Wedding Etiquette Forum

response card postage for out of country guests...anyone know??

I am sitting here putting together my invitations and applying stamps to the outer envelope and the response cards when it hits me... ummm I have some guests invited who live in Europe and Canada-- what is the stamp situation for their response cards??  Since they are sending the card from their home country will a US stamp even work from their country here??? I just started thinking about this and I thought I'd ask on here to see what people have done?  

Thanks in advance. 

Re: response card postage for out of country guests...anyone know??

  • I also have a number of guests from out of the country.  I will not be including a stamp on the envelope as US postage will not work.   We will be putting in a hand written note teling the guests they can RSVP via email if they would prefer.  With international mail things can sometimes take a very long time. 

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  • I am not sure of the correct answer, but you could stop in or call your local post office. I would think they would know for sure. 
  • Ok thanks.  I sealed two going to Europe (with forever stamps on the response card) before I went...DOH!  So I guess wasted stamps. I sent emails to the two I sent out by accident and the others I actually do not have emails for but I will go to the post office tomorrow and ask... 
  • Include in their invitation a note saying they can respond by email (give your address), phone (include number) or the RSVP card (do not include postage).  International guests understand you won't have postage for them.
  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_response-card-postage-for-out-of-country-guestsanyone-know?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:71e64b5c-d601-45a5-9461-f39c1518624bPost:45bfdff6-250d-4fde-8096-f17bb3323951">Re: response card postage for out of country guests...anyone know??</a>:
    [QUOTE]Include in their invitation a note saying they can respond by email (give your address), phone (include number) or the RSVP card (do not include postage).  International guests understand you won't have postage for them.
    Posted by littleluckypenny[/QUOTE]

    This.  Our out of country guests just RSVPed through email. 
  • We just sent our international invitations unstamped.  These were mostly to guests who would know how to write a proper reply and mail it themselves.  Most Americans don't have a clue how to reply correctly
  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_response-card-postage-for-out-of-country-guestsanyone-know?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:71e64b5c-d601-45a5-9461-f39c1518624bPost:174d82c2-f27a-4823-9f35-e0d727f77089">Re: response card postage for out of country guests...anyone know??</a>:
    [QUOTE]<strong>We just sent our international invitations unstamped. </strong> These were mostly to guests who would know how to write a proper reply and mail it themselves.  Most Americans don't have a clue how to reply correctly
    Posted by ootmother2[/QUOTE]

    <div>This is what we did.</div>
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  • you fly to each country you are mailing invites to and buy stamps to fly back home and put on the reply cards.

    Sorry...but this question has been asked quite a few times, and the asswer is always the same, you generally cannot buy stamps for another country then the country you are in  (the exception is possibly boarder towns at somewhere other then the post office that sells stamps...I know when I worked in a grocery store in a boarder town they carried a few and I never knew why)... You can't put a stamp on it (or at least not one that would actually get the reply back to you) so don't waste your time and energy in trying to find a stamp. Its nice to offer a way to respond by phone/online, but not required. Most people can figure it out on thier own.

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  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_response-card-postage-for-out-of-country-guestsanyone-know?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:71e64b5c-d601-45a5-9461-f39c1518624bPost:5b70123a-bdaf-4019-a60e-dec6e56ed41d">Re: response card postage for out of country guests...anyone know??</a>:
    [QUOTE]you fly to each country you are mailing invites to and buy stamps to fly back home and put on the reply cards. <strong>Sorry...but this question has been asked quite a few times, and the asswer is always the same,</strong> you generally cannot buy stamps for another country then the country you are in  (the exception is possibly boarder towns at somewhere other then the post office that sells stamps...I know when I worked in a grocery store in a boarder town they carried a few and I never knew why)... You can't put a stamp on it (or at least not one that would actually get the reply back to you) so don't waste your time and energy in trying to find a stamp. Its nice to offer a way to respond by phone/online, but not required. Most people can figure it out on thier own.
    Posted by toothpastechica[/QUOTE]

    I've been floating around these parts for quite a while and do not recall this question being asked "quite a few times". Actually I think this is the first time I've seen it asked. No need to be snotty to the OP for asking a question.
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  • Thank you for all the helpful responses ladies.  

    For those of you who put a note in with the response card with your email/phone- did you just do it on your personal stationary or what?  These invites are going to extended family and close friends so I don't think they will mind the personal note. 

     I had unfortunately already sealed two of the envelopes to Europe before I realized my mistake with the response card stamps.  (doh!)

    Toothpaste Chica- sorry if this has been asked before.  I tried searching all boards for the answer to my question and I couldn't find it.  
  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_response-card-postage-for-out-of-country-guestsanyone-know?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:71e64b5c-d601-45a5-9461-f39c1518624bPost:8cc17633-4c1d-4a1a-bc2b-5508ec50eb10">Re: response card postage for out of country guests...anyone know??</a>:
    [QUOTE]Thank you for all the helpful responses ladies.   For those of you who put a note in with the response card with your email/phone- did you just do it on your personal stationary or what?  These invites are going to extended family and close friends so I don't think they will mind the personal note.   I had unfortunately already sealed two of the envelopes to Europe before I realized my mistake with the response card stamps.  (doh!) Toothpaste Chica- sorry if this has been asked before.  I tried searching all boards for the answer to my question and I couldn't find it.  
    Posted by puppygal16[/QUOTE]
    All of our international guests are close family (parents, brothers...), so they basically didn't RSVP. I only put the RSVP card in there for the mother, since I know she'd like to have the full invitation. If you have a small piece of stationary that is similar in color or design to your invitation, then why not. It wouldn't bother me if it didn't match perfectly.
  • You can buy foreign stamps on the internet, just google that country's postal service.
  • Update: I went to the post office and they told me that most people leave the envelope blank.  Another option: I can purchase a certificate fromt he USPS ($2.00/envelope) that the guests can bring to their local post office to use to purchase postage.  So it sounds like its a postage gift certificate of sorts. 
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