How to Address Wedding Invitations, on Paper and Online

Address wedding invitations with each guest’s title and full name, written out in full, and name every person who is invited so nobody has to guess. Married couples share one line (“Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Fernando”), unmarried couples get both full names, children are listed after their parents, and only titles like Mr., Mrs., Ms. and Dr. are abbreviated.

The same choices settle the name on each guest’s link if you send digital wedding invitations, and your wedding guest list is where you get every name right once. Below are the general rules for how to address wedding invitations, a table with the envelope line and the link name for each type of guest, and the cases that are easy to second-guess: couples with different surnames, plus-ones, kids, titles, and guests who have lost or left a spouse.

The rules that apply to every guest

These hold whichever style you choose:

• Use full names. First and last name, with a middle name written out in full or left off. Skip middle initials.
• Abbreviate titles only. Mr., Mrs., Ms. and Dr. are fine. Write out Street, Avenue and Apartment. The state can be spelled out or written as the two-letter postal code. American style puts a period after Mr. and Mrs.; British style leaves it off (Mr and Mrs), so match the style of the country your guests live in.
• Name everyone who is invited. The envelope tells a household exactly who the invitation covers. If a name is not on it, that person is not invited.
• Pick one style and keep it. Formal titles on some envelopes and first names on others reads as an accident. Close family can be the exception (“Aunt Rosa and Uncle Ben”) on the inner envelope or the link.
• Check spellings against how the guest writes their own name, not how you remember it. People notice their own name.

The envelope is about who is invited. For what the card inside says, see our guide to wording the invitation itself.

How to address wedding invitations by guest type

Find the guest, then copy the pattern. The inner envelope column applies only if you use two envelopes. The last column is the name to put on that guest’s personal invitation link: the formal version first, the version for close friends and family second.

Every name in the table is an example. Swap in your guest’s own name, title and spelling.

Married couples: whose name goes first

For a couple who share a surname, the traditional formal line puts both titles together and uses the husband’s full name: “Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Fernando.” A more modern formal line names both: “Mr. Daniel and Mrs. Priya Fernando.” Either is correct for a formal wedding.

When the order is open, use these tie-breakers:

• A title goes first. If one spouse is a doctor, judge or officer, their name leads.
• Otherwise, the person you are closer to goes first. If that does not settle it, go alphabetical by first name.
• Different surnames get two full names, joined by “and” on one line, or on two lines if the line runs long.

A married woman who kept her own surname is “Ms.”, not “Mrs.”

Plus-ones and partners

If a guest may bring someone and you do not know who, the plus-one goes on the inner envelope only: “Ms. Price and Guest.” With a single envelope, write “Ms. Hannah Price and Guest” on the outside.

If you know the partner’s name, use it. Ask the guest or a mutual friend before you address the envelope. A named partner who does not live with your guest should be addressed by name, not as “Guest.”

Families and children

For a family, the address depends on who is invited:

• Children under 18 who are invited go on the inner envelope, one line after their parents. With no inner envelope, add their names on a line under their parents’ names on the outer envelope, or write “The Fernando Family.”
• Children who are not invited are left off. Address the invitation to the parents only. That is the polite signal, and it is clearer than a note about children on the card.
• Children 18 and over get their own invitation, even if they still live at home. For a casual wedding, an adult child who lives with their parents can be included on the family invitation.

“The Fernando Family” is the most casual option. It also invites everyone in the household, so use it only when you mean that.

Doctors, military, clergy and judges

Use the title the guest uses. A few patterns cover these guests:

• Doctors. “Dr. Priya Fernando and Mr. Daniel Fernando” when one spouse is a doctor. “The Doctors Fernando” or “Drs. Priya and Daniel Fernando” when both are. Use Dr. for an academic doctorate too if that is how the guest is known; if you are not sure, ask.
• Military officers on active duty have their rank spelled out: “Captain and Mrs. Samuel Ortiz.” When the officer is the wife, write her rank and full name, then her husband: “Lieutenant Claire Moss and Mr. Ian Moss.” You can add the branch after the officer’s name. Enlisted service members can be addressed like civilians unless they prefer their rank. Retired officers can keep their rank with “Retired” after the name. Check with the guest.
• Clergy. “The Reverend Grace Ellis and Mr. Peter Ellis.”
• Judges. “The Honorable Nadia Rahman and Mr. Omar Rahman.”

