Married Couple
For formal or traditional invitations, married couples should be addressed by the husband’s title and last name:
Example:
Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Garcia
Married Couple with Titles
For invitations with a traditional tone, address couples with titles with the husband’s title and last name. Remember not to abbreviate! If the husband or both members of the couple have a title, address them as such as:
Example:
Doctor and Mrs. Andrew Garcia
Unmarried Couple
An unmarried couple is addressed in two lines, the first line consisting of the woman’s name and the second consisting of the man’s:
Example:
Ms. Rory Abel
Mr. Andrew Garcia
Divorced Woman
For an invite using a traditional tone, address a divorced woman who has kept her husband’s last name, with “Ms.” (or any other professional or military title), first name, maiden name, and last name:
Example:
Ms. Natalia Correa Garcia
Widowed Woman
If you are using a traditional tone on your invitations, address a widowed woman using her ex-husband’s first and last name as such:
Example:
Mrs. Andrew Garcia
If you are using a modern formal tone, leave out her ex-husband’s first name:
Example:
Mrs. Garcia
If she kept her maiden name after marriage, address her using her own first and last names:
Example:
Ms. Natalia Correa
Single Woman
To address a single woman without a guest, use her title and first and last names:
Example:
Ms. Natalia Correa
Single Man
A single man, along with a man who is divorced or widowed, is addressed using his title, first, and last names:
Example:
Mr. Andrew Garcia
Military Personnel
For traditional invitations, if a married woman is in the military but her husband is not, they are addressed as a civilian married couple using social titles. If a married man is in the military, only his rank is written on the invitation regardless of whether his wife is part of the armed forces, as shown below. Service branch isn’t included in this format because it would seem as if both halves of the couple are in the same branch.
Example:
Colonel and Mrs. Andrew Garcia
For modern formal invitations, if both members of a couple are in the military they are addressed on separate lines. Each line takes on the format of rank, first and last name, and service branch. The word “and” is added to the beginning of the second line to indicate that the couple’s married status. Again, the woman is listed first.
Example:
Major Natalia Correa, U.S. Military
and Colonel Andrew Garcia, U.S. Military
If the guest is an unmarried man or woman in the military, they are addressed by rank and first and last names, followed by a comma and service branch:
Example:
Lieutenant Jamie Garcia, U.S. Air Force
Click here to download our addressing template excel file.