If you’re sending out invitations to a formal event this festive season you will be keen to get your forms of address right and to ensure that your invitations do not look slapdash or careless.

Many of us will be attending office parties this Christmas and will be enjoying a casual get-together with no anxieties about formal address and invitation styles. But Christmas is also a time of year when many companies and institutions host formal events and, if that is the case, invitations should follow these guidelines, which are also applicable to more formal social events:

Invitations

•Invitations to official events are usually issued on a card, which may be engraved or flat-printed in script or Roman type. The invitation should make clear the nature of the event, the date and location, the dress code (if applicable), the time of the event and, if desired, the time it will end.

•The name/s of the guest/s are handwritten on the invitation, in the top left-hand corner, or in the allocated place in the centre of the card. On the invitation, guests’ names and titles are given in full (eg Mr and Mrs Hugh Berkeley, Lady Hermione Cork, The Earl and Countess of Tolworth), but postnominal letters are not included.

Envelopes

•On the envelope, on the other hand, guests are accorded their full professional title as well as postnominals (orders and decorations). While it was traditional for invitations to social events to be sent to the wife only, it is now customary for the envelope to be addressed in full to the couple.

•On envelopes, invitations to official events name the guest by his/her office (eg ‘The Prime Minister’) and/or name. This means his or her full title, rank etc, followed by his/her decorations etc. Prefixes such as ‘His Grace’, ‘His Excellency’ and ‘The Right Worshipful’ are, however, omitted, with the exception of ‘The Rt Hon’, which is included for a privy counsellor.

Joint Forms of Address

•Joint forms of address often pose challenges. The examples below offer some guidance:

The Rt Hon the Prime Minister and Mrs Downing or Mr Whitehall

The Duke and Duchess of Mayfair

The Lord and Lady Mayoress of London

The President of the Royal Academy, Sir John Burlington, KBE, and Lady Burlington

Mr Donald and Dame Helen Bond

Sir Eric and Lady Beaumont

The Master of the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers and Mrs Eileen Green

The Bishop of London and Mr Peter Worthington

The Earl of Aldford, OBE, MC and the Countess of Aldford

Dr James and Mrs Florence Curzon

Mr Richard and Dr Emily Mountjoy

Dr Sarah and Mr Richard Mountjoy*

Lt-Colonel John and Mrs Rebecca Mount

Mr Peter and Group Captain Helen Bruton

Brigadier James and Major Susan Stratton

Professor Walter and Mrs Rosemary Wilkinson

Mr George and Professor Catherine Fitzwilliam

Professor Sir Edmund and Professor Dame Alison Greenbury

The Reverend John and Mrs Anna Bolton

Mr Dominic and the Reverend Clarissa Berwick

Mr Henry and Mrs Fiona Hardwick (OR Mr and Mrs Henry Hardwick)**

*While it has been traditional for the man’s name to come first when married couples are invited, these days the woman’s name would come first if she is the prime recipient of the invitation (eg a female clergywoman at a church-related event, or a female academic at a university function).

** It has become increasingly common for married women and widows to use their own forenames and initials, rather than being called, for example, ‘Mrs Andrew Hill’ (even though in the past this was considered incorrect because it indicated that the marriage had been dissolved). If in doubt, check with the woman in question to avoid offence.

•Invitations to non-married pairs of guests take these forms:

Brother and sister – Mr John Edwards and Miss/Ms Louisa Edwards

Mother and son – Mrs George Chesterfield and Mr William Chesterfield (note that invitations to adult offspring are usually sent separately from those to their parents)

Unmarried couple – Mr Richard Maddox and Miss/Ms Elsa Curzon***

***In business, ‘Ms’ is often used as a convenient female equivalent of ‘Mr’. It is, however, always advisable to find out if someone prefers to be styled as ‘Miss’, ‘Mrs’ or ‘Ms’. Many women also prefer to be styled ‘Ms’ in social situations.