Weddingbee Blog

For the most part, we’ve focused on only the important things for our wedding. Any high ambitions I may have had regarding fancy DIY projects have fallen by the wayside in light of my lack of time and energy….

But there was one Martha Stewart idea I simply HAD to try:

(image courtesy of Martha Stewart)

Yes, like Miss Lovebug and Mrs Gummi Bear, I fell prey to the allure of vintage stamps.

(Random mix. The blue stamp is the statue on top of the US Capitol.)

In my case, the stamps came from eBay. I purchased them verrrrrrrry early in the planning process, when we didn’t know how many invites were going out or how much they’d cost, so I wound up with far more than we would ever need. Luckily, postage is postage. They’ll be good for thank you notes and beyond!

I went with two basic themes — a DC-and-law theme (as Mr T and I, and many of our friends, are lawyers), and a classic-folk-art theme (’cause the stamps were pretty). I also had fun with two USPS “year books” from 1984 and 1988 that contained samples of all the stamps put out in those years. There was so much variety, and I tried to match the stamps with the recipients — for instance, geographical stamps for people who lived in those states, or a “Year of the Woman” stamp for a judge I once worked for and admire as a fantastic female role model.

(Conservation, Supreme Court, and ABA stamps for a friend who teaches environmental law)

My one regret was not paying more attention to color. There was a series of Supreme Court, Executive Branch, and Congress stamps that I loved for their DC content but whose black color was a bit harsh in combination with the other stamps. I also wish I had gotten more 5-10 cent stamps and fewer 29-cent and 3-centers.

(Savings stamps because I do securities law; and an upside-down ABA stamp because my vision was a little blurry at 4 a.m. with all that stamp adhesive in my system!)

By using eBay and bidding carefully (i.e., letting a beloved find go if the bid got too high), we didn’t pay a whole lot more than regular postage. And, yes, I licked them all and didn’t die!

Is anyone else using vintage stamps for your invitations? What themes are you going with?