I think sending out wedding invitations is probably the most tedious of all wedding-related tasks.  I wish it was one of the things I did not have to do myself.  If I could have hired somebody to take care of it for me, I would.  Hand-addressing 150+ invitations and making sure they are all mailed out is just something I am glad I will never have to do again… until my own kids get married.

(cute vintage postage below from 100layercake)

I recommend compiling addresses FAR in advance from all your friends & families.  This saves all the last minute rushes to find addresses.  Keep these in an excel spreadsheet so you can refer back to them come time for Thank You cards to be sent out.

If you are hand-writing your envelopes (as proper etiquette dictates you should!), be sure to order extra envelopes!  Most companies send you extras as a precaution, but you can never be too sure.  (I myself have made mistakes on a few!)

I always hear that you need to take a finished wedding invitation (cards, reception cards, RSVP cards, inserts and all) to the post office to be weighed for postage.  I did this… and of course, I heard 4 different costs at each of the post offices I went to.  I heard from one person at the Post Office that it would be 61 cents, another said $1.05, another said 88 cents, and another told me 61 cents.  I sent a test one out and it was delivered to the recipient for 61 cents, so I went to the post office with a stack of envelopes at 61 cents and the lady FORCED me to purchase 44 cent stamps to add on to my stack of 50 envelopes.  Not fun!  Some cards were mailed with the $1.05 postage, others were mailed with the 61 cent postage.  This sent me into a panic!  What if people don’t receive their invitations?   Surprisingly, MANY invitations were received by the recipient with the 61 cent postage and just 3 were returned for more postage.

Keep track of RSVPs as they come in!  Put a date that is enough time before the wedding so you can track down lost RSVPs.  My wedding is June 5, so guests are urged to RSVP by April 20.  That gives me lots of time to track down lost RSVPs so I can create my Seating Chart.  So far I have 89 positive attendees–yay!