You want to invite an old friend to your wedding, but you don’t have their current address? There is no shortage of approaches to take if you want to find someone’s mailing address, from a people finder to a search of public records.
Once you’ve decided on the invitation or card design, you must gather prospective guests’ mailing addresses and mail the invitation or card out. After all, you have to make sure your stylish wedding invitations don’t end up at the wrong house, causing you to accidentally invite a stranger! You can get the address online – there’s no need to waste your time calling or texting in an attempt to contact the person individually. Most online tools that can come 0to your rescue send a mass email and collect the addresses. Here’s how to find what you’re looking for quickly.
Use A People Finder
You can use True People Search, Melissa Lookups, and other tools to find someone’s address. State agencies and businesses use the latter, a free searchable database validated by Canada Post and the US Postal Service. Melissa and True People work by finding previous addresses and phone numbers. You enter your desired guest’s name, city, and state and hope for more details.
You can also try Family Tree Now, a genealogy site that provides access to previous and current phone numbers and addresses of US residents.
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Reverse Lookup
If you have the person’s home phone number, you can use it to find their address. This process is known as reverse address lookup. A people finder can help you.
Let’s say you have an old address. Send a letter to that address through USPS. The new one will be easy to find if they have asked for their mail to be forwarded.
White Pages
You can get public numbers and addresses for free from the White Pages. Search for the person by name, adding their city or state.
If you know their number, you can also search using that. Try a landline in the ideal case as mobile phones are usually unlisted. You’ll get a list of results, but not all of them will be free. You’ll see their current address in the Addresses section if their current address is public.
If you don’t see it there, click on the Addresses link to obtain a full report. This option is paid and will contain the address.
Check Public Records
The tax assessor will have their address if you know their county and they own property there. Depending on location, this data might be available online for free.
Go to the assessor’s website and look for a free search option. You can use NETR Online and other free directories.
Search Engines
To find someone’s address using a search engine, enter their first and last name in quotation marks. It would help if you had their city or at least state. This option isn’t likely to work if the person has a common name. You can try social networks as well.
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Google Forms
People planning a wedding should make a separate email account for sending invitations out. You can collect addresses using the email ones linked to the account. Write that you’re using it to collect addresses for wedding invitations at the top of the form.
All your guests will have access to this account. They must fill in all of the form fields. As they will be sharing their details, you can be sure you have the proper name spelling. Link the form to a spreadsheet in the “Responses” tab. Your guests will enter their details, and the responses will be filled in automatically.
To share the form via a link, go to the link symbol. Copy the link and email or text it to your guests. When they click the link, they will get a prompt to fill in the form. They don’t have to have a Google account for this. Ultimately, the address spreadsheet will be filled automatically.
If your guests are older and tech-unsavvy, it’s best to call and ask what their address is. Get a parent or another older relative to call them to collect addresses faster.
Tips To Get Mailing Addresses For Wedding Invitations
Customize The Approach
Yes, it is rather simple to send a bulk email requesting the addresses of dozens or hundreds of loved ones, and if you’re in a hurry, you may absolutely take this way. From an etiquette standpoint, however, it is preferable to send tailored emails to loved ones in order to acquire their current address.
It’s a wonderful chance to catch up with friends and relatives, particularly those you haven’t spoken to in a while, and they will appreciate the gesture. Also, if you ask each visitor individually, you are far more likely to get a prompt answer than if you send a bulk email.
You may also include a notice on your wedding website to encourage guests to change their address, but this should not be your exclusive method of communication with them. A social network post requesting the addresses of everyone you’ve ever met is not a smart idea, unless you’re inviting all of your followers to your wedding.
Double Check Before Sending Invites
The procedure of collecting visitor addresses involves two rounds. First, you’ll need to collect the addresses of your guests for the save-the-date cards, and then you may want to follow up before the invites are sent in case someone has moved.
If it’s been less than six months since you sent out your save-the-dates and invites, you may skip this step, but if it’s been more than six months, you should definitely check for updated contact information.
Start Early
Once you’ve decided your guest list, it’s time to start gathering addresses. Yes, it might be very tempting to wait until the week before you save the dates to start scrambling for addresses, but it’s not a smart idea.
You should allow yourself as much time as possible to reach out to your visitors and for them to respond. We suggest beginning the procedure at least one month before your save the dates are sent.
Be sure to request addressing only when your guest list has been completed in its entirety. If you ask a friend or relative for their address, they will anticipate a wedding announcement and invitation.