computer printed addresses ok?

Ghostie625

I read in the "How to address your invites" post that hand addressed invitations is the proper way to go. The problem is we have about to 150 separate invitations to send out and I would be addressing every single one of them by myself.
How serious of a faux pas would it be to run them through a printer instead? The company we're ordering the invitations from can print the addresses right on the envelopes for us in a nice pretty font. They did it for our STDs and it turned out fine so I'm not worried about that. Do you think I'll get side-eyed for not hand addressing them? I know I personally probably wouldn't even notice one way or the other but I wanted some other opinions. Is it fine to do this? Am I overthinking this?

Thanks!

MobKaz

Ghostie625 said:

I read in the "How to address your invites" post that hand addressed invitations is the proper way to go. The problem is we have about to 150 separate invitations to send out and I would be addressing every single one of them by myself.
How serious of a faux pas would it be to run them through a printer instead? The company we're ordering the invitations from can print the addresses right on the envelopes for us in a nice pretty font. They did it for our STDs and it turned out fine so I'm not worried about that. Do you think I'll get side-eyed for not hand addressing them? I know I personally probably wouldn't even notice one way or the other but I wanted some other opinions. Is it fine to do this? Am I overthinking this?

Thanks!

I think many posters find this to be a "victimless" crime. 

I am old school and think that for a wedding, hand written is most appropriate.  However, if it is truly not possible, then I think your plan is an acceptable "Plan B". Is there a reason your FI is not able to help you address the invitations? What I do not find appropriate is when labels, even clear labels, are used in such formal correspondence. 

Please make sure the font size and coloring is legible for the postman.  I received an invitation several weeks ago.  The font was incredibly small and light in color, and was written on a clear label.  I remember saying to my husband at the time that the envelope was extremely difficult to read.  A few weeks later we learned that the bride discovered that MANY guests did not receive their invitations.  My guess is that the label was too difficult for the post office to read.

Are you really inviting over 300 people to your wedding?  That will be a lot of thank you notes that will need to be handwritten!

holyguacamole79

I wouldn't side-eye it at all.

Ghostie625

Thanks for the input.
FI has bad handwriting, otherwise I would have him help.

My main concern with doing them myself is the time commitment, and I'm sure I would mess up a bunch. (I'm marrying into a Greek family with a lot of long last names on FI's side lol.)

They would be printed directly on the envelope, ideally chocolate brown font on an ivory envelope. I will make sure we go with an easy to read font. The one we used for our STDs was nice and we had no issues, so I can always have them use the same font again.

ETA @MobKaz It's about 250 with a mix of singles, couples, and families with kids. It's a big fat Greek/Italian wedding! lol

canadianteacher

I printed the addresses on my STDs and they came out AWESOME!  I plan to do the same on our invites.  If you download a brush script font, it almost looks like you had them calligraphed!  I've had a couple ask if we had  them professionally done.  I also used matching fonts to print a wedding logo I designed on the envelope flap which I thought was a cool little detail  

CMGragain

I did my daughter's invitations by hand in batches of 20.  After a few evenings,  they were easily done.

Sorry, canadianteacher, but I really don't like that address style.  If you must use computer addressing, at least use a font that resembles classic handwriting.

AddieCake

Victimless crime.

And I agree with CMGr about that font, CanadianTeacher.

Jen4948

AddieCake said:

Victimless crime.

And I agree with CMGr about that font, CanadianTeacher.

I agree too.  Although it's technically incorrect to print addresses on wedding invitation envelopes, I honestly don't care if I get one that has printed addresses.

That said, @canadianteacher, I agree with the PPs that I wouldn't use that font.  It looks too artificial.

Ghostie625

Thanks for the input ladies! I will go ahead and have the printer do them in a nice, traditional, easily read font.

canadianteacher

Jen4948 said:

AddieCake said:

Victimless crime.

And I agree with CMGr about that font, CanadianTeacher.

I agree too.  Although it's technically incorrect to print addresses on wedding invitation envelopes, I honestly don't care if I get one that has printed addresses.

That said, @canadianteacher, I agree with the PPs that I wouldn't use that font.  It looks too artificial.

Well my guests don't agree, so I'm sticking to it! Thanks though.

holyguacamole79

UO ... I actually like the font @canadianteacher has.

tigerlily6

I also thought it looked kind of cool, @canadianteacher. But everybody is entitled to opinions. As long as it meets the practical aspect of being mail-able like @MobKaz said, aesthetics of font are going to vary from person to person, I think. 

