The Proper Way to Address and Assemble Your Wedding Invitations

Nothing is more frustrating than seeing your beautifully designed and addressed wedding invitation returned to sender because of an incorrect address or insufficient postage.

Likewise, when assembling the many pieces of your invitation set, mixing maps with RSVP cards or confusing the order in which the many parts should be combined can be a headache. We at Invitations by Ajalon understand that planning a wedding can be stressful, so I have decided to give a couple quick tips on how to efficiently assemble and address your wedding invitations:

One of the most important parts of the overall invitation is the actual addressing process itself. No matter how beautiful the inside looks, if the outside address is incorrect, that invitation will never be opened and appreciated.

Unless you are 100% certain that none of your guests have moved, it is worthwhile to verify their current addresses through a simple phone call, talking to a family member or mutual friend or using the internet just to double check the accuracy of your address list.

Step 1 - Address the Envelopes

Once the addresses are ready to be transcribed to your envelopes, practice a couple times on a separate piece of paper writing in the style you intend to use. Once you are satisfied with your handwriting, slowly begin, taking care not to make mistakes that are unfixable.

Be sure to give yourself plenty of time so that you can prevent any silly errors and needlessly rushed work.

Step 2 - Assemble Your Invitations

When assembling your letterpress wedding invitations, it is best to start on a cleared and cleaned table (you do not want any cookie crumbs or pizza sauce being sent to aunt Kathy and uncle Mike). Set aside at a good chunk of time when you will not be distracted or feel rushed.

I find that to ward off any anxiety about beginning big projects, it is best to start small. Work in an assembly line fashion, with stacks of exactly 25 of each item. Place all the stacks in the correct order and start inserting.

Don't seal them until you've assembled the 25 sets, so if you have anything left over, you can go back and find which envelope is missing an insert. Once all the envelopes are assembled, then seal and stamp. Be sure to take a sample to the post office before you purchase your stamps to verify the proper postage amount. Square envelopes and envelopes with irregular thickness (for example if you use a ribbon or bow on your invitation) are subject to additional postage costs.

With a little care and consideration, you can easily assemble, address and send your invitations so that they are received with the same love and excitement that you intended.