You are faced with a lot of questions as you plan your wedding. There are plenty of obvious ones, like “how many guests?” “What flowers should be in the bouquet?” “What will we eat?”
But there are lots of unexpected questions that will arise as you plan, such as “do I need inner envelopes for my wedding invitations?” or even, “what the heck are wedding inner envelopes?”
What are Wedding Inner Envelopes?
To answer that second question first, inner envelopes are, you guessed it, an envelope inside your mailing envelope. The full invitation suite (invite, RSVP card, extra details) is placed inside the inner envelope. The inner envelope lists the guests’ names on the front and then is placed into an outer, mailing envelope with the guests’ address, stamps, and your return address (and maybe sealed with a wax seal!).
Benefits to using Inner Envelopes
What’s the point of inner envelopes for wedding invitations? Well, inner envelopes for wedding invitations date back to olden days when mail was delivered via horse and carriage. Mail got really beat up in those days and the inner envelope protected the invite from the damages seen on the outer envelope.
In today’s modern age, mail is treated more nicely so many forgo the inner envelope. But we have all received damaged mail, so using an inner envelope still adds an extra level of protection to your beautiful invitation suite - especially if you don’t plan on hand-cancelling your envelopes (more on that later!).
On top of that, though, inner envelopes provide clarity as to who is actually invited to your wedding. We all know forming the guest list is one of the hardest parts of wedding planning. The inner envelope helps alleviate that stress by making it clear to the recipients exactly who from that household is invited to the wedding in a non-confrontational way.
Outer envelopes are typically addressed to the heads of the household (in a more formal manner, such as “Mr. and Mrs. Wagner”), whereas the inner envelope lists everyone from that household is invited (in a more informal manner, such as “Justin, Maxine, Rob, & Faye”).
As an example, say you are having an adult-only wedding and one family you are inviting has both teenagers and young kids. While the outer envelope would be addressed to the heads of the household, the inner envelope can then specify which of the kids are invited to the wedding.
On the flip side, say you are inviting a single friend to your wedding and want them to know they can bring a guest. The more the merrier! The outer envelope would be addressed to your single friend (“Catherine Sims”) and the inner envelope would state “Catherine and guest” so your friend knows to crack open that address book!
Outer envelope addressed to head of households and inner envelope addressed to the specific family members who are invited to the event
Outer envelope addressed to single person and inner envelope addressed to indicate a guest is also invited to the event.
That all being said, back to the original question - do you need inner envelopes for your wedding invitations? Of course not! There are many ways to address an outer envelope to make it clear who is invited or this can be dealt with on the invite itself. Working with a calligrapher (like me!) to address your wedding envelopes can help make this process easier. I’ll help guide you every step of the way so you can be confident your envelopes are addressed appropriately and make it to their destination safely.
Like with all aspects of wedding planning, whether or not you use inner envelopes comes down to your preference and your budget. Interested in calligraphy envelope addressing me? Visit my Envelope services page and fill out the quick form to begin the inquiry process. While I’m a Southern California calligrapher, I love working with couples and individuals all over the country!