Wedding Blog
Bitter, party of one…that’s me!
I just went to the post office yesterday to weigh a sample invitation. I also wanted to see the new and exciting array of stamps they have for the increased postage rate. We are going to be mailing our invites in about a week and a half or so, and silly me…I actually care about stuff like stamps.
The stamps out now are, in a word, fugly.
Granted, there are some that appeal to me as a history teacher. The settlement of Jamestown is cute. The “Forever” stamp with the Liberty Bell is charming. The American flag stamp, in theory, I should like. But I don’t. I don’t want my wedding associated with the debacle of Jamestown (known for cannibalism and being a general cluster-f, FYI). The other ones just aren’t cute in a wedding sense. And that’s just for the RSVP envelope. Even worse for the actual invitations. I’ll be forced to use an assortment of different types of stamps that neither look good NOR match in any sense.
The USPS will be unveiling a new “Love” stamp…about a month too late (late June). It is either a pink background or purple, depending on the amount of postage, and features a heart in the same type of scrolly-stick looking things as the current “wedding” stamps. There are no pics on the USPS website. Similarly, I can’t find any stamps for the 2 oz postage rate (63 cents).
I know…slightly bridezilla-ish, bordering on OCD, but still…has anyone encountered the fugly stamp issue and solved it with something that looks pretty?
|
Share this post: Stamp of DISapproval
I think the new 2oz rate is 58 cents, or at least that’s what my post office told me!
Check out usps[dot]com and you can browse the full selection of stamps. There are a few pretty stamps in higher denominations (60 cents, 75 cents) that were more than I needed but less expensive than custom stamps (which, in my case, worked out to ~$1 per stamp).
I got my stamps at Zazzle after seeing it on the bee since I too didn’t like the Post Office options. I spent HOURS creating the perfect stamp that would complement the hand made invitations that I have spent MONTHS making. The problem? I inadvertantly selected ‘large’ as my size and the stamps came and they are about 1/4 of the size of the response card, shower thank you and wedding thank you envelopes that they are going on and look ridiculous. But, I can’t send them back because they are stamps.
I guess I am just annoyed that with all of the time and careful planning that I have put into each one of the invitations, one stupid 1/2 second mistake has made them ‘not as perfect’
And that is my bridezilla moment of the week.
It’s all about zazzle.com. Design your own- 20 stamps for 12.99 right now. Mine has our “logo” as pretentious as that is- it’s only for the response envelopes since our invites are going out in boxes and are going to have some ugliness from the post office on there.
I was thinking I’d probably just buy the old wedding 63 cent stamps for the invites (if they’re still available!) and suck up the few extra dollars spent. And, the new regular stamps for the return envelopes. I agree they’re ugly, but my friend tried to comfort me by saying “at least they say “forever”. It’s nice meaning anyway…”
Not OCD at all, Miss Pearl, the stamp is part of your overall invitation design!
I too was at the post office this week to look at stamps & have to mail my invites out early June! Therefore I will probably miss out on the release of the new “Love” 2 oz. stamp, which is a pretty heart. **SKK is right, though, the 2 oz. rate is 58 cents.
I have decided to go with the 60 cent red “Eagle” stamp. (How convenient of USPS to earn 2 cents extra on every invite because they’re late on releasing a .58 cent stamp!!) My envelopes are a deep red, plus I’m marrying a lawyer (the stamp looks sorta patriotic and official looking), so the red eagle stamp will blend with the envelope color + be somewhat relative to us. However, I’m sure this is not the case with most couples- I just lucked out.
My post office said they weren’t sure when the “Love” stamp is getting here, just sometime in June. Maybe you’ll luck out and get them in time? Or maybe you can get the .39 cent “Our Wedding” stamps, and pair them with the .24 cent Butterfly postcard stamp (both still available for purchase online at usps.com, if not at the post office). At least those are pretty, even if you have to use 2.
Ok, I just checked - and found that only the 39 cent wedding stamps are available alone - not the 63 cent stamps (you need to buy a pack with both 63 and 39 cents for those…stupid USPS. We’re mailing next week! I don’t know what to do now - I really don’t want to pay extra for custom stamps or use Jamestown stamps…
I bought stamps that just had a bit too much postage, worked out to something like 15 cents times 60 invites = $9 and they were gooorgeous. 
