Love the look of vintage postage stamps on wedding invitations but not sure where to begin? Don’t want to choose from the limited stamp options available at the post office? You’re not alone! The world of vintage postage can be very confusing, but we’re here to answer all of your questions. Adding a curated selection of vintage stamps to your wedding envelopes is a high impact way to elevate your invitations and add an extra dose of style and color. It’s one of our favorite extras to include in any suite!

So how exactly do vintage stamps work, you ask? It’s actually pretty simple—make sure the postage value of your stamps adds up to the current postage rate, and you’re good to go. Just be sure to weigh your envelope ahead of time so you don’t get stuck slapping on extra t-rex stamps at the post office! Envelopes that weigh over one ounce will need additional postage. Vintage stamps typically have lower postage value than today’s stamps, so you’ll need several to get to the required postage amount, but that’s the fun part! Now you get to browse hundreds of beautiful stamps and mix and match colors and designs to get a custom look.

Browsing through all of those stamp options can get overwhelming fast, though. If you already know which stamps you want, note their Scott number (a unique identifying number used on all US postage) and search for them on eBay. If you don’t know what you want, your best bet is to browse Etsy’s curated shops to find a combo you like. If you’re a Jubilee Paper client, we take care of all the searching for you and present you with a few stamp bundle options to choose from.

So how much does it cost to use vintage postage on your wedding invitations? It depends on the weight of your envelopes and the prices on the stamps you choose, but you can expect to pay anywhere from $2.00-$4.00 per envelope for invitations mailed in the US. Vintage stamps work for international mail too, you just need to look up the postage rates for each country you’re mailing to and make sure your stamps add up to that rate. Alternatively, you can buy global forever stamps to use on your international invitations and just use vintage stamps on your domestic invitations.

The last step in your wedding invitation’s journey is actually mailing them. If you used vintage stamps, or if your envelopes are delicate or bulky, it’s important to take them to the post office and get them hand canceled. This means that instead of being run through a machine, each envelope is hand stamped over the postage to mark that the postage has been used. If you’re a Jubilee Paper client, your envelopes will get the royal treatment and get hand delivered to the post office for hand canceling.

Vintage stamps are such an effective way to add extra personality and elegance to your wedding invitations—we encourage you to go for it! And if you run into any road blocks or have any questions along the way (or just want the experts to take care of it for you!) please reach out via our contact form. We are always happy to chat!

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