You’ve spent countless hours picking out just the right invitation suite, and possibly months agonizing over every little detail from the wording to the printing (Still in the early phases? Check out our article on Wedding Invitation Wording). The last part of the equation is to make sure these beauties are delivered to your loved ones with care. Take a few moments to plan using our invitation mailing tips; I promise it will be worth the effort! Read on below for our guide on mailing wedding invitations…
Plan ahead
Be sure to allow time for assembly – Depending on your invitation suite, this may include attaching a belly band or wax seal, or it could be as simple as stacking your invitation cards together and inserting them in the envelope. I highly recommend using a glue stick or envelope moistener (available on Amazon or at your local office supply store) to seal their invitations during assembly. This is a lot easier than licking (yuck!), and will give you a stronger seal than the existing envelope adhesive.
P.S. While assembling, don’t forget to add a postage stamp to your reply envelope! It’s an important detail that’s easy to overlook.
Weigh and Measure
While most standard invitation suites will require one first class stamp (plus a second one for your Reply envelope), there are some exceptions to this rule. Did you know that square invitations and oversize envelopes require extra postage? Extra postage can also apply for invitations printed on double-thick stock. And if you’ve got extras like an events card, directions card, envelope liners, and belly bands, that can add more weight as well.
For exact postage requirements, you’ll want to take a completed invitation suite to the post office for weighing. They can tell you the exact postage amount you’ll need, and help you find a stamp (or stamps) to match. If your local post office is out of stock of the stamp you want, you can usually order it online at usps.com. Don’t forget to take into account any international guests – When addressing, put these in a separate pile and have the post office determine the correct postage for each when you take them for mailing.
Hand-canceling
Do not, I repeat, do not put your wedding invitations in the nearest corner mailbox! Take your invitations inside the post office for mailing, and request that they hand-cancel your envelopes. I recommend doing this at a not-so-busy time of day – I thoroughly believe post offices should be avoided at 4:30 pm on a weekday. Go early in the day when the lines won’t be as long (if there are any), and a friendly smile can go a long way here too. There can be an extra charge for hand cancelling beyond 50 pieces (this varies from one post office to the next), but it’s worth it to not have that bummer of a barcode printed along the bottom of all of your gorgeous envelopes.
That’s all you need to know about how to mail wedding invitations!
Got more invite-related questions?
Contact us and we’ll be happy to help!