So not OCD of you (haha unless I am too!) I also got fun combos of 39 or 37 cent stamps + 4 cents for the rsvp’s since there are a ton more options for the below-41cent stamps!
Hey! I don’t think the liberty bell stamp is fugly! It’s perfect for those of us getting married in Philadelphia! Not wedding related, yes… but I wouldn’t call it fugly.
I also am having this problem, and am going to pick up my stamps from our local post office in a few hours. I settled for the flag stamps, because I began researching these last week and am mailing them tomorrow. However, they kind of go with my wedding, because my color is navy. At least that’s what I’m telling myself.
For the replys… try two “buckeye” butterfly stamps. They’re 24 cents each, so will cost you a couple bucks extra. BUT they’re pretty, the two of them on top of an envelope look adorable. You can order them from USPS online.
I’ve been recommending them to all my clients.
Consider ordering (stamps.com, zazzle, etc.).
MS Weddings recently had an article on people using vintage stamps in assorted combinations that happen to go with or complement the invitation design. Personally, it looked a little over-the-top to me, although attractive, but if you’re stuck…
I bought vintage LOVE cherub stamps (from 1995) for the invites, since it was cheaper than personalized stamps.
I used the forever stamps on my RSVPs… they matched my gold envelopes really well.
I ran out of time and possibilities… so although our RSVP cards had cute hershey kisses… our main invitation had 63 cent Jonas Salk… yes, that’s right… Jonas Salk. The inventor of the polio vaccine. (I had to research him)… I just had to laugh… so did my family 
I used the Super Hero stamps and people absolutely loved them. There are a lot of nice extra postage stamps that work well with the colors. Not at all wedding-y but we got great feedback.
The 2oz rate is $.58 now. The stamps won’t be released until June 12th.
The new wedding stamps will be released June 27th.
I like the idea of using two butterfly ($.24) stamps. I hadn’t thought about that! I think I might actually go this route.
For our RSVP, we will use the Panther postcard stamp ($.26). It’s blue, so it matches our colors.
I feel your pain! I hate the USPS right now. My outer envelope looks pretty good (it’s orange, and I used the liberty bell forever stamp — so it matches and I like that the stamp says “forever”). However, we had to use the blue panther 26-centers on our white, pink and orange reply postcard…YUCK.
We just overspent on postage and used the Ella Fitzgerald stamps - we had to put 2 stampns on everything, but we sent the invites 3 weeks before the change and our due date was this week, so we were kind of stuck in the middle.
Plus, I didn’t like the wedding stamp designs (I’m sorry, but I am afraid of birds even line drawing birds!), and Ella kind of goes with our overall feel/vibe.
For .58 cents we used the liberty bell + the .17 antelope (forgive me if i have my horned beasts confused) The blue in the .17 stamp actually brought out the blue in the bell and it looks kinda pretty on our carnival red envelopes, in a modern sort of way, which is cool by me.
We also used the cougar (um, forgive me if I have my feline beasts confused) .26’s for our reply postcards. Our invites have a red and blue sort of asian-latin mood to them so the cougar looks AWESOME on them. When I first saw my lack of options at one of NYC’s biggest P.O.’s I was worried but I’d say that we are very pleased overall.
I had the same issue. I am trying to cut costs, so I thought the Zazzle route was waaay too expensive. My invitations come in just under an ounce. Our solution is to use the breast cancer stamps since both my mom and my FMIL are survivors. They cost a little more, but it goes to a good cause!
luckily, my invites are only 1 oz. wheeeeew.
i bought up the marvels of modern architecture, gee’s bend quilts, superheroes, etc. in 39 cents and am just gonna have to deal with the ugly 2-centers next to them. i’ve given up on findign something cute for the RSVP postcards.
i did see the new heart/love stamps somewhere online, but i can’t track ‘em down right now. they’re so not cute, IMO, but then i am rarely a fan of any of the post office’s “love” type stamps (the L-O-V-E, candy hearts, and short-lived hershey kisses were ok. the rest…blech).
I almost had the same issue. Luckily, there was the nicest lady working at the post office who allowed me to purchase the .63 wedding stamps without having to purchase the .39 wedding stamps.
