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For some reason, my handwriting looks like I used my foot. I can’t print right, and everything I write is a mix of capital and lowercase letters, and not in the order they should be! Mrs. Bluebell suggested addressing the invites before we have to send them out, but that scares me a bit for a few reasons:
A.) This means the wedding is really happening. And yes, I say that after every milestone (Bought the dress? Totally real now. Ordered the cake? Can’t turn back. Purchased invites? Wow, we’re really doing it!).
B.) Our guest list isn’t finalized yet. Somehow we’ve been adding and subtracting people every week. I’m a little afraid of addressing these permanent invitations! To be fair, Mr. Kiwi’s school recently went through a major overhaul. Co-workers we thought we’d invite left the school, and we can definitely use the space. We’re also unsure about inviting new co-workers, and how to avoid ostracizing anyone in the school.
C.) As I mentioned above, my handwriting stinks. So I’m a little nervous about the atrocity of the printing they’ll get.
D.) I don’t want to use script for addressing invites. We’re using a “fun” invite with non-script writing because we were looking for something a little less formal. Would it be wrong to use a “neat” print?
E.) I still have to get stamps for the invites AND the RSVP cards, as well as printing out our reception cards.
So, I’m being pretty lazy. 
Which reminds me… I wonder if I can print the addresses off my printer?
There are some great “handwriting” looking fonts out there…maybe you can check them out? With the right printer, it would be hard to tell that you didnt write them out yourself!
We just got an invitation addressed w/ a clear label. Arrived just fine. In her case, her handwriting in English is still shaky, so was definitely the right way to go for her.
E) Why not? I just picked a pretty font and ran them off on clear matte label papers. Handwritten envelopes look nice and I’m sure they make ppl go “wow that’s some handwriting.” But I highly doubt ppl would notice if they weren’t. And a cool enough font will produce that same “wow” response anyway, so go for it!
Hi! We just finished sending out our invites for our October wedding, and I felt quite the same as you in terms of being terrified of literally sending the darned things.
I wanted a neat and clean look for the invites, and I definitely wanted it to be as stress-free as possible. Although my handwriting is okay, I tend to get sloppy when I have a lot to write, and we had to send out 150 of these babies!
We’d read on some wedding etiquette sites that hand addressing is preferred, but we decided to bite the bullet, take any criticism that may come, and laser print our address labels on to clear adhesive labels. We chose a font that matched the return address printed on the back of the envelope and some of the script in the invitation.
Both of our moms have already gotten a bunch of phone calls with guests telling them they love the invites! No one seems offended that we didn’t hand address their envelopes (and some of my relatives would definitely say so if they felt slighted). This post is an extremely long-winded example, but I don’t think there would be a problem with printing a neat font on your envelopes!
i printed my envelopes and did NOT hand address them. I chose a calligraphy-style font (”selfish”) and after I ran the envelope through the laser printer, i rubbed the address down a bit to give it an aged/distressed look. Everyone LOVED it and actually thought that I had really written them myself! I would have hated to handwrite them… ugh! People aren’t too concerned with old etiquette “rules” anymore, in my opinion… at least none of the people I know. So, go for it!
ps. i’m with you guys about being scared to send out the invitations. i’ve been sending mine out in small chunks. somehow, it’s psychologically easier for me this way! haha
I’m another one who used a printer. My husband and I both have bad handwriting so this just saved us so much hassle. Plus now we have all the addresses in a spreadsheet that we also used for thank you notes (which take forever to handwrite, if you naturally have messy writing and are trying really hard to be neat!)
I know people have different priorities and I definitely wanted a pretty invitation, but to me, the envelope is something that is going to be thrown out… addressing them with a printer is legible and can be pretty if you pick a nice font, so I personally see nothing wrong with it! 
