The cost to mail a wedding invitation suite is often an afterthought. Depending on how heavy and bulky your suite is, mailing your wedding invitations can add up quickly. Doing a little research ahead of time for budget awareness and working with your stationer can help this part of your wedding budget not be such a shock.

Calligraphy envelope addressing written in black ink.

The cost to mail a wedding invitation depends on the weight of the entire suite. To determine how much postage you will need to purchase from the post office or your stationer, take one wedding invitation suite stuffed into the envelope to the post office and weigh it.

Typical invitation suites weight anywhere from 1-2 ounces. However, it can weigh more if you have ultra thicker paper, embellishments, wax seals, etc.

For 2016 an invitation that weighs 1 ounce and is being mailed first class (what you should use), it will cost .47 in stamps. For an invite that weighs 2 ounces and mailed first class, it will cost .68 in stamps.

For more pricing information for the various weights, visit weddingstamps.com/usps.

If your invitation includes extra embellishments on the outside, like a wax seal, or is an odd shape, like a square, it will cost an additional .21 per invite suite. Wax seals are all the rage right now, and they are beautiful. If you have the budget for it, do it! Who wouldn't love opening a piece of mail like that? :) (Please keep in mind it can be time consuming to create and apply a real wax seal. If your stationer is doing it for you, you will pay an extra fee for her time.)

Surprisingly, calligraphy does not affect the cost of mailing your invitation. As long as the hand-lettering is legible, it will be mailed with no issues.

If you want your stamps to match the design theme of your invitation suite, custom designed stamps are the way to go. Although it costs a little bit more than stamps already available at the post office, I personally love custom stamps - especially vintage-looking stamps if you can't already tell! ;)

Calligraphy envelope addressing written in gold metallic ink.

Stamps are the final piece of the puzzle and the ultimate icing on the cake for your wedding invitations. When stamps are cohesive with the rest of the design and theme of the wedding suite, they don't stick out like a sore thumb.

Well-designed, matching stamps say to your guests, "Special care and attention was given to this invitation just for you." :)