How to Mail Wedding Invitations the Right Way

If your wedding invitations include multiple pieces, you’ll have to properly arrange them: the invitation itself is at the bottom, with the other pieces (such as maps, hotel information, and an RSVP card tucked into an unsealed envelope) stacked from the biggest to the smallest on top. This pile should go into your unsealed inner wedding-invitation envelope – should you choose to have one – with the wedding guests’ names facing the opening of the outer envelope.

Of course, the above instructions for mailing your wedding invitations is correct if you are having traditional invites; however, there are also luxury wedding-invitation suites that include boxes and naturally will require more complicated packaging when mailing your wedding invitations. In these particular instances for luxury invites, look to your planner or stationer for assistance, though the below steps regarding postage for invitations will still be helpful.

Read our tips for how to mail wedding invitations, below:

Splurge for Hand Processing 

Custom wedding invitations are beautiful, but they are also often designed in nonstandard sizes and shapes. Not only can that affect the postage-stamp amount you need, but you also might be required to pay for the wedding invitations to be processed by hand at the post office. Even if it’s not required, it might be worth it to pay the fee anyway, because then you know your wedding invitations will be sorted by a person instead of a machine. With a machine, there’s a chance that the envelopes of your wedding invitations could be bent or dirtied. 

Stamp the RSVPs 

Within your invitation suite, the envelope with the RSVP card absolutely needs to be stamped before you mail out the invitations. You don’t want to be essentially charging people, however small a fee, to send in their RSVP cards to your wedding. To follow wedding etiquette tips for invitations, make sure you add a postage stamp to your RSVP card! 

Number Your RSVP Cards 

It's very common for guests to respond to wedding invites with their RSVP card, only for the couple to realize that they didn't include their name or even an address for sleuthing after the fact. Save yourself a headache and number the back of each RSVP card with a number that's also denoted on your guest list, so that you can make sure you know who sent the RSVP without any trouble! 

Make Sure They're Secure! 

Your wedding invitation isn't just any piece of mail – while some envelopes require just a simple lick to seal, you'll want to ensure your wedding invitations are sealed with something much stronger. After all of the careful attention you put into designing your wedding invites and composing the guest list, and due to their larger weight, it would be a shame to have something ruined because of a simple error. 

Don't Forget Your Return Address 

While you'll of course have each guest address on the wedding-invitation envelope, you'll also want to ensure that you don't forget to put your return address on the invitation! You've likely only ordered so many wedding invitations – just like your save the dates – and the last thing you want is to not only have a guest not receive their invitation but also not have the invitations returned to you, so you can send them out with the proper wedding postage or guest address. 

Include Everyone Invited on Your Mailing List 

While this may seem obvious, some couples might decide to cut corners and costs when it comes to mailing their wedding invitations and not follow etiquette tips. Even if you know for sure that your parents, siblings, wedding party, and so on will respond "yes" on their RSVP cards, you still need to send them a wedding invitation. If you had any wedding guests RSVP online after receiving save-the-dates, you also need to mail your wedding invitation to them. While postage does cost money, as does the invitation itself, your guests' first glimpse into your big day will be the wedding invitation, and you don't want to take that special moment away from anyone.

Opening photo by Valorie Darling Photography; Floral Design by The Hidden Garden; From Real Wedding: An Opulent Ocean-View Ceremony & Luxurious Reception in Santa Barbara