Can I just walk into the post office and buy pretty stamps?

butterflyjumper1 · May 2012

People keep talking about ordering stamps...if fiance and I take our invites to the biggest post office in the state, can we just buy the pretty wedding flower stamps or other similar stamps there? or do we really need to order them in advance?

Our invites are big, square, and heavy, so we know we will need lots of extra postage, so this whole thing makes me nervous anyway.....

I feel like I have posted the dumbest SH*T today. I swear, I am not an idiot. hahahah. I just have silly questions and am currently in quasi-bridezilla mode thanks to all the work I have to do on my invites, and i don't think it helps that my fiance is out of town.

LADY324 · May 2012

Yes you can just go into your post office. You might want to call ahead just to see if they have enough of the stamps you want. We did the .65 cent wedding cake for the invites and the .45 cent wedding flowers for the rsvp cards.

bells24412 · May 2012

you can just get them at the post office. When I mailed my invites I just asked them for wedding stamps and they gave me a selection of them to choose from.

butterflyjumper1 · May 2012

Lady you are smart - good to know. Thank you - I didn't realize the wedding cake ones were more $$. I wonder if 65 cents will be enough, it always looks so silly when you have to add on multiple stamps that are like 5cents and 1cent to make it the right amount.

bridetobe71412 · May 2012

You can, but yours are going to be much more than 65 cents.

Our square STDs were one, very thin slip of paper but since they were SQUARE they cost us 84 cents each to send. For some effing slip of paper that cost less than a cent to print at Kinko's. This was fiance's project, not mine, so needless to say, huge waste of money.

BeachLover2885 · May 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_july-2012-weddings_can-i-just-walk-into-the-post-office-and-buy-pretty-stamps?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20Club%20BoardsForum:066005ef-215f-48b1-8655-328b41e07c52Discussion:5bbcc48d-53c3-44a9-bf70-be7bbe32056bPost:d15a21fd-3aa8-4787-bc8d-2060326d0f0e">Re: Can I just walk into the post office and buy pretty stamps?</a>:
[QUOTE]Lady you are smart - good to know. Thank you - I didn't realize the wedding cake ones were more $$. I wonder if 65 cents will be enough, it always looks so silly when you have to add on multiple stamps that are like 5cents and 1cent to make it the right amount.
Posted by butterflyjumper1[/QUOTE]

<div>I think the post office can order stamps for you if you need a certain weight? I could be wrong though. </div>

bridetobe71412 · May 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_july-2012-weddings_can-i-just-walk-into-the-post-office-and-buy-pretty-stamps?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:066005ef-215f-48b1-8655-328b41e07c52Discussion:5bbcc48d-53c3-44a9-bf70-be7bbe32056bPost:d15a21fd-3aa8-4787-bc8d-2060326d0f0e">Re: Can I just walk into the post office and buy pretty stamps?</a>:
[QUOTE]Lady you are smart - good to know. Thank you - I didn't realize the wedding cake ones were more $$. I wonder if 65 cents will be enough, it always looks so silly when you have to add on multiple stamps that are like 5cents and 1cent to make it the right amount.
Posted by butterflyjumper1[/QUOTE]

65 cents will not be enough if they truly are squares.

butterflyjumper1 · May 2012

yes, they are squares. This is going to be hideously expensive!!!!!!! SIGH.

So if I take one of them to the post office, and figure out exactly how much postage we need, they can order a special stamp for us with the right amount of $$ on it?

mbody · May 2012

My mom just used the wedding flower stamps. I think there were two on the invite and then one on the RSVP. She didn't call ahead or order anything special.

dramaqueen91087 · May 2012

See if you can find a post office that has a special stamp seller (they have a name I just can't think of it). We have one here and they have a lot bigger selection of stamps. They can weigh it, tell you how much you'll need and suggest which ones to use for the occasion. Call though because that part may have different hours than the rest of the post office. If they don't have the ones you want they can order them but that takes time.

arunkumar · May 2012

If yours are going to be more than 65 cents like other posters said, you might be ok with two wedding rose stamps, which would equal 90 cents. That is, if you don't mind having two stamps instead of one on your invitations. I just received an invitation with two wedding rose stamps and it looked fine.

