Bride's Mate

There is often confusion over what the inside and outside envelope are. Since most everyday mailings only include an outside envelope, it is easy to see why many are confused about the inside envelope.

The invitation is inserted into the inside envelope. The inside envelope is then inserted into the outside envelope. So you have an invitation contained within two layers of envelopes. It seems odd, but that has been the tradition for wedding invitations.

The two envelope tradition all started because outside envelopes were often badly smudged or torn in the mailing process. So it was decided to place the invitation in an inner envelope, which would complete the mailing process in a more pristine condition. The guest could then discard the outside envelope and the names of all the individuals invited on this invitation would be listed on the inside envelope.

Since the outside envelope was provided for the mailing process, it usually had only the name and address of the parents or the adult the invitation was mailed to. All children and unnamed adults (Guests) were listed on the inside envelope. For example,

Example 1

   Mr. and Mrs. John Smith
   123 Main Street
   Chicago, Illinois 60066

and the inside envelope would say:

   Mr. and Mrs. Smith
   John, Jane and Alison <------- the children (on line 2)

Example 2

and the inside envelope would say:

   Mr. Smith and Guest

For more information on the ettiquette for inside and outside envelope addressing, click here.

Bride's Mate
35 Glenhaven Drive
St. Louis, MO 63122
1-800-279-1989
1-800-854-2478 (fax)