How to address invitations...

CnSinLOVE

Hello ladies!! I need some help! I just went to start addressing our invitations and realized I didn't really know what I was doing. Lol!

We are paying for the wedding so the response cards are coming back to our house...I don't have enough space to write both our first and last names out...way too long! Should I just do both our last names, should I write Mr Mrs tobe Smith, or something completely different??

Also, how should I address them to our guests...Mr Mrs John Smith or John Jane Smith?? And for our single people do I write Mr John Smith Guest??

I'm so confused!! I thought this would be the easy part of my day lol! I'm sure this has been asked a thousand times and I really appreciate anyone who takes the time to answer me!! I searched the board, but after 10 pages still hasn't found an answer.

Thanks so much ladies!!!

AddieCake

We put The Smith/Jones Wedding and then our address for the RSVPs. 

CnSinLOVE

Thank you so much ladies!! Invites are going out this week! So excited!!!!!!

Sephiroth

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_how-to-address-invitations?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:9152a425-9178-403f-bf1a-d4dedf639ca1Post:6a378aa1-f2c6-447a-9b11-572a8f0bbc23">Re: How to address invitations...</a>:
[QUOTE]Ditto Addie regarding the RSVP address. For the invitations: Mr. and Mrs. John Smith is the most traditional way to go. If you want to include the woman's name, you would address it as Mrs. Jane and Mr. John Smith. This isn't the traditional way but I knew some of my friends do NOT like to be called Mrs. Husband's name so I addressed theirs like this. If the wife is a physician or otherwise has a title, Dr. Mary and Mr. John Smith If they are married but she kept her name: Ms. Mary Jones and Mr. John Smith (same line with an "and" between the names).  Unmarried couples go on separate lines with no "and" between the names. If you're using inner envelopes, put the "and guest" there.  If you aren't using inner envelopes, you can put the guest on the outer envelope.
Posted by KindaSparkly[/QUOTE]
I agree with this entirely, but I would point out that there are a *lot* of women that hate the "Mr and Mrs John Smith" setup. My mother, who is in her 60s and somewhat conservative, throws out most mail with that construction on it, she hates it so much.

There's not a perfect solution for this yet. Some people avoid this by simply not using titles, so just Jane and John Doe. Some people opt out of first names, so just Mr and Mrs Doe. Some people use what KindaSparkly suggested, Mrs Jane and Mr John Doe, or Mr John and Mrs Jane Doe. (If you use this, remember that not all women use the 'Mrs', so if you know a friend uses 'Ms', do use that instead.)

KindaSparkly's suggestion is the cleanest of the options I've seen. I personally would use it as the default instead of Mr and Mrs John Smith, though.