Properly address your graduation invitations to reflect your educational achievement.
Graduation from high school or college is an accomplishment you may want to share with your friends and family. While your school may limit the number of people you can invite to the graduation ceremony, you can also invite well-wishers to a private reception to commemorate your accomplishment. If you plan on inviting loved ones to your ceremony or a graduation party, it is proper etiquette to mail out formal invitations two weeks before the event. Follow these steps to properly address your graduation invitations.
Address Invitations By Hand
The recipients names and addresses should be handwritten on both the mailing and invitation envelope. Use only black or blue ink to write on your invitations. Red ink, pencils or neon colors are not appropriate for graduation invitations. Choose a high quality ink or fountain pen to make sure your writing does not bleed through the paper.
Do not use labels or a printer to put addresses onto the envelopes. That makes the invitation seem informal and impersonal. A handwritten invitation implies thoughtfulness and sincerity that you want the recipient to attend your celebration. The only exception to this rule is the use of return address labels on the mailing envelope.
Formal Addressing
Use formal titles and names on the address envelope. If you are sending an invitation to your grandparents, use "Mr. and Mrs. James Smith" on the outer envelope rather than "Grandma and Grandpa." Use proper titles such as "Dr." or "Col." if they apply to your recipient. If your invitation is also intended for the children of the recipient, do not name the children on the outside of the envelope. Adult children should receive separate invitations, and young children should be addressed only on the invitation itself. The mailing envelope should be addressed to adults only.
Spell out the address instead of using common abbreviations. It is proper etiquette when sending graduation invitations to spell out the parts of the address that are commonly abbreviated. For example, use "Apartment" instead of "Apt.," "Street" instead of "St." and "Road" instead of "Rd." Leave the state abbreviated with the proper two-letter abbreviation, however, as those codes are necessary for prompt delivery by the postal service.
Handwrite your return address or affix a label at the upper right-hand corner of the envelope. Spell out your proper name and do not use abbreviations in your return address.
Informal Inner Envelope
The invitation may be enclosed in its own envelope within the mailing envelope. The invitation envelope can be informally addressed to all intended recipients. Use informal names such as "Auntie Jane" or "Grandpa Jim" on the outside of the invitation envelope. List the names of everyone from that household who is invited to the celebration. Include the names of the recipients' children if they are also invited to the celebration.
Tags: graduation invitations, invitation envelope, mailing envelope, return address, address your, address your graduation, children should