One of the most exciting days as a designer is when I deliver the completed wedding invitation suite to my client! I love hearing their excitement, and it’s also just as thrilling for me to know the next step is for them to mail their invitations. However, before guests can experience opening the piece we have poured our hearts into, invitations need to be prepped for and taken to the post office. Here are my top five tips for mailing your wedding invitations!
1. Visit the Post Office: You will be thankful for this extra errand post trip, I promise! Before you invite family and friends over for an assembly party (see tip 4!), piece together a completed invitation suite and pay your local post office a visit. You will want to have your invitation weighed in order to know how many stamps to use. By completing this before assembling all of your invites, you will also ensure that those closest to you can stamp your invites post assembly (it’s all-hands-on-deck, friends)! Hint: Square invitations do require extra postage not because of their weight but because of their shape.
2. Don’t Forget Stamps: You will want to purchase stamps for your invitations (ask the post office about wedding stamps, or contact me about designing something custom for you!). However, you will also want to purchase stamps for your RSVP envelopes (Forever stamps are your best bet). Not everyone keeps stamps on hand at home, so guests will be grateful that you took care of this for them. It will also encourage guests to send in their RSVP faster, which is the goal!
3. Seal with a Glue Stick: Licking invitations closed is never enjoyable, and they will oftentimes open during transit. There are so many pieces included in a wedding invitation suite envelope, so it’s best to seal each using a glue stick. Glue always strengthens the closure, and you definitely don’t want your suite exposed to travel hazards (machinery) or weather (rain is not kind to paper).
4. Have an Invitation Assembly Party: Invite close friends and family over for a get together centered around your invitations. While it might not sound like the most exciting night out, it will allow you to have help by your side as you assemble your invitation suite and prep each for the mail. A few tips: place your invitation on the bottom then keep building up according to the size of each insert (typically this means your RSVP card will be on top). Place your RSVP envelope behind all of the inserts, and always make sure the text is facing out toward the recipient. Lastly, create a sample for your packing party to look to as an example while they work alongside you!
5. Hand Cancel Your Invitations: Make a return trip to the same post office where your invitation was weighed in order to have your invitations hand cancelled by a post office employee. Hand cancelling is an older technique where a postal worker will use a stamp to confirm that your invitation suite can be mailed rather than allowing a machine to sort each one. Any type of machinery can damage your stationery, so this is a must do! Sometimes postal workers will charge a fee to hand cancel while others will opt to provide the service for free, so be prepared either way. My best tip: do not visit the post office during a peak time (lunchtime, just before they close, or the weekend) in order to catch an employee with time to devote to you and perhaps a more likely offer to hand cancel for free.
If you’re searching for more mailing tips, I wrote this article before, and I also think Lover.ly’s post is wonderful!