Master and Miss?

Sassenach1743

Okay, I think I've decided how I'm going to address my invites. And thank you, again, to everyone who responded to my earlier posts. 

I think I'm going to stick with traditional etiquette and address married couples as:

Mr. and Mrs. John Smith

Whomever doesn't like it can just refer to etiquette and hopefully they will realize that I was just following the traditional wording. My best friend (also my MOH), on the other hand, I will address as she wishes... seeing as we've been talking about this subject at length while I've been trying to figure this out. 

As for the two widows on my guest list, I will call them and ask how they prefer to be addressed... it's only 2 phone calls, not too bad. I just wanted to avoid having to call EVERYONE -KWIM?

Anyway, I think this my last question! Yay? 

I have five families with children under the age of eighteen. Traditional wording would have their titles be; Master and Miss, respectively. How do I properly word the invitations to these families using these titles for the children? 

For a family with two under age boys, would it be:

Mr. and Mrs. John Smith 

and the Masters Thomas and Michael

OR

Mr. and Mrs. John Smith

Master Thomas and Master Michael

For a family with three under age girls, would it be:

Mr. and Mrs. Tom Jones

and the Misses Allison, Abigail, and Addison

OR

Mr. and Mrs. Tom Jones

Miss Allison, Miss Abigail, and Miss Addison

For a family with two under age boys and one under age girl, would it be:

Mr. and Mrs. Dunn

Miss Audrey and the Masters Peter and Paul

OR

Mr. and Mrs. Dunn

Miss Audrey, Master Peter, and Master Paul

Or, should I scrap the whole idea of naming out the children and just put "and family"? 

The only reason I wanted to name out the children is to state very clearly who IS invited so as to avoid any additional family members (just in case) and also to continue to follow traditional wording by addressing the invitation to all whom are invited, by name. 

FYI, I just got my invitations in the mail today and I realized that I don't have inner envelopes... just outer envelopes. Thanks again for reading this ridiculously long post

daria24

Unless you are having a SUPER formal wedding, I would just do:

Mr. and Mrs. John Smith

Michael, Paul, and Mary (oldest to youngest)

I would absolutely NOT do "and family". 

Personally I find Master too outdated for my taste. 

Sassenach1743

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_invites-paper_master-and-miss?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:cd062f89-8272-496a-b0ab-225e1f87acecDiscussion:b0451745-1dc7-46c2-8f75-68f54874f19aPost:98fb63c7-d426-44cb-9f1c-6b73d5be3327">Re: Master and Miss?</a>:
[QUOTE]Unless you are having a SUPER formal wedding, I would just do: Mr. and Mrs. John Smith Michael, Paul, and Mary (oldest to youngest) I would absolutely NOT do "and family".  <strong>Personally I find Master too outdated for my taste. </strong>
Posted by daria24[/QUOTE]

<div>I thought this too. I literally laughed out loud when I read it. But wasn't sure because I'm so used to using Miss for the girls.</div><div>
</div><div>I like your suggestion though. Thank you.</div>

meg2marryshane

If you have an inner and outer envelope:

Outer Envelope:
Mr. and Mrs. John Smith

Inner Envelope:
Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Jack, Ellie, and Joe (oldest to youngest)

Outer Envelope only:

Mr. and Mrs. John Smith
Jack, Ellie, and Joe (oldest to youngest)

Sassenach1743

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_invites-paper_master-and-miss?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:cd062f89-8272-496a-b0ab-225e1f87acecDiscussion:b0451745-1dc7-46c2-8f75-68f54874f19aPost:3ca8a9cf-52cc-4939-9cd0-bbadfb81f556">Re: Master and Miss?</a>:
[QUOTE]There is nothing wrong with being traditional, but you must do it correctly.  "Master" is only used for boys under the age of 12.  <strong>"Miss" is used for any unmarried female of any age.</strong>
Posted by CMGr[/QUOTE]

<div>Thank you! That's what I thought too... but then I was told that Miss was only for girls under 18. I'm reverting back to my original (and traditional) thought on that. </div><div>
</div><div>As far as Master, I'm thinking I'm going to stick to just the kid's names in order of oldest to youngest. I like that best.</div><div>
</div><div>
</div>

Jen4948

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_invites-paper_master-and-miss?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:cd062f89-8272-496a-b0ab-225e1f87acecDiscussion:b0451745-1dc7-46c2-8f75-68f54874f19aPost:ecae8cbf-491c-4183-875a-1d77c586f880">Re: Master and Miss?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Master and Miss? : Thank you! That's what I thought too... but then I was told that Miss was only for girls under 18. I'm reverting back to my original (and traditional) thought on that.  <strong>As far as Master, I'm thinking I'm going to stick to just the kid's names in order of oldest to youngest. I like that best.</strong>
Posted by brita722[/QUOTE]

CMGr is right about the traditions of Master and Miss, but I know of no kid who appreciates it. I think just sticking to kids' names by seniority is the best way to go.

MoxieMickie

CMGr is correct in regards to tradition. Tradition also says that women are property with no human rights. Use Ms. for unmarried females of any age who do not have a higher title, e.g., Dr., unless they tell you they prefer otherwise.
Jen's right that by the time kids can read the envelope, they usually don't appreciate being highlighted as kids.