Professional Title for Invitation

A female guest is a veterinarian. Should her invitation be worded: Doctor Jane Smith and Mr. John Smith? I’ve heard that you write out “Doctor” for medical (does veterinarian count?) and write “Dr.” for Ph.D. Correct? 

Etiquette Now

Yes, you would address the veternarian as Doctor. And, because the woman is the doctor, you would write her name first as you have. Good job.

See Also

• Wording Second Wedding & Vow Renewal Invitations
• Guide to Wedding Invitations
• Best Online Wedding Invitation Websites
• Wedding Invitation Samples for Any Situation

Professional & Personal Titles for Wedding Invitations

These titles reflect a person’s career or achievements. Retirement from a profession does not exclude them from use of that title. If someone was once a doctor, judge or any of the other professions that allow a special title, they still receive that title. There are no gender differences within professional titles, they are applied to a person regardless of gender or marital status. For example, a married female judge would use the title for a judge, not of a married woman.

In alphabetical order, here is a listing of common professional titles:

Professional Titles

While not listed individually, unabbreviated military titles are to be used when addressing wedding invitations to those in the military. These titles include “Private”, “Private First Class”, “Sergeant”, “Colonel” and all others. The same goes for people with specific religious titles like “Bishop”, “Rabbi”, “Cardinal” and all others.

Personal Titles

If a person does not have a professional title, use the personal title that best matches each individual guest. In alphabetical order, the personal titles are:

Miss: Used for an unmarried female who does not use a married name. If a widowed or divorced woman still uses her husband’s name, her title would be “Mrs.”.
Mr. : For for a male guest.
Mrs. : Used for a female who uses her married name, or is married. “Mrs.” is the correct title for a widowed or divorced woman who still uses her husband’s name. It is also correct for a married woman who does not share her husband’s last name.
Ms. : Never used. The correct title to use is “Miss”, the abbreviated form is not used formally.

Again, a professional title takes precedence over a personal title. There will always be confusion about some guests and the best way to resolve it is to find out directly from them or someone who knows them. Don’t be shy, it is better to ask and do it correctly than remain silent and improperly complete their invitation.