When to Mail your Wedding Invitations

 

One of the top questions our couples ask is: “When should I send out my invitations?” So we’ve put together a handy little guide for when we recommend letting your guests know you’re tying the knot!

Keep in mind that the recommendations below are ‘guidelines’. Always communicate with your stationer and they will advise you when you need to send out your invitations for your specific situation.

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Local Weddings

For weddings where most guests will not need to make travel accommodations.

Note: If only a few of your guests are arriving from overseas or across the country, we recommend giving them a call or sending an email ahead of time with your wedding details so they can plan accordingly.

Save the Dates

6 - 8 months before the wedding.

Invitations

8 weeks before the wedding if you’ve sent a Save the Date, 12 - 16 weeks before the wedding if you did not send a Save the Date.

We feel that sending them 6 weeks before the wedding is too short of a lead time for your guests if the rsvp deadline is 1 month before the wedding and would also be an issue if any of the invitations need to be resent due to address issues. If your wedding is around the holiday season or during a time when many people make vacation plans, we recommend sending them out a little earlier than recommended.

RSVP Deadline

1 month before the wedding (Note: Always ask your planner/caterer/venue when they need a headcount) .


Destination Weddings

For overseas weddings or when the majority of your guests need to book plane tickets and accommodation.

Save the Dates

8 - 12 months before the wedding.

Invitations

Between 8 - 10 weeks before the wedding if you’ve sent a Save the Date with a website link that includes more details, 3 - 4 months if you’ve sent a standard Save the Date, 5 - 7 months if you did not send a Save the Date (not recommended).

RSVP Deadline

6 weeks before the wedding (often destination weddings require more lead time, always check with your planner/caterer/venue first).

 

How to Hand-Cancel Your Wedding Invitations

 

(in the United States of America)

With the love and care put into your wedding invitations, we always recommend “hand-canceling” your postage to avoid them traveling through the USPS processing machines. These machines leave printed tracking marks on envelopes, often strip off wax seals and can even snag handmade envelopes flaps. Machine-processing requires envelopes to be standardized in order to facilitate quick sorting, “machined mail” often has a rough ride and can leave your suites damaged.

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Is there an alternative? Yes!

You can “hand-cancel” your postage!

What does “hand-cancel” mean?

Instead of machine processing, you can request that your envelopes be processed by hand. Your postal clerk will mark each postage stamp, on each envelope, with a special rubber stamp noting the current date and the postal location. This bypasses the need for the envelope to be sent through their sorting machines.

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How do you “hand-cancel” your postage?

  1. After your suite is addressed, weighed and measured, stuffed, sealed and has the correct postage applied (see our post on ‘mailing your invitation suites’), bring your suites to your local post office.

  2. Ask the clerk to verify you have the correct postage (check, check, double-check) and request they “hand-cancel” your postage.

  3. Once they have finished stamping each piece of postage, they should set them aside to be processed separately from the machined mail.

Things to consider:

  1. Hand-canceling can cost a little bit more - $0.21 more as of 2021. This is not uniformly enforced but it’s worth the extra charge to help ensure your suites arrive to their destination safely.

  2. It takes longer - Part 1. It can take quite a bit of time to stamp all of your postage, depending on how many suites you are sending. Visit your post office during low-traffic hours, avoid right away in the morning, lunch, and the hour before they close.

  3. It takes longer - Part 2. Not only does stamping all of your envelopes take some time, it can also take longer for the USPS to process and deliver them. Plan on hand-canceled invitations taking at least a week longer to arrive to your guests than normal.

  4. Some clerks will tell you they don’t hand-cancel anymore, they’re wrong and you can ask to speak to the office’s manager. If at first you don’t succeed, ask for a second opinion or go to another post office.

  5. If you’re having trouble, bring 50 suites in at a time and return the next day with 50 more until all your suites are done. The only charge you should pay for hand-canceling is the extra $0.21 per suite, if its requested.

  6. You should not hand-cancel your reply envelope postage ahead of time - it will prevent your guests from using the postage.

  7. Ask them to bundle your suites with a rubber band after they are ‘canceled’ to help avoid them getting buried during processing and being accidentally machined. Your suites may be sent through multiple processing centers before reaching your guests and there’s the possibility they won’t be sorted correctly at each step along the way. Bundling them gives them a better chance of being recognized, at least in the beginning.

  8. There’s no guarantee. The USPS is operated by humans and humans make mistakes. They process millions of pieces of mail each day and its possible that not all hand-canceled suites will be pulled for hand processing. However, the tips in this article will give your invitations the best chance they have of arriving safely to their destination.

If it sounds intimidating, you can ask your stationer if they offer postage and mailing services! Stationers have years of experience working with the postal service and can lend their expertise not only in selecting the correct postage but throughout the entire mailing process. We offer complimentary sealing and mailing services for all clients who purchase their postage through us!

