Skip the drama when addressing wedding invitations

I can't handle addressing these wedding invitations.

Everyone says I should address it to “Mr. & Mrs. Man's-First-Name Man's-Last-Name” but it pisses me off…

…addresses like this completely blow past the female component of a relationship!

Any ideas for how to be true-to-self without trying to make an in-your-face statement?

-Anonymous

I'm not sure what etiquette would advise, but my solution was to skip last names completely on my invites. I addressed them with first names and affectionate titles, ie “Dad & Andrea” (for my father and his girlfriend), “Auntie Cherie & Dave” (for my aunt and her boyfriend), and “Dallas & Erin” (for my married friends who shared a last name). I usually listed whoever I felt like knew better first, i.e. “Susannah & Michael” for my best friend from high school and her husband.

Obviously, your mileage may vary with this technique and it's probably not up to any sort of etiquette, but it felt like the simple, straightforward solution to me.

I'd love to hear from Offbeat Brides — how did you address YOUR envelopes?

About the Author: Ariel

@arielmstallings

Author of three editions of the Offbeat Bride book and its sequel (From Shitshow To Afterglow, the ultimate offbeat breakup book) Ariel Meadow Stallings is the publisher of all the Offbeat Empire web properties. She lives in Seattle with her son. To read her latest writing, follow @arielist on Medium.