You could, however, use the .24 butterfly stamp with .39 wedding stamp and then use the .63 wedding stamp by themselves. You would be paying extra, but it would be pretty deminimus.
For my RSVPs I used a .24 butterfly and two .01 cent bird stamps. If you used a .24 butterfly stamp for the invite (with the .39 wedding stamp) it would tie together nicely with your RSVP.
my post office still had Ella Fitzgerald ones, which I just went with. Ella rocks.
Bells are ok! In Switzerland i pretty much get to choose between a picture of a chair or one of a… vegetable peeler!!!!!!!! How romantic can you get!?!
i agree with you. i decided just to go with the kisses stamps and add 2 cents since my envelope is red. in the end, only you will care.
i too went the zazzle.com route (they are being shipping as we speak). the $.41 (1) oz first class stamp and the $.26 postcard stamp were the same price ($12.99 for (20) stamps on sale), so i just got all of them $.41 cents and with the left overs (which there will be) i’ll put them on the thank you cards!
google “zazzle coupon codes” first — i found a $10 off purchase of $50+.”
i spent a total of $20.80 more than i would have spent at the post office for 120 $.41 stamps! GL!
I live in DC, and I went to the US Postal museum gift shop to get 2cent stamps because they have more of a selection. I had used the blue lovebird stamps originally, so I bought a different little blue 2 cent bird (that had been released a few years ago) to make up for the extra postage. But, I had already sealed ALL of my invitations, so I had to open them all and add extra postage to the return envelope. I wanted to die!
I have a feeling that I’m going to get slammed, but I’m in one of those moods today. So here goes…
They are stamps, people. Stamps. On envelopes that get thrown away. I am a detail-oriented person, but there are certain things that just don’t matter and frankly aren’t worth the time, effort, expense and worry (to me, at least). Seriously. Seriously!
Thanks for letting me get that off my chest!
Two words: star wars.
You have to buy the full sheet, so they won’t all match, and I suggest saving the Emperor for bill paying….but Star Wars… so freaking cool.
I personally love the forever stamps…they seem somewhat perfect with the concept of “forever” emblazened across them…however, I am worried about the fact that my invites will run me the 2oz rate of .58 and what type of stamps are available here? Oh, and have you seen the sad selection that is post card stamps? Big ugly brown butterfiles…*sigh* we may resort to starwars!
I used the Martha Stewart Good Thing idea from the spring Weddings issue. I’ve used:
4 5cent American Toleware stamps
3 1cent Tiffany lamp stamps
2 4cent Chippendale Chair stamps
1 10cent American clock stamp
Totally ocd martha stewart project. Total time eater. Total fight starter with FI, but they came out really cute, so all was forgiven.
I just used the *new* postcard stamp for our save the date cards. It’s a cougar - in pastel non the less. It’s horrifying & hilariousal l the the same time. Thee good news is our STD was supposed to be light-hearted, and now it definitely is.
I just used the *new* postcard stamp for our save the date cards. It’s a cougar - in pastels non the less. It’s horrifying & hilarious all at the the same time. Thee good news is our STD was supposed to be light-hearted, and now it definitely is.
I also ordered from zazzle.com
Sorry for the typo on the 2 ounce stamp thing…I meant 58 cents.
OK friends, don’t get offended that I called the Liberty Bell fugly. I can appreciate the history (remember…history teacher here!), but not what I wanted…not even close.
I thought about that MSW idea of the different vintage stamps since we have a sort of vintage theme, then realized that with the calligraphy on the envelopes, there wouldn’t be enough room 
Like I said, I realize it’s kinda OCD and perhaps an element that only I (or Mr. Pearl) will notice, but it still bothers me (and him).
I would have loved to use the Hershey Kiss stamps, but my post office doesn’t have them anymore and neither does usps.com.
Ultimately, I think we decided to use the national park stamps, but they have to be ordered from usps.com. Mr. Pearl is big into the outdoorsy stuff, so for the outer envelope, we’ll likely use the Yosemite stamp (.84 per stamp, and also in our state). The RSVP will be the Niagara Falls stamp (.48 a piece) which is, as you know, a popular old school honeymoon spot.
