Envelope 01
Invitation only, no inserts Weight: 0.9 oz · standard A7 envelope Postage: $0.82 — one Forever stamp
Single card, under 1 ozPersonalize
Mailing wedding invitations
Stamps and postage for wedding invitations, without the surprise at the counter.
Twelve worked examples — suite weight in, stamp combination out — plus the surcharge triggers, what envelope sizes do to the price, and the one stamp couples forget: the reply envelope's. Every price on this page reads from the current USPS rate table (as of July 2026).
The short answer
Most multi-card wedding suites weigh between 1 and 2 ounces and need $1.11 of postage — one two-ounce stamp, or two Forever stamps ($1.64) — while a single-card suite under 1 oz mails for one $0.82 Forever stamp. Square, rigid, or wax-sealed envelopes add a $0.49 non-machinable surcharge, and a pre-addressed reply envelope takes one more Forever stamp, from you. Weigh one fully assembled, sealed invitation at the post office before buying stamps for the whole list.
Start here
How many stamps? Four questions
Postage is pure arithmetic: weight, shape, reply envelope, destination. Answer these in order with one finished suite in hand and you have your stamp order.
Does one finished, sealed suite weigh more than 1 ounce?
Yes → It needs $1.11 — one two-ounce stamp, or two Forever stamps ($1.64). Most invitation-plus-inserts suites land here.
No → One $0.82 Forever stamp covers it — but confirm on the post-office scale before you buy 150 of them.
Is the envelope square, rigid, or wax-sealed?
Yes → Add the $0.49 non-machinable surcharge on top of the weight rate — $1.60 for a typical 1–2 oz suite.
No → No surcharge. A flexible rectangular envelope pays for weight alone.
Are you enclosing a pre-addressed reply envelope?
Yes → Stamp it yourself — one $0.82 Forever stamp per suite. A reply envelope without a stamp quietly suppresses replies.
No → Then you're saving a stamp per invitation. Or skip the reply set on purpose: guests can RSVP by text instead of by mail.
Any guests outside the United States?
Yes → Their suites take Global Forever stamps — one covers a 1 oz letter to any country. Heavier international suites are priced by weight at the counter, so keep that pile separate.
No → You're done: multiply the per-invitation postage by your list and buy that many stamps.
Set one
⚖️ How many stamps: the weight math
First-Class letter postage is $0.82 for the first ounce and $0.29 for each ounce after it. Everything else on this page is a variation on that line.
Envelope 02
Invitation + details card + RSVP set Weight: 1.4 oz · A7 envelope Postage: $1.11 — one two-ounce stamp Or two Forever stamps ($1.64, overpaying $0.53)
Classic suite, 1–2 ozPersonalize
Envelope 03
Invitation + inserts + pre-addressed reply envelope Outer envelope: $1.11 · reply envelope inside: $0.82 Total per invitation: $1.93 The reply stamp is yours to add, not the guest's
Suite + stamped reply envelopePersonalize
Envelope 04
Booklet invitation + vellum wrap + inserts Weight: 2.6 oz · A7 envelope, still flexible Postage: $1.40 — one Forever + two additional-ounce stamps ($0.82 + $0.29 + $0.29)
Heavy suite, 2–3 ozPersonalize
Twelve examples, or your actual mailing?
Weigh one finished suite, answer four questions, and the free calculator below totals your exact stamp order — outer envelopes, reply envelopes, and surcharges included. It runs entirely on this page; nothing to sign up for.
Set two
📮 The non-machinable surcharge
Anything USPS sorting machines can't run — square envelopes, rigid contents, wax seals, ribbon, lumps, clasps — pays a $0.49 non-machinable surcharge on top of the weight rate. It applies to the outer mailing envelope only; the extra value simply joins the stamps in the top-right corner, no special placement required.
Envelope 05
Square invitation in a 6½ × 6½ envelope Weight: 1.2 oz · square shape = automatic surcharge Postage: $1.60 ($1.11 + $0.49) Two Forever stamps ($1.64) cover it
Square envelopePersonalize
Envelope 06
Magnet save-the-date in a stiff envelope Weight: 0.9 oz · won't flex = non-machinable Postage: $1.31 ($0.82 + $0.49) Two Forever stamps cover it — or buy exact postage at the counter
Rigid contentsPersonalize
Set three
📐 Envelope sizes and what they cost you
Size doesn't change the rate until you leave the letter category: a First-Class letter maxes out at 6⅛ × 11½ inches and ¼ inch thick. Inside those limits, rectangular envelopes pay for weight alone; squares pay the surcharge; anything bigger is priced as a large envelope on a different rate table.