LADY324 · May 2012

You might just have to do 2 of the wedding flower stamps. The post office will tell you once they weigh your invite.

Nancy00714 · May 2012

I don't think they order a special stamp for you but maybe if it's 90 cents there are 2 stamps you would put on there to get that amount. Or in that case maybe you would forgo the stamp and they would just stamp them with the amount or something like that. I'm sorry i don't have proper post office lingo.

michelle11988 · May 2012

Alright so I mail way too much stuff at work so I know the amounts and everything. So if it is a big square, it is automatically double the first ounce (the traditional 45c stamp). Every ounce (or fraction of) after that it is 20c an ounce until you hit 13 ounces and then its something else like priority mail. I had pocket folds in a regular envelope with 4 inserts and they were 2.2 ounces, so that was 45c plus 2 - 20c stamps but the only 20c they had were george washington, and even though he was a cool president I wanted two roses and did 90c on them all. The rsvps should be one regular 45c stamp. The largest post office will definitely have them. My post office is one of the smallest in the state, and they had tons of stamps. If you have a food scale around your house use that to weigh the invites so you know exactly how much you are spending.

Sorry if that is confusing, ask me to clarify if you need it.

colleenm18 · May 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_july-2012-weddings_can-i-just-walk-into-the-post-office-and-buy-pretty-stamps?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20Club%20BoardsForum:066005ef-215f-48b1-8655-328b41e07c52Discussion:5bbcc48d-53c3-44a9-bf70-be7bbe32056bPost:34f40db6-597c-4ed4-96dd-14bf907b21c6">Re: Can I just walk into the post office and buy pretty stamps?</a>:
[QUOTE]Yes you can just go into your post office. You might want to call ahead just to see if they have enough of the stamps you want. We did the .65 cent wedding cake for the invites and the .45 cent wedding flowers for the rsvp cards.
Posted by LADY324[/QUOTE]

This is exactly what we got. I called ahead to the post office near my house just to make sure they had enough and then I went to pick them up

toomanychoices17 · May 2012

Not to make your life more difficult, but you might want to call ahead regardless of the size you need. I stopped by a post office on my way home from work last week and they were all out of the wedding cake and flower stamps. They said they'd have them the next day so I went back two days later and they still hadn't gotten them. So I'm going to another post office Satuday that says they have them.

michelle11988 · May 2012

http://postcalc.usps.com/

At the bottom of this page it tells you the dimensions for "regular letter" and "large letter." IT sounds like yours are large letter because they are larger than 5x5'' squares.

butterflyjumper1 · May 2012

michelle - you are a mail GENIUS!!!

Ours will probably be about the same weight as yours, if I had to guess, perhaps a bit heavier. Pocket folds + 5 inserts (including the RSVP card) + the RSVP envelope. So it would automatically be 90 cents since it is a square, plus an extra 40 cents for the weight issue? that actually wouldn't be as bad as what I had envisioned.....

butterflyjumper1 · May 2012

hmmmm. I think as soon as I get one of the bad boys fully assembled, I will just take him in and talk to someone at the post office about the postage issues and figure out exactly what we need. Thank you all for the quick feedback!!!!!!

PS fiance is still mad at me for buying the Hawaiian t-shirt post card stamps for our save the dates - I think I am going to take him with me to the post office so we can make sure he is happy with the stamps I choose

michelle11988 · May 2012

Thanks butterfly! You can tell I handle all the mail at my office and I am way to friendly with the post office workers across the street.

I would bring one to the counter to a post office tomorrow, if possible, and have them weight it. It sounds like you can get by with 3 rose stamps on the outside and one on the inside for the rsvp envelope. So my calculations are a bit under $2 an invite you'll spend. If you can't get to a post office see if a secretary in your office or someone that handles mailing can weigh the invitation all assembled for you, when you get them in!

