I've heard that it's poor etiquette not to hand-address wedding invites, but why?

Question

Is it still a social no-no not to address invitations by hand? Why is it considered to be in poor taste?

I ask because I have awful penmanship, and I REALLY want my invitations to look as pretty when they arrive as they do on the inside. :) I created a mailing list to run through my computer with my return address, the guest's address, and a heart-themed graphic to help make the outside envelope match the inside invitation. Are people going to look at it and go, "ugh, that's so tacky" because it's not hand-written?

Answer 1

It is frowned upon because it is not personal and can say to your guest that you didn't care enough to take the time to handwrite it. I would instead do a really nice font and just print your envelopes from a computer. I am sure your mailman will thank you! Also, if anyone does mention it, just tell them you wanted to make sure the address was clear and wouldn't get lost in the mail!

Answer 2

There's just something a little more formal and special about hand addressing them. No one will be offended, but it might raise some eyebrows among the older generation.



How I did it was invite over about 6 of my friends for an "invitation" party. Half the girls addressed while the other half stuffed and we were done with the whole thing in about an hour. It was a fun social time. The girls just used their regular handwriting--no fancy calligraphy.



But if it stressed you out, just run 'em through the printer.

Answer 3

I did the same as you and got no remarks of "how tacky" from friends and family and honestly I didn't care if I did.



The etiquette is the sentiment. You took time out of your life and busy schedule to personally address the invitation to each guest. Personally, I don't think it's crass or tacky to run clear mailing labels through a printer with a nice font for them. It's a matter of opinion.



EDIT - DO hand write the insides of thank you notes. Grandmothers especially like this lol. Trust me.

Answer 4

Actually, if people want to be all Technical Etiquette about it, the invitations should be handwritten. Mechanically mass produced identical invitations, even with names handwritten in, are less formal and less correct than traditional handwritten invitations.



If you can do the invitations by mechanical printing, why not the envelopes too? There are probably quite a few people who are innocent of the finer points of Technical Etiquette, but that is not your concern.

Answer 5

I would rather have somone's poor handwriting than their computer's fancy font. That shows me they took the time to think about me and write my envelope. It means a lot more than printed out labels or envelopes which require little to no effort. You can always get your girls or mom or fiance to help you out if you have a lot. I found it really only took about 2 hours for my mom and I to do all 100 of mine.



Good luck!

Answer 6

It adds a personal touch to the invitations that most people expect. If someone in your family or wedding party has good handwriting ask them to do it. At my friend's recent wedding many of us shared the duty so no one would get tired and start getting sloppy.



Edit

Maybe I'm old-fashioned. :)

Answer 7

It's in poor taste, because you are asking people to come share one of the most special moments of your life with you. These are supposed to be people with whom you are very close, and would therefore want to take the extra step to personalize them, instead of mass produce them. You are also generally expecting them to give you a decent sized present, so the general idea is that you would want to take the time to address the letter yourself.



My best friend got married last summer and had one of the bridesmaids do calligraphy on the invites. Do you know anyone that you would feel comfortable asking to help you. If not, you can always print them, I don't think it is as taboo, as it used to be.

Answer 8

For the envelopes, i think it's okay not to have them hand-written. I would be handwriting mine but i wouldn't consider anyone rude if they had a printed address on the envelope.



Good luck!!! :)

Answer 9

No, it is not tacky anymore. With all the computers out here, and the printing shops and what not, I have not seen a handwrittten adress on my wedding invites in years. Don't worry about it.

Answer 10

I don't think so!! At the end the invitations are the least thing they are going to think about your wedding. I didn't do it like that.

Answer 11

ugh, because people are stuck in the dark ages. People aren't going to throw out the invite and not go because it wasn't hand written. No one cares!

Answer 12

it quite is easily appropriate to deliver out the save-the-date enjoying cards utilizing handle labels. they are not quite seen formal, so something is going! Congrats on your upcoming nuptials!