I'm still puzzled on some of the proper ways to address my invitations. So I've Googled "addressing wedding invitations" and the invitation site Minted.com included these two tips that I can't understand...
- Women who are widowed should be addressed according to their late husband's name, with "Mrs." as the title (i.e. Mrs. George Brown).
- Unless a divorced woman is using their maiden name, they should still be addressed as "Mrs.", but with their first names and former married last name (i.e. Mrs. Jane White).
The first tip about widowed women I do understand but think is out dated. I remember my grandmother still addressing herself this way, but she was very old school and sentimental. He was pretty much her identity so it made sense.
Now, my best friend's father passed a year ago and when I asked how to address her mother's invitation and suggested possibly using this format, my friend shot it down immediately. She said her mother would not appreciate that, not because it would make her sad to see his name, but because she was much more liberal and would be irritated that her name was not used.
The second one for divorced women, I have NEVER heard or seen before. My own mother is divorced (for 13 years) and she would NEVER be addressed as "Mrs." that just doesn't make any sense at all! Using Mrs. indicates that she's married... and she's not. She still has my dad's last name but wouldn't the proper title then become Ms. ?
I just can't imagine sending my mom's invitation addressed as Mrs. -she would turn green!
I'm sure most would say to address each invite as preferred by the guest... but I really want them to be uniform. Call me OCD, but I just want to find a common ground that is still proper and acceptable, without offending anyone. Is there any way to do this?