Post Office Protocol - How to Mail Wedding Invitations
After the engagement parties and announcements…
…Mailing Day is probably the next Champagne-worthy event!
Leaving your invitations at your local post office can be surprisingly emotional and begins the true Wedding Day Countdown. The secret to an effortless mail-out day is early preparation and minding a few key details.
(This tip sheet presumes that you have already sent out Save-the-Dates or that you’re not sending them).
CREATE A WEDDING INVITATION TIMELINE
Your wedding invitation calendar should span the time it takes to:
Book your calligrapher! There are 2 wedding seasons per year. Professional calligraphers will appreciate the time to collaborate with you and experiment with your inks and papers. When it’s time to start your envelope addressing, (or wedding signs, place cards, or other calligraphy projects) I’ll be ready!
Start exploring your postage options — but don’t purchase until you have a complete invitation suite in hand, and ready to be weighed.
Choose and order your stationery suite.
Research to find a PO that allows for hand canceling - it’s worth the effort.
Addressing the invitations - and Rsvp cards if applicable. (I block out 1 week per 100 envelopes or 200 place cards.)
Assemble your invitation suite.
Mail out within the invitation window, 8 to 12 weeks, depending on your event.
Keep in mind, there are always a few complications with addresses and last moment name edits. Let your calligrapher retain any extra stationery until after your event so they can handle emergency edits and updates.
Be vocal about where you are in your process with your family and friends, your stationer, your wedding calligrapher, and the post office. These people will all play a role in bringing your invitations to the post on the designated day.
HAVE SUFFICIENT ENVELOPES
Order at least 10% extra (15% is better) of anything being hand lettered, (envelopes, place cards, menu cards, etc.) regardless of who is addressing your envelopes; you, your artistic nephew, or your calligrapher.
GUEST LIST TIP
Refine your guest list to ensure accurate and up to date addresses. (If your master guest list is numbered, lightly pencil each guest’s number on the back of their corresponding Rsvp card to avoid “mystery guests” - guests that reply without writing the names of their party).
WEIGH YOUR SUITE AND BUY (OR ORDER) POSTAGE
Weigh one complete invitation suite at the post office. Based on this weight, order or purchase your postage. (Don’t forget the stamps for your Rsvp cards. It’s a kindness — and extra insurance for timeliness — to pre-stamp your guests’ return envelopes). It will take about 2 weeks for postage ordered online via USPS to arrive.
HAND CANCELING
The classic, circular, postal cancelation stamp (a hand canceled stamp) is romantic and discreet and doesn’t interfere with the pristine presentation of your perfectly curated wedding invitation. This is because it avoids extra machine handling.
But most mail is machine stamped: At some post offices, this can looks like tire tracks or a running zebra stripe. So, while at the post office for your invitation weighing, find out if your branch will allow you to hand cancel mail. If they do, take careful notes on what their requirements are.
If a particular post office doesn’t accomodate hand canceling, you’ll still have time at this point in your invitation timeline to research your local branches to find one that does. Smaller post offices and low traffic postal hours may improve your odds. Each office has a different response to this request; some may require that you do the actual stamping under their supervision, or add a surcharge of a few cents per envelope.
ASK YOUR CALLIGRAPHER ABOUT SEALANT
Countless hours have been invested in creating your perfectly curated wedding invitations! Applying a sealant to the envelope is extra insurance that they arrive in the hands of your friends and family as close to pristine as possible.
MAIL OUT DAY
Mail out your invitation 8 to 10 weeks before your event. If you will be having a destination wedding, or for your international guests traveling to your local venue, 12 weeks are necessary.
AVOID THE ACTUAL MAIL BOX
Its better not to use a curbside mailbox; personally hand off your invitations to the counter clerk at your post office. This puts your invitations into the processing stream as much as a day earlier in some areas and keeps them out of the brutal crush of an urban mailbox.
