Now that invitations are on my mind, I am also consumed with thoughts about stamps. (What is it about wedding planning that makes even the smallest, and typically unimportant, details so incredibly significant!?) Truth be told, I probably wouldn’t have even thought about stamps yet had they not been the cause of a potential-but-carefully-avoided-freak-out when sending our save the dates.
I mentioned previously which save the dates we chose, but just for kicks and giggles, I wanted to give you an idea of what the final product looked like. They are the Bold Stripe Save the Dates from Minted, and I was really pleased with how they turned out. We chose to go with the add-on option of putting a picture as well as a short paragraph on the back, and I’m really glad we did because I think it’s a nice, cheery surprise when you turn the card over!
All save the date photos are personal!
After addressing and stuffing each envelope, and then attaching the return-address stickers, they were all ready to go except for postage. Up until that point, I hadn’t even thought about choosing stamps. I figured I would just head to the post office, choose the nicest stamp they had, and hopefully it would be wedding-stationery appropriate.
I was wrong. So, so wrong.
After waiting in line at the post office for almost 25 minutes (what is this—the DMV?) I stepped up to the counter and pointed to a cute “love” stamp I had been eyeing on a poster on the wall. They were out of that one—go figure. I then asked for any wedding-related stamps they had—again, all out. How about anything cute anything that’s not a liberty bell?
I was given these beauties and told they were out of everything else until sometime the next week:
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Image via USPS
Romantic, right?
Moment of truth—rant or retreat? I shrugged it off, vowing to make up for my lack of preparation when we worked on invitations. So, here we are. I started my search on the USPS website and found a few options that could work, including the original “Love” option I had spotted.
Image via USPS
Image via USPS
These standard stamps really weren’t doing it for me, though, so I hopped over to Zazzle to see what I could come up with there. There were almost TOO many options. Monograms, wedding flowers, and save the date—they had it all covered.
Image via Zazzle
Image via Zazzle
Nothing was really catching my eye other than the simple monograms. Some of the others were cute, but I didn’t feel like they would really match the style of the invitations I wanted. The monogram was classy, understated, and nice to look at. I really thought it would add to the look of our invitations, rather than distract or make them look worse.
Image via Zazzle
The only drawback? The price. While the USPS stamps would run about $9 for a sheet of 20, the Zazzle postage is going to cost $22 for the same amount. And with about 75 invitations going out, we’re talking about almost 90 bucks for postage. Yes, the personalized stamps would look better—that’s why I’m searching in the first place—but I just don’t know how much money should be put toward postage that someone will only glance at.
So, this is where I stand—bound and determined to have nice postage for the invitations I’m in love with, but unsure whether or not it’s worth the money to pay for it.
Do you guys think it’s worth the extra cash to spring for “wedding-like” postage? Tell me how you solved your postage dilemmas!
…no offense to people super into details but I would never spend extra for a cute stamp…they get thrown i the garbage, save the extra $50 or whatever spent and put it towards your manicure for the wedding or something 
[disclaimer: I did use the red love stamps for my STDs because they were available...but my envelopes were blue and they clashed horribly and I didn't care and everybody just said "OMG your STDs are adorable!" and nobody was like "omg why didn't you use a non-invasive stamp?" haha]
I don’t think it’s worth the extra money – plus, all Zazzle stamps have that not so pretty barcode on the side. 
We used the standard USPS wedding stamp for our invitation and a nice blue stamp for our RSVPs.
As we are currently living abroad in Europe we didn’t have that much choice about the stamps we used on our invites. You know, I don’t think anyone cared. I don’t remember the last time I actually looked at the stamps on a wedding invitation until it was my own wedding. So on half our invites there is some head of state or something on the stamps and the other ones were animals. So I think you are lucky enought with the USPS options that are at least love/wedding related!
I would save the money and put it towards something else that you and your guests will really appreciate. Cutting back on some of these smaller details adds up and can make a difference somewhere else in the wedding.
Honestly- we just used the new Pixar forever stamps that came out! We had craft paper envelopes- and while it might not have been super wedding related, the stamps looked adorable and were very us.
Honestly, I don’t think it is worth the extra money. People destroy the envelope as soon as they open the invitation. The envelope and stamp also get pretty beaten up by the time they go through all of the machines / sorting process at the post office. So by the time they actually make it to your guests there is a huge change that 1. it will have marking / “dirt” all over it or 2. half of your guests won’t even notice your more expensive stamps and just rip open the envelope to see the invitation (which is the real beauty of the package! ) I opted for the generic cake stamp and white wedding flowers for my response envelope. Stamps are expensive without going above and beyond so I personally didn’t see a point in spending even more money for something that will just get thrown in the trash.
