"Mistake" is not a word you want associated with your wedding! You want everything to be perfect, including the invitation-and that means making sure the wording is right, all the information is included, and the invitation gets delivered in plenty of time for people to get the event on their calendars. It seems like a no-brainer, but with hundreds of other wedding-related tasks crowding your brain, you might overlook something important. Use this handy guide to the top mistakes made when ordering wedding invitations and how to prevent them, and you'll have one less worry heading into the big day!
1) Underestimating the number of invitations needed
I recommend (and this comes from years of experience!) ordering twenty to thirty extra invitations. Inevitably, the wedding guest list will grow even after you have compiled a complete list from your own and those of the groom, your parents, and the groom's parents. Order an additional twenty to thirty invitations, and you'll have a potentially life-saving buffer! Even if your guest list doesn't grow, you can use the extras to replace any invitations that are returned in the mail or fail to arrive because of incorrect addresses. These scenarios are often unexpected by brides and grooms, but they are common. I strongly advise double-checking ZIP codes at usps.com to ensure mailing addresses are correct.
2) Using incorrect postage and failing to hand-cancel the envelopes
Once you receive your wedding invitations, assemble one and then head to the post office. Have the assembled wedding invitation weighed to confirm the amount of postage needed. Then ask the clerk to show you all the stamps in that postage rate so you can choose one that coordinates with your envelope color and is similar to your theme. Or go a step further and personalize it - I offer matching postage for all of my wedding designs.
You've taken great care so far to create your dream invitation-why risk ruining it by having it machine-stamped at the post office? Have the post office hand-cancel your envelopes so that the invitations inside arrive undamaged (if your invites have embellishments of any kind, this is especially important!). Plus, the stamp used is smaller and more discreet than the machine stamp, so it won't distract even from the look of the painstakingly addressed envelope! (Just bear in mind that hand-stamping is more time-consuming for the post office, so they may ask you to come back at a less-busy time of day.)
Since you are going to have your envelopes hand-canceled, make sure to leave about a quarter inch to a half inch in the upper right hand corner of the envelope when affixing the stamp. This will allow room for the postage-canceling stamp.
Mailing time for wedding invitations - Wedding invitations should be mailed 4 to 6 weeks before the event. It is best to mail your invitations on a Saturday. That way the wedding invitation will arrive at the beginning of the week, when more people pay attention to their mail.
3) Letting mistakes and typos slip through
When ordering your invitations, proofread, proofread, and then proofread again! Read the copy aloud, letting your ears catch errors that your eyes may miss. Spell out names, the date, the time, and the year to ensure that every detail is absolutely clear to the invitee.
4) Not ordering far enough in advance
Wedding invitations should be ordered three to four months ahead of the wedding date. Remember, you will be mailing the invitations out six weeks before the celebration, and you'll have to address the envelopes, assemble the invitations, and add postage. Not to mention the hundreds of other items on your wedding to-do list!
5) Not including an RSVP Date
Wedding planning is stressful enough; don't add to the stress by having to guess your head count! You'll want to know how much to set aside if you'll be paying per head at a dinner reception-and how much food to have! Enclose a matching RSVP card with your invitation that includes an RSVP date. A response date of two weeks before the event is standard. Be sure to allow enough time between the RSVP date and your caterer's deadline for those late responders.
Without the people you know and love there to celebrate with you, your wedding wouldn't be as special. And without an accurate invitation delivered in a timely manner, those people won't be there! So take a few extra steps to ensure your invitation is exactly what you want and exactly what your guests need. A happy and stress-free wedding is so worth the effort!
Showing posts with label how much postage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label how much postage. Show all posts
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Perfect Postage for Wedding Invitations
It’s what everyone fears. You spend $200 on the perfect party invitations, another $75 on having a calligrapher hand-write your envelopes, and then you put the invitations in the envelopes and mail them and then realize later that you haven’t yet had one RSVP. The next day you receive all your invitations returned to you with hideous markings all over them from the post office for insufficient postage. Now not only did you waste money on stamps, you now have to re-stamp them, add extra postage and purchase new envelopes, putting you another week behind. It happens to the best of us!
Make sure your next party mailing isn’t a postage catastrophe by checking the required postage requirements prior to mailing out your invitations. At Noteable Expressions I do my best to alert customers when an item automatically will require postage, be it due to size, weight or bulk. There are so many factors that go into postage that you may not think of. It’s not just the size of the item. It can be the size, for example, a square envelope, which adds 20 cents to your normal postage fee. It can be the weight, which adds another 20 cents, or the size, which can start at 80 cents an envelope, plus 20 cents an ounce for weight. Remember that things like rhinestones, bows or pockets also increase your postage costs due to the “bulk” of the envelope when mailing. Many of these types of invitations may need to be “hand cancelled” at the post office, which means someone, (or you), hand stamp the envelope for mailing, rather than having the invitation envelope run through a machine, as with a normal bill or mailing envelope.
So how do you avoid a postage disaster? I always say, if you are concerned or have the slightest feeling that your envelope may be too heavy or too large, go to the post office and have the postman check for you before you mail them – especially if you are sending multiple cards in one envelope, like an invitation with a registry card or a directions card. Remember that even the slightest thing, like the humidity, can affect the weight of your paper, especially if you have a textured or particularly porous stationery. When in doubt, add on an extra stamp or two, it may just save you from a return postage mishap.
Stop by to shop my designer postage stamps!
Make sure your next party mailing isn’t a postage catastrophe by checking the required postage requirements prior to mailing out your invitations. At Noteable Expressions I do my best to alert customers when an item automatically will require postage, be it due to size, weight or bulk. There are so many factors that go into postage that you may not think of. It’s not just the size of the item. It can be the size, for example, a square envelope, which adds 20 cents to your normal postage fee. It can be the weight, which adds another 20 cents, or the size, which can start at 80 cents an envelope, plus 20 cents an ounce for weight. Remember that things like rhinestones, bows or pockets also increase your postage costs due to the “bulk” of the envelope when mailing. Many of these types of invitations may need to be “hand cancelled” at the post office, which means someone, (or you), hand stamp the envelope for mailing, rather than having the invitation envelope run through a machine, as with a normal bill or mailing envelope.
So how do you avoid a postage disaster? I always say, if you are concerned or have the slightest feeling that your envelope may be too heavy or too large, go to the post office and have the postman check for you before you mail them – especially if you are sending multiple cards in one envelope, like an invitation with a registry card or a directions card. Remember that even the slightest thing, like the humidity, can affect the weight of your paper, especially if you have a textured or particularly porous stationery. When in doubt, add on an extra stamp or two, it may just save you from a return postage mishap.
Stop by to shop my designer postage stamps!
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