If your wedding is during the summer or early fall, you are probably getting ready to begin mailing out your wedding invitations. Before you mail out your wedding invitation we wanted to give you a couple of tips and reminders to make sure they are mailed out properly.

Postage: Before purchasing postage for your wedding invitations, take a sample invitation down to your local post office and double check the weight and size. Make sure to ask the representative how much postage each envelope will need in order to be mailed. Once you find out the postage per envelope, you can then purchase your stamps. If you want to have your wedding invitations be stamped with a unique and fun wedding stamp, visit the USPS website for stamp ideas.

Hand Cancel: When mailing your wedding invitations through the post office the envelopes are run through machines to imprint a mark over the stamp. The imprint on the stamp cancels out the value of the stamp. This machine can often leave smudges or streaks on invitations, especially if the invitation is thick or has a wax seal. To avoid this problem we recommend hand canceling your invitations. Hand canceling your invitations means a person (rather than a machine) will go through each invitation and hand stamp the imprint to cancel out the stamp value.  Some locations will allow you to hand cancel your invitations and other locations will do it for you. Either way, make sure to call your local post office and make an appointment to bring in your invitations.

If you are getting ready to mail out your Save the Dates or Wedding Invitations we always recommend taking one envelope down to the Post Office to double check the weight and size for the correct postage. Once you have the right postage amount you can begin shopping around for coordinating stamps to put on your Save the Date or Invitation. The post office carries a limited amount of designs to select from in store, but you are not stuck to just those designs. Through the USPS website you can select from various designs to decorate your envelopes. They have designs varying from flowers and hearts to NFL teams. Click here to browse through all the designs. They also offer the fun option of having you and your fiancé faces on a stamp through uploading a picture online (we love this idea). There are so many various designs and options to choose from, there is sure to be one that you love. These unique designs are a fun way to make your Save the Date or Invitation standout from the rest.

Wait just a minute before you mail your wedding invitations and read below.

When you mail your wedding invitations through the post office they are run through a machine to imprint a mark over the stamp to cancel out the value of the stamp. This machine often can leave smudges or streaks on invitations, especially if the invitation is thick or has a wax seal.

To avoid this problem we recommend hand canceling your invitations. Hand canceling your invitations means a person (rather than a machine) will go through each invitation and hand stamp a imprint to cancel out the stamp value. There is no additional cost to have your invitations hand cancelled. Some locations will allow you to hand cancel your invitations and other locations will do it for you. Either way, make sure to call your local post office and make an appointment to bring in your invitations.

Photo Credit: Melissa’s smitten blogspot