Hiya! We ended up buying really beautiful printable oval labels from Paper Source in a color that matched our invites, then printing the addresses in a vintage font. I bought the font online and it’s both classic and a little bit ‘artsy’ so the labels look gorgeous. For the one or two great-aunts I could imagine clutching their pearls at the thought of a printed outer envelope, I bit the bullet and hand-addressed. Then I calligraphed the inner envelopes - yes, I took a class, and yes, the writing still looked kind of shaky but I liked the handmade feel of that. The whole package ended up looking wonderful! One little warning, the printed labels did take a chunk of time to set up and print (like 4 hours total, from Excel spreadsheet to finished project) and I wished we’d bought 3 or 4 extra sheets for corrections and late-addition invites.
i’m another who has bad writing. i suppose i could get away with it, but i really don’t want to handwrite anything. i say go with labels or print directly onto the envelope. do your trials as usual, but most regular inkjet printers and papers do just fine. good luck! spare yourself the stress!
We used our home printer to print the addresses on our envelopes, and LOVED them!
I say go for it!
we printed addresses right onto the envelopes, and i think they looked great =)
My fiance and I have horrible handwriting. Luckily, I found someone to do my calligraphy for very cheap. If you are interested she is in the Pasadena area and has really quick turn around time. She just started her business and building her portfolio. My invitations look beautiful. I am having her do my table cards too. Email me if you are interested and I will forward her information.
We also printed right onto the envelope - some people thought they were handwritten. I think calligraphy was probably necessary 10-15 years ago, but the quality of consumer printers is at such a high level, I think it isn’t necessary anymore. If you have a good quality printer, use it. If you don’t, track down a friend who does and buy them an ink cartridge in exchange for using it.
Heck, I only have to send out 35 or so invites and I did labels on my printer. I’m THAT lazy :o) Honestly, I don’t think most people care so much about the envelope they’re throwing directly into the trash. I did hand write the names on the inner envelopes, but only because it didn’t dawn on me until after to run them through the printer, too 
I had to send out well over 200 invitations, so there was NO WAY I was going to sit there and hand write every single envelope (my husband has horrible handwriting, so his help on that was out of the question). Hiring a calligrapher was out of the budger. So, I used clear matte labels with the same font we used on the invites for continuity. I thought it looked just fine, actually probably even better than if I had handwritten them.
This is all just my opinion…but I think that it’s okay to 1) address your envelopes via computer/printer and to 2) use any unique font you can find! Why? Because it’s your wedding adn these days anything goes.
I did over 200 invites addresses, handwritten…but hey, I’m an English teacher.
I’M SO GLAD TO HEAR THAT OTHER PEOPLE ARE PRINTING THESE THINGS! What a relief.
I actually printed my own invites as well as the outer envelope. We used edwardian script as the font so it looked a little fancy. I did hand write the inner one to give it a more “personal” feel though. I also got some clear lables and printed the return address to stick on the reception card envelopes and the back of the invites. My handwritting has been weird lately too- even at work, so I understand your stress. I thought about teaching myself caligraphy, but quickly changed my mind. I am so glad to see that I am not the only one who had this problem and went the “techie” route! Good Luck!
I did my own, but I printed in all lowercase letters. It turned out really cute and helped keep the informal theme we were going for.
Ironically, my fiance’ has better handwriting than me - and he’s a lefty! He has a beautiful script print, I’m so jealous of his penmanship. I asked if he wanted to do the addressing and he’s yet to respond. We have plenty of time, our wedding isn’t until April 2008
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Mrs. Kiwi, Los Angeles Age and Occupation in 06: 27, Bookkeeper Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, P.E. Teach/Coach @ private schools in LA Engagement Date: March 31, 2006 Wedding Date: November 3, 2007 Venue: Radisson Hotel About Me: I'm a bookkeeper who failed high school algebra. I'm currently living in Los Angeles, literally a street over from where I grew up with Mr. Kiwi, my honey of three years. We have a jumbo mini-dachshund (seriously, he's huuuuge), and we're planning an autumn themed wedding on a shoestring, paid for by ourselves. The wedding date is my late grandma's birthday, I needed her there somehow, and that seemed like the best way for us. I can't believe I'm a Bee! I couldn't be more proud!
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