 

How to Mail your Wedding Invitations

 

(from the United States of America)

We have to give them credit for processing over 20.2 million pieces of mail every hour, its a tough gig and they get a bad rap; but, the post office can be an intimidating place. Sometimes you get a grumpy-goose of a clerk and you’re left to row the deep waters of the United States Postal Office alone. At other times the person behind the counter is the ‘Mary Poppins of the Post’ and from start to finish she’s just a delight! Either way, weddings invitations are precious cargo and we’ve put together a quick guide for navigating the post office. Keep reading for tips and tricks on how to mail your fine art invitation suites…

 
 
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1. Spell-Check

I can’t emphasize this enough, re-check all your guest addresses and your return addresses for spelling to eliminate as much human-error as possible. Bring in a fresh pair of eyes to help you catch any unusual spellings or incorrect addresses.

2. Machine Processed or Hand-Canceled

If you’ve opted not to have your invitation stationer organize your postage for you, the first step is to decide whether you’d like to have your invitations machine processed or hand-canceled by USPS. We highly recommend hand-canceling your postage if you have a wax seal, handmade paper envelopes, or vintage postage. No matter the envelope type or embellishments, machine processing can leave unsightly marks on your envelopes and hand-canceling your postage bypasses this issue. However, sometimes your post office might require an additional $0.21 to hand-cancel your postage and you can decide what is best for you. For information and tips on hand-canceling postage, click here.

3. Get a Postage Estimate

Regardless of how you are processing your postage, take one of your suites to your local post office and have it weighed and measured. Ask for a postage estimate. Depending on the affability of your local postal workers, it’s also recommended to keep a signed record of the postage estimate you are given if you are not planning to ship at the time of the estimate. Keep in mind that postage rates can fluctuate. If you’re not immediately mailing them, ask the clerk if anything is expected to change in the near future.

You may also request a postage estimate from your stationer ahead of time. However, it is still highly recommended that you take your suite to your local post office for an official quote as it can vary by post office and clerk.

You will most likely be mailing “letter” size envelopes. Things to consider…

  • The USPS Standard Letter-Size postage rates as of January 2020 are $0.55 for items under 1 ounce and $0.15 for each additional ounce. Most invitation suites we create are between 1 and 2 ounces.

  • Size Matters: For official USPS Letter-Size dimensions review their guide here. Maximum Length: 11-1/2 inch | Maximum Height: 6-1/8 inch | Maximum Thickness: 1/4 inch. For suites over the maximum dimensions, additional postage is required and may be considered “large envelopes”. Standard US A9 - 4Bar sized cardstock envelopes should meet USPS length and height criteria. However, some handmade envelopes and other envelopes made outside of the US may be too big to be considered ‘Standard Letter-Size’ and will require some additional postage. Additionally, square envelopes are considered “odd-sized” and may require additional postage.

  • Special Note: Wax Seals and other embellishments may affect the thickness of your suite and will require at least $0.15 in additional postage. There are a lot of variables when it comes to calculating the “thickness” of your suites and your postal clerk should inform you at the time of estimate.

  • Destination Matters: International addresses will require additional postage. You can get a base estimate for international letter postage rates at usps.com. However, if there is anything non-standard about your suites, be sure to consider this in your estimate. You may also visit your local usps office for an official quote.

4. Current or Vintage

Decide whether you’d like to use current postage or vintage postage. Purchase the correct amount of postage for your suites and do not forget to purchase stamps for your reply envelopes, if applicable. Current stamps can be purchased at your local post office, for the complete collection visit their online store. Ebay and Etsy are great places to source vintage postage. Keep in mind that due to their rarity, vintage postage will cost more than the postal value of the stamp. When buying vintage postage, be sure to verify that they are “MNH” or “Mint Never-Hinged”. This means they have never been used and are free of processing marks.

 
 
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5. RSVP Postage

Once your postage arrives, if your invitations are not pre-assembled, adhere any reply envelope postage to your reply envelopes and assemble your suites.

6. Stuff, Seal, Stick

Stuff and seal your guest envelopes and adhere the postage with a fresh ‘extra strength’ glue stick or double sided adhesive tape. Guest envelope postage should be arranged either across the top of the guest envelope beginning in the top right corner or clustered in the top right corner.

 
 
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7. Final Check & Mailing

Once your suites are ready to go, it is recommended that you hand them to a USPS clerk for one last check. If you have chosen to hand-cancel your postage, this is when the magic happens, click here for information on how to mail hand-canceled suites.

8. The Wait

Delivery times vary by region - we recommend allowing 2-7 business days for machine processed suites. Hand-cancelled suites will take longer. Additionally, large metro areas have a history of extended delivery times, allow extra time for these destinations. Keep in mind that the post office handles millions of pieces of mail every day and its common for some percentage of your invitations to be returned to you or misdelivered. This is to be expected and is mostly outside of your control. If you haven’t heard back from a guest, it’s a good idea to check in the closer you get to your rsvp deadline.