it should be Mr. and Mrs. John Doe on the outer envelope.  On the inner envelope, it is simply, Mr. and Mrs. Doe, then list the children under age 18 below.

That is what I said.  Maybe you should re-read my post.

It's not what you said. You're advocating to put the first names on the inner envelope and that's incorrect.

If Robert and Mary are married with no kids and she took his last name it would be:

Outer
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Smith
123 Main Street
Anytown, Connecticut. 06333

Inner
Mr. and Mrs. Smith

If they have children under 18 them the outer envelope is the same. The inner is:

Mr. and Mrs. Smith
James, John, Jordan (oldest to youngest)

When I doubt, Crane's has a great reference page on their site.



I'm not advocating that.  I just said that that is what I have seen and I even said I that is probably not correct etiquette wise.  But in my response I did say that the inner envelopes should be addressed as Mr. and Mrs. John Doe.  But I was just giving examples of other things that I have seen and noted that that it was probably not following etiquette.


Right. Then @CMGragain corrected you and you accused her of misreading.

The only first names that ever belong on an inner envelope are those of the household's minor children. Thus Mr John Smith is addressed as simply Mr. Smith on the inner envelope.

To comment on your last comment, if you go to the formality of using inner envelopes and then write first names of the adults only makes no sense. The inner envelope has a greater degree of formality and using informal names on them contradicts this. Doing so would only serve to confuse the guests.

Maggie0829

banana468 said:

banana468 said:

CMGragain said:

Maggie0829 said:

For a person you are inviting with a guest the outer envelope would be addressed as Mr. John Doe, but then the inner envelope would state Mr. John Doe and Guest.

I believe the same can be done for families with kids.  So say you have a married couple with 3 kids. You could address the outer envelop as Mr. and Mrs. John Doe.  And then the inner envelope could be written as:

Mr. and Mrs. John Doe

Mr. Shawn Doe

Ms. Suzy Doe

Sorry, but it should be Mr. and Mrs. John Doe on the outer envelope.  On the inner envelope, it is simply, Mr. and Mrs. Doe, then list the children under age 18 below.

That is what I said.  Maybe you should re-read my post.

It's not what you said. You're advocating to put the first names on the inner envelope and that's incorrect. If Robert and Mary are married with no kids and she took his last name it would be: Outer Mr. and Mrs. Robert Smith 123 Main Street Anytown, Connecticut. 06333 Inner Mr. and Mrs. Smith If they have children under 18 them the outer envelope is the same. The inner is: Mr. and Mrs. Smith James, John, Jordan (oldest to youngest) When I doubt, Crane's has a great reference page on their site.

I'm not advocating that.  I just said that that is what I have seen and I even said I that is probably not correct etiquette wise.  But in my response I did say that the inner envelopes should be addressed as Mr. and Mrs. John Doe.  But I was just giving examples of other things that I have seen and noted that that it was probably not following etiquette.

Right. Then @CMGragain corrected you and you accused her of misreading. The only first names that ever belong on an inner envelope are those of the household's minor children. Thus Mr John Smith is addressed as simply Mr. Smith on the inner envelope. To comment on your last comment, if you go to the formality of using inner envelopes and then write first names of the adults only makes no sense. The inner envelope has a greater degree of formality and using informal names on them contradicts this. Doing so would only serve to confuse the guests.

Okay great. Again not advocating it but then again, I really don't get bent out of shape on how things are addressed. As long as my name is spelled right I am good. And honestly I think inner envelopes are a complete waste of paper (along with that dumb piece of tissue paper that are in some invites) since you can simply list all who is invited in a formal manner on the outer envelope.

CMGragain

I don't like being accused of not reading your post correctly.

huskypuppy14

I don't know why you guys are attacking @Maggie0829 she was just stating what she had seen in the past. And until banana pointed out it was the first names that shouldn't be on the inner envelope, I didn't understand what the problem was either.

Can someone say why it's a big no no to put first names on the inner envelope? 

I guess I made a huge goof, because I put first names on the inner envelope. I mean really, who cares if the inner envelope says Mr. and Mrs. Smith or Mr. and Mrs. John Smith or John and Susan. I don't know anyone that would care about this at all! I'm with Maggie, if my name is spelled correctly, I don't care.

Now, I understand you are given proper advice, and that is fine. But this is on par with printing on the envelope (guilty!) or saying the a married woman can't use Mrs. Susan Smith, or addressing someone as Dr. who isn't a medical Dr. It's not going to hurt anyone's discomfort. Some of the rules, honestly make absolutely no sense in the year 2014.  

KeepMovingOn

laurynm84 said:

I don't know why you guys are attacking @Maggie0829 she was just stating what she had seen in the past. And until banana pointed out it was the first names that shouldn't be on the inner envelope, I didn't understand what the problem was either.

Can someone say why it's a big no no to put first names on the inner envelope? 

I guess I made a huge goof, because I put first names on the inner envelope. I mean really, who cares if the inner envelope says Mr. and Mrs. Smith or Mr. and Mrs. John Smith or John and Susan. I don't know anyone that would care about this at all! I'm with Maggie, if my name is spelled correctly, I don't care.

Now, I understand you are given proper advice, and that is fine. But this is on par with printing on the envelope (guilty!) or saying the a married woman can't use Mrs. Susan Smith, or addressing someone as Dr. who isn't a medical Dr. It's not going to hurt anyone's discomfort. Some of the rules, honestly make absolutely no sense in the year 2014.  

CMGragain of misreading her post, when that wasn't the case. And she was technically incorrect, so they corrected her. 

kla728

Can someone explain the basic concept of inner/outer envelopes?  Clearly, I have not attended many weddings.  Is the outer envelope what gets the stamp, addresses, etc., and then the inner envelope is just to look pretty and the invitation itself is within?  Are inner envelopes required?

CMGragain

100 years ago, the butler opened the mail and placed it on a silver tray to present to the lady of the house.  The inner envelope was to protect the invitation, which was probably engraved.  These days, we don't usually follow that custom, so it is just a holdover from the past.