Photo: © 2014 U.S. Postal Service
The most important part of your wedding invitations? The postage stamp because your guests won't receive the invite if you forget it! But the little sticker serves a second function: It gives you a chance to personalize your envelope, just like the invitation inside.
The U.S. Postal Service has a new way to let you do just that. It revealed its second annual "Yes, I do" postage stamp (available here!) earlier this week. The pretty design, seen above, is part of the USPS' celebration of weddings, and was designed by Michael Osborne under the direction of Ethel Kessler.
See more: Lost for Words? Read This Break Down of Proper Wedding Invitation Wording Etiquette
Not only is it a creative way to spice up your invitation — the words "Yes, I do" are embedded among a bouquet of flowers in the shape of a heart — it's practical, too. The 70-cent stamp accommodates the heavier weight of a wedding invitation, as well as other mailings such as oversized cards or small gifts that require extra postage.
A wedding-related stamp instantly ties your wedding stationery together, but brides and grooms-to-be have thought outside the heart pattern as well. Check out a few of our favorite stamp designs below.
For starters, stamps with hearts like the ones on the package in the photo above are the absolute height of romance. Heavier invitation suites, like ones that come in special boxes, require multiple stamps. A row of hearts to ensure proper delivery means that your invite will arrive in style.
Photo: Courtesy of Cheree Berry Paper
Invitations are the perfect way to announce a special wedding location. A city-centric affair in New York, for example, is the idea behind the invite seen above. The couple wisely chose postage that has a building. It's subtle, but a great way to tie in the theme.
You can also simply pick a stamp with something cool or pretty. A single stamp for a lighter invitation allows the postage to make a simple, but bold statement. We love the artsy butterfly on the envelope above — it's sweet without being over-the-top froofy.
Photo: Courtesy of Vigilante Paper
Going back to the idea of using stamps to declare your wedding style, a fun idea is to hunt down stamps that match your theme and invitation color to a T. The invites seen above, both from Vigilante Paper, each have a specific theme: Rustic on the left, nautical on the right. The stamps are not only artistically laid out in a pyramid pattern, they also have imagery that echo the wedding theme. The rustic invite has stamps with eagles, moose, and raccoons, while the nautical suite benefits from stamps with similar deep blue hues and ship steering wheels.
And of course, the stamps don't have to reflect weddings or your theme at all! The postage above is eclectic, but all comes together in a delightful way. Whether you're throwing a bohemian wedding that may go perfectly with these stamps, or if you're using whatever postage you have left over, arrange it artfully, and it will still leave a lasting impression.
The new USPS stamp, in addition to last year's Where Dreams Blossom, is available at 800-STAMP24 (800-782-6724), at Post Offices nationwide or at ebay.com/stamps.