Envelope 07
5 × 7 invitation in an A7 envelope (5¼ × 7¼) Machinable letter — no shape surcharge Postage is weight alone: $0.82 at 1 oz, $1.11 at 2 oz The safe default for almost every suite
A7 — the standardPersonalize
Envelope 08
Oversized suite in a 9 × 12 envelope Over 6⅛ × 11½ (or ¼ in thick) = large envelope The letter-stamp math on this page no longer applies Have the counter price one finished suite
Oversized — mails as a flatPersonalize
Set five
🕯️ Wax seals and hand-canceling
A wax seal is a lump, and a lump is non-machinable — budget the $0.49 surcharge per envelope from the start. That surcharge is also what officially buys manual handling; asking the clerk to hand-cancel the envelopes (stamping the postage by hand instead of machine-running them) is the courtesy that keeps seals intact, and whether it's cheerfully offered varies by post office. Bring sealed suites to the counter in trays, not a collection box.
Envelope 11
Wax-sealed suite, 1.6 oz, A7 envelope Postage: $1.60 ($1.11 + $0.49 non-machinable) Ask for hand-canceling when you hand them over Never drop wax-sealed mail in a blue collection box
Wax seal + hand-cancelingPersonalize
Set six
✈️ International guests
Domestic Forever stamps don't cover international mail. One Global Forever stamp mails a 1 oz letter to any country; heavier or non-machinable international suites are priced by weight and destination, so let the counter price one and buy accordingly.
Envelope 12
Same suite, mailed abroad 1 oz or less: one Global Forever stamp, any country Heavier suites: priced by weight at the counter Keep the international pile separate from the domestic one
International guestsPersonalize
The rules
Five postage rules that save a re-mail
USPS pricing is mechanical, not judgmental — these are the defaults that keep a wedding mailing off the return-to-sender pile.
1
Weigh one finished suite, not the parts
Assemble one complete invitation — every insert, the envelope, the seal, the ribbon — and weigh it sealed. A kitchen scale gets you close; the post-office scale is the one that counts, so confirm there before buying stamps for the whole list.
2
Forever stamps are rate-proof
A Forever stamp is always worth the current first-ounce rate ($0.82 as of July 2026), even if rates rise after you buy. Buying stamps months ahead of your mailing date is only safe when the stamps say Forever.
3
“Wedding” stamps are a design, not a different rate
The USPS wedding-series stamps are ordinary Forever and Two Ounce stamps in formal artwork — same postage value, prettier engraving. Vintage or fixed-denomination decorative stamps still work, but their values must add up to the current rate, and a rate change between buying and mailing means adding more.
4
The surcharge rides the outer envelope only
The $0.49 non-machinable surcharge applies to the envelope being machine-sorted — the outer one. The reply envelope inside is a plain rectangular letter and never carries it, and the extra postage needs no special placement: it all sits with the stamps in the top-right corner.
5
This page owns how many; the budget owns how much
Multiply the per-invitation postage by your list and that's your stamp order. What that number does to your overall stationery spend — printing, postage, and paper together — lives in our stationery budget guide, linked below.
Easy to get wrong
Postage mistakes that bounce invitations
Returned wedding mail almost always traces back to one of these five.
✕
Buying a hundred single stamps before weighing anything
Most multi-card suites cross 1 oz, and one $0.82 Forever stamp on a $1.11 suite comes back marked “postage due.” Weigh first, buy second.
✕
Treating the wax seal as free
A wax seal makes the envelope non-machinable — that's $0.49 more per invitation, on every invitation. Skip the surcharge and you're gambling on return-to-sender, or on the sorter cracking the seal off.
✕
Mailing square envelopes at the letter rate
Square envelopes pay the non-machinable surcharge at any weight — even a featherweight square save-the-date. The shape alone triggers it, because sorting machines need a rectangle.