I don’t think it’s worth it for Zazzle – they’re personalized, but they are also heavily Zazzle branded. I ended up finding stamps that had to do with the location sort of – we’re getting married in DC, so I found the Cherry Blossom stamps on USPS, and supplemented with the stamps of George Washington. Maybe you could find something slightly Texas related? Or something sort of about you (I know Miss Sparkler used Mark Twain stamps because he’s her fave writer)…also, not crazy to think with this level of detail!
I don’t think it is worth it. Check out the William H. Johnson stamp – flowers!
Not worth it, especially for a STD! I had postcard STDs and had to get the ugly hawaiian print shirt stamp. Absolutely no one noticed what the stamp was when I asked them.
I don’t think it’s worth the money. Most of the time people won’t really notice the stamp. We used the red Love stamp for our Save The Dates (we ordered them online) and they looked cute. As much as I would love a stamp with our picture or something cute I’d rather spend my money somewhere else.
This post made me so happy as I just went through the stamp drama with my own STDs. My mom was freaking out over a stamp! I spent 30 minutes on Zazzle only to be overwhelmed, sending my mom my top choice and her vetoing it! I never knew you could have drama over a stamp! Anyways, we ended up getting one of the wedding ones from the post office (after going to about 3 different locations because they all were all out of them!). All of that effort for a stamp?! Well, I must say it really does look nicer then the flag ones BEFORE you mail it. However, once you get them in the mail they are all covered up with those black ink stamps the post office puts on them. So, you cannot even see the stamp. I hadn’t even thought of this in all the stamp drama! I say NO it’s not worth it for Zazzle and it’s barely worth it for the Wedding ones you get at the post office. No one else is going to notice the stamp!
We were lucky in that area – Canada Post has no shortage of adorable stamps.
We opted for the “baby animals” stamps, that feature to white bunnies kissing! How adorable . They’ve also come out with some beautiful spring-time floral stamps, among many others.
Ahh I was SO SAD that the zazzle stamps are so expensive!! I wound up ordering those $.65 wedding cake stamps for our invitations and then the white rose (regular postage) for the response cards. I agree, the barcode is really unattractive. But the custom options are so so so cute!! I was sad that I had to let them go, but yeah… I would have wound up spending over $200 in postage! Craziness.
Although they are soo cute they are not worth it. I opted for “the year of the dragon” stamp and loved it!
I got stuck with the UGLY Hawaiian shirts for our RSVP postcards with absolutely no other option, but for the outer envelope I scoured ebay for vintage stamps, and actually paid LESS than what it would’ve cost at the post office. I got some really neat ones, like the Wizard of Oz and vintage Love stamps. I’m sure most people didn’t notice but I did and loved how they turned out!
The only reason we had custom postage was because someone else bought it. People loved it, but I don’t think they would have noticed if we used regular stamps (and they didn’t, with our save the dates!).
I only had one choice for postcards stamps… Hawaiian shirts. Doesn’t really go with the whole winter theme, but what can you do? At least I live at the beach so I can pretend it ties it together.
I just can’t justify the cost of zazzle stamps. I feel like I can spend the money on something better.
If the zazzle stamps were only a few cents more I would have gotten them, but seriously its more than double the amount of a regular stamp and my total was already over $100, I don’t see the point. Its not something people expect or even notice.
We used the Red love stamp matched ever so beautifully with a George Washington, and on the RSVP post card a Hawaiian shirt… so ours are all sorts of crazy, but they look just as beautiful.
Agree with PPs that it’s not really worth it. When they mail the envelopes they’ll get covered with black ink, stamps, and dirt anyways. No one really worries about the stamp. I’d just buy one of the USPS wedding ones, and go!
I, like many others could only get the hawaiian print shirts for RSVP postcards, I didn’t like them and still don’t, but I know people aren’t going to care what stamp is on it. And last week I went to PO and wanted the wedding cake stamp because the invitations needed a 65 cent stamp. When I asked about them, the lady said they didn’t have them. Thankfully another employee checked in the back and I walked out happy with my wedding cake stamps. All of the invitations are stamped and ready to be taken to PO tomorrow!
Mrs. Coach, Dallas Age and Occupation: 21, Undergraduate Student Fiance's Age and Occupation: 23, Retail Sales/Management Engagement Date: October 14, 2011 Wedding Date: October 2012 Venue: Piazza in the Village About Me: I was born and raised in the piney woods of East Texas, but Dallas has recently stolen my heart (along with Mr. Coach, of course!) I love classic rock, suspense novels, and my sweet Mini Aussie puppy, Memphis. My fiancé and I are planning a traditional wedding filled with romance, and we can’t wait to combine our own personal touches with a timeless affair. We’re young in years, but are also old souls that love good food and great music, and enjoy many things that are well before our time. We’re planning this wedding together, learning lots, and relying on good wine and reruns of Seinfeld to keep us sane along the way!
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