4 Items That Will Increase Postage for your Wedding Invitations

By Julia CasoloApril 11, 2023

The Weight

This might seem pretty obvious but it shouldn't be forgotten during the invitation design process! Each additional card you add to your invitation suite (details card, rehearsal dinner card, rsvp card, etc.) will cause your invitation to weigh more. If your invitation suite is over 1 oz. you will require additional postage. Right now it is an additional $0.24 per ounce.

The Shape

Shockingly enough, having an "oddly" shaped envelope will cause you to need to pay more for postage. If your invitations are anything other than a rectangle, you will not be able to ship it as a letter. Anything that is rigid, square, or unusually shaped, often jam postal equipment and are more difficult to process, hence the additional cost.

Un-machineable Elements

This could be: wax seals, odd shapes, writing the address sideways (parallel to the short side of the envelope), anything that USPS believes will have a hard time going through their machines.

Wax seals on the outside of an envelope are a beautiful touch, however, they often require more postage and may even tear when they run through the USPS machines. You'll hear a lot of people telling you to ask for your pieces to be "hand-cancelled" if this is the case, however, this is also an additional charge and some post offices won't even accommodate.

If a wax seal on the outside is an absolute must for you, I recommend sealing your envelope and then placing the entire thing into another larger envelope so that it is protected when going through machines.

International

Anything going to another country requires an international postage stamp which is more expensive than a regular forever stamp. Currently (April 2023), international stamps are $1.45 while forever stamps are $0.63.