White Dress - Black Tux Blog

Effective May 11, 2009, the cost of a First-Class postage stamp will increase from $0.42 to $0.44.  The cost of a number of other USPS services will increase on this day as well (i.e. Certified Mail, Money Orders, Delivery Confirmation, etc...).  Here is a brief look at the increased cost of First-Class postage:

Letters (1 oz or less): $0.44
Letters (1 oz - 2 oz): $0.61
Letters (2 oz - 3 oz): $0.78
Square Letters (1 oz or less): $0.64
Square Letters (1 oz - 2 oz): $0.81
Square Letters (2 oz - 3 oz): $0.98
Post Cards: $0.28

View a complete list of the price changes from USPS.

So, what does this mean for those of you who are in the process of ordering wedding save the dates and/or invitations?  If you would like to save a little money, then go to your local post office (or grocery store, etc...) before May 11th and purchase "Forever Stamps" for your save the date envelopes, invitation envelopes, and RSVP envelopes.  Forever Stamps cost the same price as regular First-Class stamps (i.e. $0.42 each before May 11th) and can be used forever, even if the cost of postage increases.  So, even if you aren't getting married until 2010, you can still purchase all (or most) of your wedding postage now.  I only have one note of caution: if you think you might be purchasing a more unique wedding invitation (i.e. one that is square or one that is a pocketfold), do not purchase stamps in advance for your invitations.  These types of invitations typically cannot be mailed with just a First-Class stamp.

In addition to the price increase, USPS is releasing the two new wedding stamps pictured below.  The new Wedding Rings Stamp (on the left) is for non-square letters that weigh 1 oz or less and the new Wedding Cake Stamp (on the right) is for non-square letters that weigh between 1 oz and 2 oz.  Both stamps are already available for purchase online at the USPS Store.

If your wedding stationery weighs more than 2 oz and you would still like some fancy wedding postage, I suggest our extensive wedding postage collection from Zazzle.

Posted by WDBT81 at 05:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Many thanks to all who visited with us at the 2009 Hartford Bridal Show last weekend.  It was great meeting you!  In case you missed us, here is a look at the White Dress - Black Tux booth:

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Most wedding/bridal shower invitations come with multiple different inserts.  The most common invitation inserts are the RSVP card, the map/directions card, the reception card, and the gift registry card.  Very traditional invitations also come with a sheet of tissue paper and both an inner and outer envelope.  So, how does one go about assembling all of these different components?  The proper method dictated by traditional etiquette guidelines is as follows:

Create a pile/stack of all of your invitation components.  The invitation should always be on the bottom of this stack because it is typically the largest item in your envelope and because it is the most important.  If your invitation is a flat card or a folded card with text printed only on the outside, then all remaining invitation components should be placed on top of the invitation.  If, however, your invitation is folded with text on the inside of the invitation, then all remaining invitation components should be placed inside the folded card. 

The first item that should be placed either directly on top of or inside the invitation is the piece of tissue paper (if applicable).  This is followed by your invitation inserts in order of importance and/or size.  The most important insert should be placed directly on top of the invitation (typically the reception card).  This, of course, means that the least important insert will end up being at the top of the pile.  I like to think of this as building suspense for your guests.  They have to look through all of the less important things before they get to see the most important thing - the invitation.

The typical order of items would be as follows:

(bottom)
Invitation
Tissue (if applicable)
Reception Card
RSVP Envelope (with back flap facing up - tucked around the RSVP Card)
RSVP Card
All other inserts in order of size with the smallest on top
(top)

All of these items should be oriented so that their printed sides face toward the back flap of the envelope that they are in.  If you are using an inner and outer envelope, then the inner envelope should be placed inside the outer envelope with the front/printed side of the inner envelope facing toward the back flap of the outer envelope.

While the above is the correct way to assemble invitations based on traditional etiquette, most modern brides do not follow these instructions.  The more modern method of assembly uses the invitation on the top of the pile and all of the other inserts (in no particular order) underneath the invitation.  Use whichever of these methods works best for you and fits the most with the type of wedding you are planning.  There is no right or wrong way.  Here are some other important general tips to keep in mind while assembling your invitations:

• Count each item before beginning assembly.  This way you know exactly how much of each item should be left over (if any) at the end of the assembly process.
• Place stamps on your RSVP envelopes before beginning assembly.
• Create an assembly line by making individual stacks of each invitation component in the order that they will be inserted into the (inner) envelope.
• For folded invitations, the fold should be placed inside the envelope first (this allows the card to actually hold all of the invitation inserts together).
  
• Inner envelopes should never be sealed.
• Outer envelopes should not be sealed until all invitations have been assembled and all inserts have been accounted for.
  

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Traditional etiquette states that gift registry cards should never be included with the wedding invitation.  This is so that it does not appear that you are begging for or expecting gifts for your wedding.  So how, exactly, do you provide your guests with your gift registry information if not with the invitation?  The proper thing to do would be to provide the gift registry card with the bridal shower invitation.  What happens, however, if you do not have a bridal shower?  Well, here are some of my suggestions:

Ask your parents, your fiance's parents, and/or your bridal party to distribute the information verbally to anyone who asks. The main problem with this method is that some people will simply not ask for your gift registry information and then they will give you either monetary gifts (okay) or ugly crap from a store you would never shop at without a gift receipt (clearly not okay).

Add your gift registry information to your wedding website and then provide the URL of the website on your save the date or on an insert that you include with your invitation.  The wording for the insert could be something like the following:  "For additional information on our wedding including accommodations information and gift registry information, please visit our wedding website at: http://www.mywedding.com/SallyandJoe/index.htm".  You don't even need to mention that gift information will be available on your website if you are worried about offending some of your guests.

Include a nicely worded gift registry card with the invitation.  This card could say something like the following:  "The best gift of all will be your presence at our wedding, but if you would like to get us a gift, we are registered at: Macy's and Williams and Sonoma".  This obviously goes against all etiquette guidelines, but if you are sure that your guests will not be offended by such a card then there is no harm in including one.  If you are concerned about offending certain guests, you can always leave the card out of their invitations.

Posted by WDBT81 at 07:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Worried that uninvited guests will show up at your wedding?  Have a huge family and need to limit your invites to only certain members of the family (i.e. the parents, not the children)? The only "etiquettely" correct way to do this is to explicitely list each invited guest on the invitation inner envelope. Unfortunately, you really need both an inner and an outer envelope to use this method. Here are some examples:

Outer: Mr. and Mrs. Robert Smith
Inner: Mr. and Mrs. Smith

or

Outer: Ms. Sarah Smith
Inner: Ms. Smith and Guest

or

Outer: Mr. and Mrs. Robert Smith
Inner: Mr. and Mrs. Smith
          John, Mary, and Michael (these are the children)

Now for the more fun, non-"etiquettely" correct ways of limiting the number of guests invited to your wedding.  There are a few different ways you can use your RSVP card to accomplish this goal.  The first idea would be to include a sentence at the bottom of your RSVP card like the following:

"We hope that the two of you will be able to join us." 

The second idea would be to include a line on your RSVP card like the following:

"_____ of 2 will attend"

If you are specifically choosing to limit your wedding to only adults, you could discreetly include one of the following phrases at either the bottom of your invitation or at the bottom of your reception card:

"Adults only" or "Adult reception" 

Finally, you could simply ask your parents and/or your bridal party to mention to your guests that children are not invited or that the number of people you can invite is limited by your reception location (may be a lie, but at least it will prevent people from being angry at you).

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