Mailing Wedding Invitations: 10 Common Mistakes to Avoid
- 1. Ordering Too Late
- Give yourself plenty of time to assemble and address your wedding invitations. Order the invitations 4 months in advance and aim to have your invitations mailed 6-8 weeks before the wedding. To learn more on this topic, read When Do I Send My Wedding Invitations.
- 2. Not Ordering Extra Envelopes
- Order extra envelopes because addressing 100s of invitations is a long, tedious task and you will more than likely need at least a few extras to correct the mistakes your tired hands and brain will inevitably make.
- 3. Wrong Address on Response Cards
- The name and address of the person in charge of tracking the responses should be the return address on the response cards. This could be the bride, mother of the bride, a sister, etc. You won’t need any other address on the response cards because they are tucked inside the invitation, which will be addressed to the recipient.
- 4. Forgetting to Stamp Response Cards
- Applying a stamp to the response cards prior to mailing your invitations is, has been and probably always will be proper etiquette. Why? Because it’s a thoughtful courtesy to your guests and it makes replying even easier, which is important for getting timely and accurate responses.
- 5. Not Enough Postage
- Be sure to assemble a complete invitation ensemble and then have it weighed at your local post office. This will let you know exactly how much postage is needed per invitation so you can avoid guests having to pay for part of the postage. Wondering how to assemble your wedding invitations? Read Assembling Wedding Invitations: Wedding Invitation Etiquette.
- 6. Licking Every Envelope
- Get yourself an envelope moistener and skip this unnecessary chore. You’ll be happy you didn’t have to lick hundreds of envelopes, trust us on this.
- 7. Improper Addressing of Inner and Outer Envelopes
- If you’re not sure what the inner and outer envelopes are let alone how to properly address each of them, read How to Address Wedding Invitations. We explain the difference between these two envelopes and we give examples of how to address each.
- 8. Using the Wrong Return Address
- The return address on your wedding invitations may not match the return address on your response cards. The address of the wedding host(s) should be on the invitation itself. The address of the person tracking responses should be on the response cards. Are you wondering who is “hosting” your wedding? Check out Wedding Stationery Wording Ideas and refer to the section on Wedding Invitation Wording Basics. Find the wording that applies to your situation.
- 9. Spelling Out State Names
- The postal service actually prefers state abbreviations, which goes against the rules and etiquette of addressing your wedding invitations in a formal manner. However, the ultimate goal is that your invitation be delivered to the recipient with no problem so using state abbreviations is essential. What does it mean to address invitations in a formal manner? Read How to Address Wedding Invitations mentioned above.
- 10. Not Sending Invitations to Young Adults
- Anyone 18 years and older should receive his/her own wedding invitation even if he/she lives at home. As tempting as it may be to save the cost of an invite or two, young adults should be treated as such.