@Ghostie625, I think printing will be fine. My FI also has bad handwriting, so the invitations are on me. I have about half the number you do, however, so it shouldn't be quite so bad doing them by hand. Plus, one of the weird hobbies I had as a teenager was practicing actual calligraphy with different inks and quills. I figure this is the one time in my life there will be practical value to this quirky skill. 

charlotte989875

So is this a case where font/handwriting and/or printed labels should match the formality of the event? For a casual wedding I see no problem with printed labels (and different fonts), but if you take your cue about the formality of the event I would assume the font and color choice should reflect that? Genuinely curious here.

ILoveBeachMusic

charlotte989875 said:

So is this a case where font/handwriting and/or printed labels should match the formality of the event? For a casual wedding I see no problem with printed labels (and different fonts), but if you take your cue about the formality of the event I would assume the font and color choice should reflect that? Genuinely curious here.

I would agree with that. You wouldn't want pink ink and a non-traditional font for a traditional, formal wedding. I think black, dark blue or maybe dark gray (almost black) are traditional ink colors.

floridabride44

We ran ours through a printer and I was really happy with how they turned out. Just Google "Free Wedding Fonts" you can find a lot of pretty handwriting-style fonts to download. 

CMGragain

The point is that handwriting is the proper way to address wedding invitations.  I do think that this is a rule that is changing, but if you are going to use computer printing, then I would think that a font that resembles handwriting would be the best choice.  Sticky labels are still a no-no, though!

JediElizabeth

I'm actually really surprised, reading through this. I didn't c,ice originally because I thought "of course they're ok!" when I saw it and went on to other posts. 

Serious question: in a place where foregoing so much pomp and circumstance of traditional American weddings is ok (which I wholly love), why is printing vs. writing so important?

CMGragain

JediElizabeth said:

I'm actually really surprised, reading through this. I didn't c,ice originally because I thought "of course they're ok!" when I saw it and went on to other posts. 

Serious question: in a place where foregoing so much pomp and circumstance of traditional American weddings is ok (which I wholly love), why is printing vs. writing so important?

It is all about history and tradition, which is where most wedding etiquette originates.
In the earlier days of wedding, ALL correspondence was is handwriting.  People spent many, many hours perfecting their handwriting, so as to make a good impression.
The manual typewriter shook up a lot of people.  When it was in wide use, etiquette dictated that only business letters were to be written "by machine".  Older people were insulted by typewritten letters, even business ones.  Now that we are all used to typing on the computer keyboard, that tradition still continues.
I do think it will change.  Twenty years from now, only old ladies like me will even be able to write in beautiful cursive handwriting, and I think this is sad.
Oh, by the way, traditional weddings did not have "pomp and circumstance. "  That is something that has been brought on by the wedding industry.  Traditional weddings were small, family oriented ceremonies, usually held in the brides home.  The bride wrote her invitations in her own beautiful handwriting.  If you saw this past Sunday's "Downton Abbey", the wedding of Mr. Carson and Mrs. Hughs was a lot more typical of most weddings than the wedding of Lady Mary.

justsuzie

You can print in a very faint color matching the envelope with any font and then go over with a felt tip pen.  It will look handwritten (which it is) but all of the hard work will be done for you.  I did this and they looked clean and polished.  

@ Canadianteacher, I like that font too!

Knottie1436436203

I printed using my inkjet straight onto the envelope for my save the dates.. better looking than using white labels.. and easier on my hand than hand addressing them.

CMGragain

Knottie1436436203 said:

I printed using my inkjet straight onto the envelope for my save the dates.. better looking than using white labels.. and easier on my hand than hand addressing them.

The point is not to make it easier for YOU.  The point is to do it correctly.
All standard etiquette books say that hand addressing is the proper way to address a wedding invitation.
I don't think that printing the addresses on a computer is a major crime, and I do think it will become standard practice in years to come.  But sticky labels - UGH!

Jen4948

CMGragain said:

Knottie1436436203 said:

I printed using my inkjet straight onto the envelope for my save the dates.. better looking than using white labels.. and easier on my hand than hand addressing them.

The point is not to make it easier for YOU.  The point is to do it correctly.
All standard etiquette books say that hand addressing is the proper way to address a wedding invitation.
I don't think that printing the addresses on a computer is a major crime, and I do think it will become standard practice in years to come.  But sticky labels - UGH!

Those books all assume one of the couple, or one parent of the couple, was a SAH person who had the time to hand address large numbers of invitation envelopes rather than earn a living.  Such is often not the case today.  Sometimes "proper" needs to evolve with the times and embrace current ways of doing things, and I think this is one such instance.

ernursej

In my opinion, I have beautiful handwriting, but I won't be doing the writing. I do love handwritten letters, but I don't want the pressure of making sure everything is exact. A printer is the way to go for me. Of all the things that I could have done wrong, I'm happy to wear this decision.