As your wedding invitations near completion and you begin to think about having them in your hands so that you can get them ready to mail out to your family and friends, I’m guessing you now have a list of questions about how to mail them and about postage.
Chances are, postage wasn’t even part of your wedding invitation budget considerations and now you are wondering how much extra money you are going to need to mail out these beautiful wedding invitations. It may seem a little scary but the truth is, with a little guidance, you’ll easily be able to figure out just how much extra postage your wedding invitations will need so that you can get your invites in the mail without issues.
Chances are your save the dates were mailed using a regular First Class Stamp. What you may not realize is that basic wedding invitation suites (mailing envelope, flat-single-layer invitation, rsvp card and rsvp envelope) also will mail using just a regular First Class Stamp.
That means that most simple wedding invitations wont require any additional postage other than your choice of Forever Stamps.
Here at Raspberry Creative, we always recommend taking one full wedding invitation to your local post office to have them weigh your invitation and if there is any questions on thickness, they can also test your invitation through the thickness template. This will ensure 100% accurate estimates on the postage required to mail your wedding invitations. Below we are sharing some general guidelines to help you get at least a general idea of what additional postage your wedding invitations may need.
What Types of Wedding Invitations Require Additional Postage
Wedding Invitations that Weigh Over 1 Ounce
There are many factors that can make your wedding invitation set weigh more than one ounce. The thickness of the paper, the number of cards, whether there is a pocket-fold or not, what embellishments are included, etc.
As a general rule, pocket invitations, or multi-layered wedding invitations with multiple enclosure cards will weight just over 1 ounce meaning additional postage will be required.
If your wedding invitation weighs more than one ounce but less than two ounces, you will need a 2 ounce stamp. You can find that here.
Wedding Invitations that are Considered Irregular Shapes
Standard wedding invitation sizes such as 5″ x 7″ or 5.5″ x 8.5″ are standard USPS sizes and do not require additional postage just because of the size. Square wedding invitations on the other hand are considered irregular and just on dimensions alone will require additional postage. Here at RC, we always make sure couples know this when they are looking for a more unique shape like square so they aren’t surprised later because they cost more money to mail.
Square envelopes will cost about $0.20 extra per invitation for the first ounce. Check with USPS for current rates before buying your stamps.
Wedding Invitations that are more than 1/4" Thick.
1/4″ of an inch sounds like a thick envelope but if your wedding invitation includes a ribbon, twine or even a wax seal, these embelishments may be enought to put your wedding invitation thicker than 1/4″.
Here at RC we try very hard to use materials that do not add too much bulk but when using wider ribbons or adding in wax seals or rhinestone accents, they look amazing but can require additional postage.
Hopefully this post offers at least a little bit of insight as to what to expect when it comes to the cost of the postage of your wedding invitations. Here at RC, we will happily weight any sample to give you an idea before ordering but we always stress the importance of using USPS for the final word on the weight, thickness and actual postage your wedding invitations will need.
Now you know that in addition to weight, there are other details that you may not have realized that can also play into the cost of postage.
Here at Raspberry Creative, it is our passion to work with couples to create their perfect wedding stationery package. We’d love to learn more about your wedding and see how we can bring your stationery ideas to life. If custom isn’t your thing, we also have a wide range of beautiful wedding invitations in our shop available for purchase and customizable to your wedding colors, wording and more.
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