Widowed and divorced guests

A widowed guest can be addressed in the traditional way, with her late husband’s name (“Mrs. Robert Hughes”), or with her own first name (“Mrs. Margaret Hughes”). If the loss is recent, her own name is the gentler choice. If you are unsure, ask a family member which she uses on her own mail.

A divorced guest is addressed by the surname she uses now, with Ms. or Mrs. Ms. is the safe choice if you do not know.

For any guest whose situation has changed recently, address the invitation only to the people who are invited now.

Modern and informal addressing

For a modern style, drop the titles and write first and last names (“Sarah Chen and Marcus Hale”). For a guest who does not use Mr. or Ms., use Mx. or leave the title off. Ask the guest what they prefer if you are not sure.

Modern does not mean anything goes. Full names, the right spellings and everyone who is invited still matter. Formal titles suit a formal or religious ceremony; first and last names suit a relaxed wedding.

Outer and inner envelopes, or just one

A traditional invitation has two envelopes. The outer one carries the formal names and the mailing address. The inner one, inside, names exactly who is invited, more personally, with titles and surnames or first names for close family.

One envelope is fine too, especially for a casual wedding. Without an inner envelope, put everyone who is invited on the outer envelope: the couple on the first line, then children on the next, or “and Guest” after the guest’s name. For a deeper look at which paper conventions still matter, see our guide to wedding invitation etiquette.

The return address

The return address goes in the top left corner of the envelope front, or on the back flap. Use the name and address of whoever is collecting replies: the couple, or the parents if they are hosting. Write it in the same style as your guest addresses, spelled out in full.

If you share a home but have different surnames, use both names: “Ms. Sarah Chen and Mr. Marcus Hale.” Replies and gifts are likely to come to that address, so if replies should go somewhere else, put the reply address on the reply card.

Writing guest names on a personal invitation link

A paper envelope did two jobs: it showed the invitation was meant for that household, and it set the head count. When each guest gets their own invitation link, the name on the link does the first job and the head count does the second.

Four things change when the name lands on a phone instead of an envelope:

• The name greets one person in a chat. Write it the way you would say it to them. “Mr. and Mrs. Fernando” suits an elder relative. “Priya and Daniel” suits friends. Titles you would not use out loud look stiff on a phone screen.
• “And Guest” reads coldly on a screen. Address the link to your guest by name and set their head count to two. If you learn the partner’s name later, add it.
• The head count is the inner envelope. On paper, the inner envelope says who is invited. On a link, the number of people the reply can confirm says it. Name the parents and set the count to two, and the children are not invited, without a note.
• A link names one guest or a couple. On Link Invitation, an invitation addresses a single guest or a couple, so for a family, name the parents and set the head count to include the children. The name belongs to the link, so a second household needs its own.

Check before you send

Run down your list once before you address a single envelope or send a single link:

• Every name is spelled the way the guest writes it.
• Every couple has both names, in the order you chose.
• Everyone invited is named, and nobody who is not.
• Children’s names appear only where children are invited.
• Titles are consistent across the list.
• Each link name matches its head count.
• The return address belongs to whoever is collecting replies.
• Your send date fits the timeline in our guide on when to send wedding invitations.

Each guest’s name on their own invitation

If you are sending digitally, Link Invitation is built around the name on the link.

• Their own invitation link, with their name on it. Each guest’s invitation greets them by name and shows only the events they are invited to, all on that one link. On designs that open with a sealed cover, the guest taps to break the seal and finds the invitation addressed to them.
• One guest list. Tag each guest by side and group, set how many people each invitation covers, per event, and export the list to CSV when your caterer asks.
• Sent on WhatsApp with your own message, one tap per guest, and you can see who has opened their invitation.
• Edit after sending. Update the invitation once and every guest sees the latest version, at the same link.

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