Now that Gay Marriage is again legal in California, and other states, same sex couples can now marry! That means it’s party time!
You want to make sure your guests are going to receive your beautiful invitations. And etiquette must expand to include same sex couples! How do you address these couples?
You have two males, or two females- but they may have also changed and adopted one name, or kept two original last names. Then there’s the issue of whether to use the traditional “Mrs” or “Ms”. Lesbian couples have been prevented from marrying up to now. And although women fought for the new term “Ms” that did not define a woman by her relationship to a man, it seems that women now want to use the title “Mrs”.
The plural of Mrs. is Mesdames and the plural of Mr. is Messrs. So a married female couple with the same surname would be Mesdames Jenna and Aurora Acorn, and a married male couple would be the Messrs. Jackson and Hal Thornton.
But what do you do when the couple has not adopted one last name. Put them on two lines, alphabetically. And I think it’s best to ask the invitee how they prefer to be addressed: Mrs or Ms.
I think it’s up to you! Be a trend setter! Make yourselves happy in all ways regarding your choices- and that includes how to address your envelopes!