Why You Shouldn’t Mail Wax Seals on Your Wedding Invitations
Wax seals add an undeniable touch of luxury and romance to wedding invitations, but placing them on the outer envelope can lead to disappointment and damaged invitations. As a professional stationery designer who’s worked with hundreds of couples, I’ve learned that while wax seals are beautiful, they need to be used strategically to ensure your invitations arrive looking as spectacular as when they left your hands.
The Truth About Wax Seals and Mail Processing
I’ll never forget the devastating phone call I received from a bride early on in my wedding stationery journey who had asked me to carefully tie a big chiffon ribbon to each of her invitation suites, only to have several guests report receiving damaged or empty envelopes. It was heartbreaking after months of work that the post office damaged the invitations in transit even after paying for hand cancelling and not letting us know our envelopes were at risk. But several years of experience and thousands of invitations mailed later, I learned how to avoid these kinds of mishaps. Generally, a lumpy envelope is a guaranteed disaster.
When you place a wax seal on the outside of your wedding invitation envelope, it must travel through the United States Postal Service’s automated sorting machines. These machines, while efficient at processing millions of pieces of mail daily, can catch on raised elements like wax seals. Even if you pay extra for hand-canceling, there’s no guarantee your invitations won’t go through automated processing at other facilities along their journey.
The result? Your carefully crafted wax seals can be:
- Torn off completely during processing
- Damaged or broken in transit
- Caught in sorting machines, potentially damaging your entire invitation
- Delayed in delivery due to special handling requirements
How to Properly Use Wax Seals in Your Wedding Invitations
After years of helping couples create their dream invitations, I’ve discovered that the key to successfully using wax seals isn’t avoiding them entirely—it’s knowing where to place them. Don’t let the mailing challenges discourage you from incorporating these romantic details into your invitation suite!
There are several beautiful ways to use wax seals that will ensure they arrive intact:
- Inner Envelope Sealing: Use wax seals on your inner envelopes, where they’ll be protected by the outer mailing envelope
- Belly Bands: Attach wax seals to belly bands that keep your invitation components together inside the envelope
- Vellum Wraps: Secure vellum wraps with wax seals inside the main envelope
- Detail Cards: Add wax seals as decorative elements on individual pieces within your suite
- Day of Items: Use wax seals as decorative elements on your day of items instead, like place cards, favors, menus, or your seating chart
Alternative Outer Envelope Solutions
You’re not resigned to boring envelopes just because you can’t put a wax seal on the outside. One of my favorite parts of the design process is showing couples how we can create that same luxurious feel they’re dreaming of, but in ways that will actually reach their guests intact. For your outer envelopes, I recommend these elegant alternatives that will survive the mailing process:
- Pretty postage stamp arrangements
- Custom envelope liners
- Beautifully printed return address
- Calligraphy or premium fonts for addressing
- Artwork and design elements
- Stickers to seal the flap with your monogram or wedding date
- An embossed monogram or wedding date
The Cost Factor
During one particularly memorable consultation recently, a couple was shocked to learn that their beautiful wax-sealed envelope idea would require nearly double the postage they had budgeted. Beyond the risk of damage, placing wax seals on outer envelopes can actually increase your postage costs significantly. The USPS considers wax seals a “non-machinable” element, which means:
- Additional postage fees may be required for increased weight (this is a factor regardless of where you put the seal)
- Hand-canceling fees might apply
- You may need to upgrade the letter to a parcel and pay for USPS Ground shipping
These extra costs could catch you by surprise if you’re not prepared.
Making the Most of Your Investment
Your wedding invitations are often the first impression guests have of your celebration, and as a stationery designer, I know how important it is to make that impression count. By using wax seals strategically within your invitation suite rather than on the outer envelope, you can:
- Ensure your invitations arrive looking perfect
- Create a luxurious “unboxing” experience for your guests
- Protect your investment in these beautiful details
- Avoid unnecessary additional postage costs
- Maintain the elegant presentation you envision
Professional Tips for Mailing Wedding Invitations
Over the years, I’ve developed a pre-mailing checklist that has saved countless couples from potential disasters. Every time I prepare to help a couple mail their invitations, I’m reminded of when I sent out my postcard save the sates in 2017 – one of my first stationery designs! I thought sending postcards would be such a cute way to announce our wedding and save some money on postage. What I wasn’t prepared for was the bar code sticker to be applied directly over my wedding website URL so no one could see it! Oof! And the post cards to be so beat up by the mailing process they no longer looked cute, but like they’d been through the trash compactor.
When preparing to mail your wedding invitations, consider these essential tips I’ve gathered from real-world experience:
- Always take a completed sample to your local post office for weighing to confirm the final postage amount
- Consider using outer envelopes that are slightly larger than an inner envelope to protect inner contents
- Ask about hand-canceling services at your local post office, even if you don’t strictly need it
- Plan for some invitations to potentially arrive damaged or get lost in the mail and order extra accordingly
- Consider mailing a test envelope with your completed invitation to yourself to make sure it arrives safely if you have the time
The Bottom Line
While wax seals are a beautiful addition to wedding invitations, they belong inside the outer envelope where they can be protected and appreciated. This way, your guests can experience the full impact of opening a luxurious invitation suite with all its carefully curated details intact.
Ready to create wedding invitations that make an impact while arriving safely to your guests? Let’s discuss how to incorporate wax seals and other luxury details into your invitation suite in a way that will truly wow your guests. Click to contact me.
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