Envelope addressing is £4 per envelope. It’s easy to order online – just tap here.
Since 2005 I have written thousands of beautiful calligraphy envelopes for wedding invitations.
There’s something magical about a wedding invitation landing on the doorstep – and hand calligraphy elevates your guests’ delight to another level!
If you already have your wedding invitations and envelopes, I can address the envelopes for you.
If you’ve yet to buy your invites, please see my wedding invitations page.
All of my designs can incorporate beautiful envelopes which are perfectly suited to modern calligraphy addressing.
Etiquette for wedding envelope addressing
Please don’t worry over the ‘rules’ for sending wedding invites! You’ll find all kinds of guides online, but the golden rule is: you do you.
Your guests are your favourite people in the world: if you’ve never addressed your friends as Doctor & Mr J & A Smith before, you don’t have to start now: you can still call them Jenny and Abraham on their envelope!
Golden rules for modern wedding invitation etiquette:
I take a modern approach to etiquette. Your guests should receive their invitations and be happy – any etiquette you want to incorporate over and above that, is entirely your choice.
Much of traditional wedding etiquette is patriarchal – the man’s name always used to go first on a couple’s invitation. In a society where couples can be two people of any gender, etiquette can be exclusionary and hurtful. Find out more at Equally Wed.
Modern wedding envelope etiquette (the common sense approach)
If you’re not sure of someone’s title, ask. The important mistakes to avoid are:
- Addressing someone as Mr / Mrs / Ms / Mx when they’re a doctor, professor, reverend etc
- Assuming someone’s title e.g. Mrs if they’re not married, or Miss if they prefer to be called Ms
- Always check if you’re not sure: a quick text is kind and considerate
- Assuming someone’s gender: if someone might prefer to be Mx, ask how they’d like to be addressed on their invite – don’t guess
- Misspelling someone’s name. Take it from me – I’m Claire (not Clare, or Clair! – but I’ve been called all three)
Hand delivering wedding invitations
If you have guests who live close by, consider delivering their wedding invitations by hand. The personal touch is lovely!
You’ll also save on postage costs, and you can be more creative with the invitations.
Hand delivered wedding envelopes can be beautifully written and illustrated with all the swirls and flourishes in the world.
It’s also safe to include wax seals and threads or dried flowers if you’re delivering by hand.
You may even be invited in for a cuppa and a cookie, so – bonus!
Sending calligraphy wedding invitations by post
Doorstep delight is a real thing, and your guests will be thrilled when their invites land!
If your envelopes are beautifully addressed in calligraphy the postie will need to be able to read key information so:
- I’ll write house numbers and post codes clearly
- I’ll advise you on inks – a common example is gold ink on white envelopes, which can be hard to read
- I’ll always leave space for your postage stamps!
Tips for sending your wedding invitations
- Buy your stamps online. There are collections of wild bird stamps, wild flower stamps and other special editions. These are so much prettier than the standard 1st and 2nd class stamp books!
- Always weigh your invitations with everything that will go inside: invite, envelope, inserts, rsvp card and envelope etc. If your invitation ‘pack’ weighs more than 100g, standard first and 2nd class stamps won’t be enough
- Check the thickness of your invitations. They need to be less than 5mm thick – so any little embellishments could cause problems
- Swarovski crystals are particularly notorious for postal mishaps: anything sharp or pointy stuck to your invitations will need a thick envelope to protect it. I’ve seen crystals poking through tears in envelopes more times than I can remember.
Mistakes with wedding envelopes
If your wedding invitation packs aren’t priced properly, or safely packaged, they won’t get there!
- Wax seals and string get tangled up and ripped off in Royal Mail’s sorting machines. It’s not worth the risk!
- If you haven’t put the right stamps on, Royal Mail could (and often do) make the recipients pay the extra before they’ll hand over the invites!
- If you don’t include your own address on the reverse, your invitations could get lost and you’ll never know
