2. Assemble

Clear an afternoon or two. Grab your spouse-to-be, mom, or a bff, and find a clean workspace with plenty of room to spread out. Keep food and drink far away. Hand sanitizer is handy for drying out clammy fingers.

Steps:

1. Create an assembly line. Place your piles of cards in the order they’ll be stacked. You may choose to collate each stack first, or to pick from each pile as you go.

2. Optional: If you have some guests who will receive a different set of cards, like a rehearsal insert, separate these envelopes from the rest and create an assembly line away from the other set to avoid placing the wrong set of cards inside a guest’s envelope.

3. Optional: Number your reply cards on the back to correspond with your guest spreadsheet just in case a guest forgets to write their name on the card.

4. Apply postage to reply envelopes. I like to stick a bunch of stamps to my hand or the edge of a table and grab them as I go.

5. Open all your envelopes and stack them with the flap open so they’re ready to be stuffed.

6. Stack your cards and place in the envelope with the wording side up.

7. Close and seal your envelopes.

8. Apply postage.

9. I like to keep my envelopes in the order of the original guest list spreadsheet so I can compare the final set of envelopes to the guest list before I bring them to the post office.

What order does my invitation go in?

Typically, I recommend you stack your cards from largest on bottom to smallest on top. If some of your cards are the same size, stack those from earliest event to latest event, or put the one you want to see first on top. Tuck your rsvp card under the flap of its envelope.

For sealing. envelopes, I like to use a Tombow dots tape roller. Don’t buy the store brand. Others prefer using a glue stick (Elmer’s Craft Bond Extra Strength is my brand of choice) or an envelope moistener. Always do a test with a new tool on an extra envelope before applying it to your addressed envelopes.

How do I apply postage?

Make sure all your reply envelopes have a forever stamp applied before you stuff your envelopes. If you’re using vintage postage, make sure to have a glue stick handy for application.

What about ribbons and wraps?

The key to a nice, snug ribbon or paper wrap is to assemble around just your invitation card and then slip the rest of the cards in the bunch under the wrap or ribbon. Sharp scissors are a must for ribbon. Use a tape roller to adhere belly bands.

3. Mail

If there’s terrible weather in the forecast, consider waiting until it passes to mail your pieces. If skies are clear, head back to your local post office to drop your invitations off inside. Your postal worker wants your special pieces to arrive in-tact, so it never hurts to tell them they’re handling your wedding invitations! Ask for hand canceling if you planned on it (and have included enough postage to do so).

You’ve done your best to ensure your invitations will arrive safely, but the post office isn’t perfect. They handle 173.1 million pieces of first class mail daily* and most arrive safely, but you can expect that a couple invitations might not arrive. You ordered extras and keepsakes and you are super chill about this whole wedding planning thing, so it’s going to all work out A-Okay.

Now give your Love a high-five and cross invitations off your wedding planning to-do list!

* source: https://facts.usps.com

Your Invitations Arrived, Hooray! Now What?

1. Buy Postage

   Your beautiful invitations are here, and now you’re going to send them off to your guests. It can be scary to say good-bye to them, but there are some steps you can take to make sure they arrive to your invitees safely:

   1. Assemble a set of your invitations with all the pieces that will be included. This will be the sample you bring to the post office. If different guests are receiving different sets of cards, assemble each version to be weighed. Tuck in a few of small pieces of thick paper to your samples to add weight since when you stick your stamps on, the package will weigh a little more. Make sure to get a separate quote for all international guests’ invitations. A typical invitation suite will require at least two ounces worth of postage on the mailing envelope. More cards, thicker paper, 3D elements like wax seals and bows may all require additional postage.

   2. Take your sample invitation to the post office you plan to mail it from. Ask your most trusted post office worker to weigh it for you and give you a quote for how much postage it will require. *Tell your postal worker if you plan to ask for hand canceling. Hand canceling will keep your invitations out of some of the sorting machines, reducing risk of potential damage. If your envelopes are not technically “non-machinable (meaning they’re irregularly shaped, too thick, or too rigid, you will need to add extra postage to ask for your envelopes to be treated as non-machinable and be hand canceled. You'd think there’d be a universal policy, but I've gotten a different answer at different post offices, or even at the same office from different workers. When in doubt, add more postage. Make sure you get a separate quote for international envelopes or any that have a different set of cards inside.

   3. Want to be sure about your quote? Bring your invitation sample to one or two more local post offices and ask for a quote. If prices differ, choose the highest number to be safe.

   4. Make sure to buy stamps for your reply envelopes and apply them for your guests! You don’t want your guests to have to go to out to buy postage in order to R.S.V.P. One forever stamp will do the trick for our usual A2 reply cards. International invitations can skip this step.

   5. Choose your postage. You can apply your necessary amount of postage in any combination of stamps, as long as it adds up to (or over) the quoted amount, so pick out your favorite current stamps. Unused vintage postage is also an option for your invitations. As long as the total adds up and the postage has never been canceled, you’re golden. *Tip: You can buy stamps online at USPS.com. Not every local post office always has all the currently available stamps. Main branches are often a better bet for finding a good selection.