How to Address Wedding Invitations to Same-Sex Couples

Today, we are answering one of our most asked questions!

Unmarried Couples

If the couple isn’t married, traditional etiquette says that you should address each person individually. You should write each name on a separate line just as you would for an unmarried opposite-sex couple. The addressing would be as follows:

Ms. Emily Andrews

Ms. Anna Smith

Married Couples with Different Last Names

If the couple is married and have different last names, both names go on the same line and are separated by the word “and”. Many married same-sex couples choose to keep their last names, so this this addressing format is the most appropriate in most circumstances.

For example: Mr. Charles Adams and Mr. John Green.

Married Couples with the Same Last Name

What do you do if the same-sex couple you are inviting has the same last name? Since it would be confusing to pluralize “Mr.” or “Mrs.”, the French have made it easy for us! The French word for “mister” is monsieur. The plural version of this is messieurs and is abbreviated as Messrs. Alternatively, we treat “Mrs.” the same way! The plural version of the French word is Mesdames, which can be abbreviated as Mmes.

For example:

Mmes. Anna and Emily Andrews

Messrs. Charles and John Green

Writing “Mrs. Anna Andrews and Mrs. Emily Andrews” would also be correct. It just depends on what the couple prefers!

If you have a question that we didn’t address in this blog post, let us know!