When addressing anyone by letter or introduction the man is first and then his partner. The only exception with an introduction face to face is if the woman is your friend (Example: This is my friend Jane Doe and her husband Jack.)
The envelope should be addressed to Mr. & Mrs. John Smith. Informally, one would write, "Jane and John Smith" in the salutation, as traditional, published etiquette states that, outside of the traditional "Mr. & Mrs." or "Dr. and Mrs." the wife's name is always first. Please see Miss Manners Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior-2005 (p 603) and Crane's Blue Bookof Social Stationery- 2002 (pp. 89, 108, 110, 111, 112, 113, 603).
In addition, should the wife hold a specific title or honorarium, the order may change.
In the case of "ordinary" title, such as professional ones (Dr., Judge, Professor, etc.), it is proper to address it in this manner:
Mr. John and Dr. Jane Smith
or,
Dr. John and Dr. Jane Smith (or, alternately, "Drs. John and Jane Smith")
or even
Mr. John Smith and Jane Smith, Esquire
However, it is now common practice to address the wife first if she is the primary recipient of the communication. For instance, if an organization were giving an invitation to a woman and only incidentally to the husband (say, if the organization were going to present an award to the wife), the method of address should be:
Mrs. Jane Smith and Mr. John Smith
This is regardless of common title of either; the proper method is to include the full name of both, placing the one being directly addressed first.
In the case of Peerage (nobility), the form has the actual owner of the title (regardless of gender) appearing first, with only the proper title being used (not the common name). As until recently, marriage to a female titleholder transferred the title to the husband. This is no longer the case, so there are variations on traditional methods of address.
The Duke and Duchess of Wessex
The Baroness of Heath and Mr. John Smith
Lady Jane Windsor and Dr. John Smith
Queen Elizabeth and the Prince Consort
Proper address to nobility gets really difficult if one wants to be pedantic about it, but that's outside the scope of this answer.
Hi! what is correct wya of addressing the family clan name : is it the mother surname first or the father surname comes first????
You can address either first.
* Informally means casual so you would address a husband and wife by their first names. Formally is when you would use Mr. Doe or Mrs. Doe.
It is etiquette to put the wife's name first and inside the card put her name first and then the husbands (the deceased was his mother-in-law) so he should be included.
As Mr & Mrs.
You would use the first name of the husband and the first name of the wife. This is how you address a Japanese married couple through a letter.
the understanding of husband and wife is first given in Genesis 2:24
Mr & Mrs James Angstrom Jr.
The husband's name is listed first.
Major and Mrs . . .
Dr. Mary Smith and Mr. James Doe
Just address the card to Mr and Mrs (husband's name). It's perfectly okay to address the husband and wife but to avoid offending the wife just do the Mr and Ms last name and you're probably safe.
Pastors George and Martha Maloney
How about Mr. and Mrs.