The Knot's E-Board Helped Me At Work Today. Sort Of.

staceycaine

I'm a legal proofreader. I fell into the job (I went to school for graphic design) when the economy crashed into the sun and I got laid off. I don't have FORMAL training in legal proofreading--I'm just semi-decent at grammar, apparently.

Anyway, I had a phone call today about what to do when addressing a letter to two men and a woman. The woman has a different last name as the two men. They share the same last name.

The client wanted to say:

To: Misters Smith and Mrs. Doe.

From a proofreading standpoint, it's probably fine. But I told her as far as etiquette goes, to work around this awkwardness, and if I knew the first names, I'd say:

To: Mr. John Smith, Mr. Tim Smith, and Mrs. Jane Doe

Basically, I flew by the seat of my pants. Dunno if it's right in EITHER case (grammar or etiquette), but I guessed at what you guys would say.

So. Did I screw the pooch?

staceycaine

Oooh, good point. I forgot to mention that to her. Oh well. I tried 'n stuff.

specialk84

I love that your post about being a legal proofreader contains a typo. 

ETA: And now you've fixed it. I'm not an asshole, people. It was there.

staceycaine

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_knots-e-board-helped-work-today-sort-of?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:0aadadcd-3d92-46e4-b74f-72c9d6d0c334Post:d2d6b644-0a44-409c-a7f0-9f86042b73e4">Re: The Knot's E-Board Helped Me At Work Today. Sort Of.</a>:
[QUOTE]I think the only way I would ever address something as Misters Smith, is if they are a gay couple who have the same last name.  And even then, I think there are some other options.
Posted by crfb87[/QUOTE]

My thoughts exactly. And given that this is a legal document, I thought it was even more important that they get separated. It's most likely that this was a father/son combo involved in some financial thing together, but still.

I mean, even when a couple IS married, it seems like a lot of the time, people still want it spelled out: Mrs. Sally Smith & Mr. John Smith vs. Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

staceycaine

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_knots-e-board-helped-work-today-sort-of?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:0aadadcd-3d92-46e4-b74f-72c9d6d0c334Post:384b12af-fbd0-4906-b7d6-d81de6a3893f">Re: The Knot's E-Board Helped Me At Work Today. Sort Of.</a>:
[QUOTE]I love that your post about being a legal proofreader contains a typo. 
Posted by specialk84[/QUOTE]

I guess you meant "phonecall" vs. "phone call." I fixed it. ;)

Like I said, I didn't go to school for this crap, and I was in the middle of proofing something else when I wrote it. I even tried to be super careful about it. Fail.

jessicabessica

Are any of them married to each other?  I thought "and" meant married.  

So the envelope, if none are married to each other, should be:

Ms. Jane Doe

Mr. Andy Smith

Mr. John Smith

(I would say woman first, then men in alphabetical order.)

specialk84

Yeah, I wasn't being a jerk about it. I just thought it was funny. It was a gentle tease, rather than me calling you stupid.

I realize you don't know me very well, so you can't read my mind.

staceycaine

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_knots-e-board-helped-work-today-sort-of?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:0aadadcd-3d92-46e4-b74f-72c9d6d0c334Post:98a494ad-ba44-4859-9486-a3424378943a">Re: The Knot's E-Board Helped Me At Work Today. Sort Of.</a>:
[QUOTE]Are any of them married to each other?  I thought "and" meant married.   So the envelope, if none are married to each other, should be: Ms. Jane Doe Mr. Andy Smith Mr. John Smith (I would say woman first, then men in alphabetical order.)
Posted by jessicabessica[/QUOTE]

I have no idea. I don't think so, unless it's the two men. And there wouldn't be an envelope--it's a document--so, there would have to be an "and," because there is a "To:" line. Unless it was formatted like this:

To: Mr. John Smith
Mr. Tim Smith
Mrs. Sally Doe

But it would most likely be listed as "To: Mr. John Smith, Mr. Tim Smith, and Mrs. Sally Doe."

staceycaine

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_knots-e-board-helped-work-today-sort-of?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:0aadadcd-3d92-46e4-b74f-72c9d6d0c334Post:f9308eeb-363f-4a1d-b519-a61bf0337663">Re: The Knot's E-Board Helped Me At Work Today. Sort Of.</a>:
[QUOTE]Yeah, I wasn't being a jerk about it. I just thought it was funny. It was a gentle tease, rather than me calling you stupid. I realize you don't know me very well, so you can't read my mind.
Posted by specialk84[/QUOTE]

Haha! It's cool.

Dude. Seriously. Sometimes I have NO IDEA what I'm doing at this job. But they SAY I do a good job...so I'm not fighting them on that. :) I'm especially bad at spelling...grammar is easy for me...spelling...not so much. And the legal-specific stuff I had to totally learn. Who knows that crap? Not me circa 2009, that's for sure.

jessicabessica

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_knots-e-board-helped-work-today-sort-of?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:0aadadcd-3d92-46e4-b74f-72c9d6d0c334Post:5b4409b7-9bc1-4399-a087-676d2223134b">Re: The Knot's E-Board Helped Me At Work Today. Sort Of.</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: The Knot's E-Board Helped Me At Work Today. Sort Of. : I have no idea. I don't think so, unless it's the two men. And there wouldn't be an envelope--it's a document--so, there would have to be an "and," because there is a "To:" line. Unless it was formatted like this: To: Mr. John Smith Mr. Tim Smith Mrs. Sally Doe But it would most likely be listed as "To: Mr. John Smith, Mr. Tim Smith, and Mrs. Sally Doe."
Posted by staceycaine[/QUOTE]

<div>From a professional perspective, not an etiquette perspective, I would put them on separate lines (with their titles, if applicable).  That makes it easier to see by quickly glancing at a document how many people received it and who it was sent to.  </div>