Like I mention in my previous post, 9 Common Mistakes to Avoid with your Wedding Stationery, the envelopes are the first thing the receiver will see, so it’s important to put the effort into dressing up your envelopes so they are as elegant as the paper inside of them. In this post, I list a number of ways you can do this. By combining more than one of these options, or by just adding one special addition, it can make all the difference in how your guests view the first visual of your event.

 

HAND-ADDRESSING

 

    

 

A majority of people go with hand-addressing their envelopes because it is the easiest (and cheapest) way to put a handmade touch into your invitation suite.  Not everyone has the skill or materials to do calligraphy on their envelopes, which is why they end up using basic ball-point pens to address their envelopes and don’t pay much attention to the style of their writing. I believe that everyone is capable of doing simple faux-calligraphy, which can still be easy, but will make your invitations look much better. All you need to know is how to write in cursive, and you can follow my simple tutorial to make your cursive look like calligraphy without being a master calligrapher.

 

PRINTING DIRECTLY ON ENVELOPE

 

 

Most printers are able to print on the envelopes, both your return address and the shipping address, although this can come at an additional price and can extend the printing timeline. You can choose to have just the return address, or both, printed directly on in your choice of font (or your invitation designer’s). This is often the cleanest look your envelope can have, and allows for the least amount of work on your part (which may come in handy, especially if you plan to send more than a hundred invitations). The downside to printing is that it is the exact opposite of doing it by hand, because addressing your envelopes by hand is the best way to put that personal touch into each one.

 

LABELS

 

 

Although I personally believe that invitations, especially wedding invitations, should not be addressed with labels, I understand the attraction to wanting to use labels. Not only do they save time, because they barely take any time to put on, but they also save money compared to actual printing on the envelopes, because you have the option to print at home rather than at a professional printer. They tend to feel like the middle ground when it comes to addressing options, but what many people don’t consider is that they can really take away from the professionalism and aesthetic of your invitations.  If you do choose to go this route, think about printing on transparent labels, rather than white ones. And I’m begging you, please don’t print on white labels if you plan to have an envelope that is not white!

 

In the picture above, it shows an example of using labels in a chic way. Instead of printing on the labels that you can buy from any office supply store, you can buy sheets of sticker and print the address on the middle or one side of skinny strip of sticker paper. Or, if you are really on a budget, you can print on regular paper and glue it to your envelope. *Just make sure, if you use paper, you use a very sticky, flat glue that goes all the way to the edge like rubber cement.*

 

RETURN ADDRESS CUSTOM STAMPER

 

 

A very popular option for return addresses, custom stampers are an easy and beautiful way to print your return address, especially on the flap of your outer envelope and on the front of your reply envelope. If you are hand-addressing your envelopes, this will save you so much time, it’s definitely worth the $30-$50. Plus, then you’ll have it for life and it’ll prove to be a very useful tool for your future mail.  Custom stamps come in two main styles, self-inking and regular. I personally recommend regular stamps, because then you can change the color of the ink as often as you want and you have a wider range of color options because it doesn’t have to be able to fit the self-inking size.

 

RETURN ADDRESS EMBOSSER

 

 

Embossers make a really beautiful raised return address for the back flap of your outer envelope, and are a very unique addition to any invitation suite.  Embossers usually have a higher price tag than stamps, and can’t be used to address any return envelopes because unfortunately they are harder to see and therefore should not be used as the shipping address (I don’t think the post office will allow this type of addressing). It can still be used for any return addresses, but is not as widely used like stamps are. But similar to stamps, the embosser can be kept to continue using for any future mail.

 

ENVELOPE LINERS

 

 

Envelope liners can add the perfect amount of elegant playfulness to any invitation. If your invitation and outer envelope are equally simple, sometimes an added pop of pattern on the inside of your envelope is exactly what your invitation suite needs to complete its look. If your invitation is fairly busy or has a very specific color or flower theme, you can still definitely add an envelope liner to round it out, but be careful to pick out a liner that doesn’t have too busy of a pattern (like black and white stripes, for example) or just a solid color.  The great thing about envelope liners is that they are very easy to make at home, you just need to pick out the right paper. All you have to do is trace the open envelope you’re using and cut it out, removing just enough off the straight bottom so all the glue on the envelope is showing.

 

WAX SEALS

 

 

Wax seals are a very old fashioned, but classic way to close an envelope.  There are thousands of wax seal presses out there, or you can even order your own custom press with your initials on it. Wax seals can take some time to get the hang of, but practice makes perfect, and once you perfect the craft, it really gives your invitation a classic and elegant look.

 

CUSTOM POSTAGE STAMPS

 

 

If you’re looking for just one more way you can pull your whole invitation together so every piece goes together, custom postage stamps might be the answer. You can get your own images on postage stamps, or choose from a number of already-made stamps, and this can be an extra step to think about if you’re specific about the overall look of your invitation suite. Postage is already one of the most expensive parts of your invitation, like I mention in my last blog post, and customizing this part of your invitation can make it even more expensive than the actual paper pieces, but it’s an option to pull together your beautiful invites.

 

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