✕
Leaving the reply envelope unstamped
Guests rarely hunt down a stamp to answer your invitation, so an unstamped reply envelope reads as optional — and your RSVP count shows it. Stamp every reply envelope, or drop the reply set entirely and collect RSVPs by text.
✕
Dropping the whole mailing in a blue collection box
A hundred and fifty identical envelopes stuffed into a collection box get machine-run by default. Bring the mailing to the counter — it's the only way to request hand-canceling, and the only way to catch a postage shortfall before your guests do.
The stamp calculator
How many stamps does your mailing need?
Enter your invitation count, then toggle what applies — over an ounce, non-machinable, stamped reply envelopes — and get the per-invitation postage and the total Forever stamps to buy. Rates current as of July 2026.
📮
Wedding postage calculatorFree · USPS rates as of July 2026
$1.11postage per invitation + $0.82 RSVP
300Forever stamps total (2 per outer envelope)$246.00 to buy them
$193.00postage owed for the mailing$53.00 less than paying in Forever stamps
Estimates use USPS retail rates as of July 2026. Weigh one fully assembled suite at the post office before buying stamps for the whole batch.
Keep exploring
More on wedding envelopes
How to address wedding invitationsEvery situation in one place, with the free tool→Addressing invitations to a familyParents, children, and the whole-household envelope→Doctors, military & other titlesDr., Drs., ranks, judges, and clergy — line by line→The return addressBack flap or corner, and whose address goes where→Addressing save the datesInformal rules, before your plus-ones are final→Addressing wedding announcementsWho receives one, and how the envelope differs→Stationery & postage budgetWhat invitations, printing, and stamps do to the total→
Good to know
Wedding postage questions
How many stamps do I need for a wedding invitation?
Usually the equivalent of two: a typical multi-card suite weighs 1–2 oz and needs $1.11 of postage, which is one two-ounce stamp or two $0.82 Forever stamps. A single-card suite under 1 oz needs just one Forever stamp, and each ounce past two adds $0.29. Weigh one finished, sealed suite before buying for the whole list.
Do wedding invitations need two stamps?
Only if you're paying in Forever stamps. Two Forever stamps ($1.64) cover a 1–2 oz suite but overpay by $0.53; a single two-ounce stamp covers the same envelope for exactly $1.11. Across 150 invitations that difference buys a nice dinner, so ask for two-ounce stamps at the counter.
What makes a wedding invitation “non-machinable”?
Anything the sorting machines can't run: square envelopes, rigid or lumpy contents (wax seals, magnets, ribbon, charms), clasps, or an envelope thicker than ¼ inch. Each trigger costs the same $0.49 surcharge on top of the weight rate — a square, wax-sealed envelope pays it once, not twice.
Are Forever stamps good for wedding invitations?
Yes — they're the rate-change-proof choice. A Forever stamp is always worth the current first-ounce rate ($0.82 as of July 2026), so stamps bought months early stay valid, and the USPS wedding-series designs are themselves Forever and Two Ounce stamps. The only caution is overpaying: two Forever stamps on a 2 oz suite cost $0.53 more than one two-ounce stamp.
Do I put a stamp on the RSVP envelope?
Yes, and it comes from you — enclosing a pre-addressed reply envelope means pre-paying its postage with one $0.82 Forever stamp. An unstamped reply envelope measurably suppresses responses. The alternative is to skip the reply set entirely and collect RSVPs by text, which saves a stamp per household and spares guests the mailbox trip.
How do I mail wedding invitations internationally?
With Global Forever stamps, not domestic ones: one Global Forever stamp covers a 1 oz letter to any country. Heavier or non-machinable international suites are priced by weight and destination, so bring one finished suite to the counter, have it priced, and buy accordingly. Sort international guests into their own pile before stamping anything.
How current are the prices on this page?
Every rate shown — the $0.82 Forever value, the $0.29 additional ounce, the $0.49 non-machinable surcharge, the $0.65 postcard rate — comes from a single constants file we refresh against the USPS rate table (currently as of July 2026), and the calculator computes from those same numbers. USPS adjusts rates periodically, so the post-office scale and counter price are always the final word.
You know what to write.
Now get the addresses.
Text My Wedding sends your guests a link and the address list fills itself in — no group-text chasing, no illegible replies. Then export it straight to your envelopes.