Wedding season is in full swing and with more brides taking on the challenge of designing and printing their own invitations… I thought I would do a quick explanation of the envelopes and “stationery speak” of what each one entails.
Outer Envelope:
This envelope is the main large envelope that encloses your invitation upon which the guest name and addresses are written. If you have an inner envelope then this is for the head of the household rather than “and family” or “and guest”.
It is standard to have the return address printed on the back flap of this envelope by the printer. Calligraphers do not include this address in their rates for “outer envelope addressing”.
Inner Envelope:
This is a large envelope that fits inside the outer envelope and still encloses the entire invitation suite. You will address this to the people who are invited to your event, this includes family and guests. It was really important in the days of butlers and post traveling by horse with same day delivery. The expectation was that the outer envelope would be soiled, so it could be opened and a clean envelope could be presented to the addressee while maintaining privacy.
Today, the change of postal procedures means the outer envelope is less damaged…and we all do not have a butler. You will find that only certain sizes/companies offer a inner envelope and today they are not standard in most designs.
The Inner and Outer Envelope are called an “envelope set” sometimes among calligraphers.
Response Envelope:
This envelope is the small envelope that partners with the response card and will have your mailing address printed on the front. (Or any person who is taking on the task of receiving the RSVP’s and keeping an organized list of acceptance or declines). This address is considered an additional address by calligraphers.
I hope this little guide is helpful to all who are trying to figure out what exactly they need calligraphed and what should be printed!