Bridezilla crisis averted
I’m so relieved to learn that there are other brides out there who are close to sending invites out and also care about this issue. I completely agree that this is one detail no one will remember, but to me the invite and the envelope it comes in set the tone for the wedding, and my wedding is formal. I’ve spent so much time picking and designing my perfect invitation, and I just can’t see myself putting a panther or a flag on the envelope.
I still haven’t decided exactly what to do, but thank you all for making me feel a lot less crazy for spending time thinking about stamps.
The Buckeye “butterfly” stamps aren’t pretty either!! It’s a brown butterfly - looks more like a moth to me! (And, you have to add an ugly green clock stamp to reach the $0.58 mark!) Ugh… I wanted to cry sticking those tacky stamps on my invitations!
This is a great topic, I’m glad to see people discussing it. At Artistic Postage, we feel your pain on this issue so we helped solve the problem!
We have an entire line of original wedding stamps including photos, pictures, wedding phrases, and monograms. Most are customizable and we’ll even design one just for you.
Please check out the selection at:
http://www.ArtisticPostage.com/Wedding_Stamps.html
Here is a wedding idea to consider. You can visit Bridal by Design on Zazzle.com. There are a lot of beautiful custom stamps for announcements and other wedding mailings. They can also be customized with your text and dates if you want. You can see from the total visits that this source has been pretty popular. Bridal by Design has one of the best wedding stamp design collections on the internet and besides having more than 250 stamp designs they have customized wedding favors. The link is http://www.zazzle.com/bridalbydesign*
Hello fellow brides, I just ordered customized photo stamps from photostamps.com the stamps come out great you can upload any photo of you and your fiance its a couple of cents extra but looks awesome….you could even upload a wedding photo for the stamps on thank you cards… just a thought and a way to personalize your invitations…
Good luck!
Hi, I’m coming to this discussion late, notified of it by a bride-to-be, but I run a stamp collecting website, The Virtual Stamp Club (www.virtualstampclub.com) and I write and report on stamps for a variety of media.
There is no wedding stamp on the 2008 stamp program. The designs for nearly all the 2008 issues (and hopefully a few dates) will be released a week from today (the 27th), but here’s an idea what the 2008 Love stamp will look like: http://forums.delphiforums.com/stamps/messages?msg=27803.1
On VSC’s 2007 stamp program page, http://www.virtualstampclub.com/2007usnew.html , click on the name of the issue to see a thumbnail picture. The Pollination stamps are really attractive; so are Beautiful Blooms; and I’ve even heard Mothers of the Bride at my local post office ask for the Nature of America series stamps (2007’s entry: Alpine Tundra), which are flora and fauna. Those are all 41’s.
You should be able to order any of these from the USPS web site, shop.usps.com or 1-800-STAMP24. There’s a $1 P&H charge. BUT….the philatelic (stamp collecting) clerk in Providence, Donna, gives even better service and doesn’t charge for P&H at all. Her e-mail address is rhode.p.istamps@usps.gov . Of course, I don’t know what her holiday hours are.
Earlier U.S. stamps are still good for postage, so if there was an earlier “Love” stamp you like, you can use it and other stamps to make the 41-cent rate.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask in our message board.
BTW, the Postal Service announced today these wedding-stamp designs are coming back, in different colors: http://forums.delphiforums.com/stamps/messages?msg=29369.1
| Visit our sister sites | Project Wedding Wedding Songs |
eHarmony Advice Dating Advice |
JustMommies Pregnancy Calendar |
Fertile Thoughts Infertility Support |
Mrs. Pearl, Los Angeles
Age and Occupation: 26, High school history teacher
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 37, Software engineer
Engagement Date: No official date, we just decided :-)
Wedding Date: July 2007
Venue: St. Anthony's Greek Orthodox Church, Ritz Carlton Huntington Hotel
About Me: Mr. Pearl and I have been together for about four and a half years now. We've been "engaged" since 2004 and were originally supposed to get married in June 2006, but postponed the wedding to July 2007. I love shopping for housewares and office supplies, music, reading chick lit, football, and the diverse world of Los Angeles dining.
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| 29 | 30 |
Latest Gallery Pics