Any word on when you'll get them?

butterflyjumper1 · May 2012

Yep, they will be here tomorrow!! SO EXCITED/relieved. I probably won't be able to assemble one until tomorrow night or Saturday morning, but i will take one in to a post office then!

AllyG303 · May 2012

our post office had every stamp in ample amounts except the ones I wanted.

But yes, they do carry the pretty stamps. If you live near an elderly community, there is a higher chance that the post office in that area will have a larger selection of wedding stamps

ajmom2two · May 2012

We had to do an 85cent stamp for ours bc they were 6 1/2 square envelopes. They would have needed 65cent stamps based on the weight but it was an extra 20cents bc they were square. Since we were already spending a ton on postage we just got the 85cent stamps at the post office...they are not pretty wedding ones

They look like this. I wish I had thought about it before bc I would have ordered some or doubled up on one of the pretty wedding ones.

mekiakoo · May 2012

I wish I thought of this, we used regular stamps. Oh well!!

hmacsine · May 2012

In Response to Re:Can I just walk into the post office and buy pretty stamps?:[QUOTE]We had to do an 85cent stamp for ours bc they were 6 1/2 square envelopes. They would have needed 65cent stamps based on the weight but it was an extra 20cents bc they were square. Since we were already spending a ton on postage we just got the 85cent stamps at the post office...they are not pretty wedding onesThey look like this. I wish I had thought about it before bc I would have ordered some or doubled up on one of the pretty wedding ones. nbsp;nbsp; Posted by ajmom2two[/QUOTE]

I have hideous stamps too. My mom brought 6 books of 45 cent stamps during February aka black history month. Then I went to the post office to have them weighted and I needed another .20. So I have some guy and George Washington. Lol

dawnleanna1 · May 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_july-2012-weddings_can-i-just-walk-into-the-post-office-and-buy-pretty-stamps?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20Club%20BoardsForum:066005ef-215f-48b1-8655-328b41e07c52Discussion:5bbcc48d-53c3-44a9-bf70-be7bbe32056bPost:34f40db6-597c-4ed4-96dd-14bf907b21c6">Re: Can I just walk into the post office and buy pretty stamps?</a>:
[QUOTE]Yes you can just go into your post office. You might want to call ahead just to see if they have enough of the stamps you want. We did the .65 cent wedding cake for the invites and the .45 cent wedding flowers for the rsvp cards.
Posted by LADY324[/QUOTE]

<div>This is exactly what we did. Our outer envelope when weighed was exactly $.65.</div>

Nati05 · May 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_july-2012-weddings_can-i-just-walk-into-the-post-office-and-buy-pretty-stamps?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:066005ef-215f-48b1-8655-328b41e07c52Discussion:5bbcc48d-53c3-44a9-bf70-be7bbe32056bPost:47ed3a8c-28d9-4ab2-91f7-04d01cf8a3dd">Re: Can I just walk into the post office and buy pretty stamps?</a>:
[QUOTE]I wish I thought of this, we used regular stamps. Oh well!!
Posted by mekiakoo[/QUOTE]

lol me too!! i got stuck with two ugly sets of stamps... one for the envelope and the other for the RSVP postcards. there was no hope for me at all lol

cmhutchison22 · May 2012

FI went into the post office and said he needed 100 stamps. He came home with a roll of the ones with flags on them. I told him to ask if they had the wedding ones, but he didn't do it.

ajmom2two · May 2012

We have the "lovely" hawaiian shirt stams for our RSVP postcards too

KatieK501 · May 2012

I've been to three different post offices at three different times (one for the save-the dates in December, one around Valentines to get cute stamps for RSVP cards, and then once recently for invitation stamps). All three times, the person working was very helpful and didn't act annoyed or anything at all my questions and wanting to see different stamps - so don't be afraid to politely ask!

And just FYI, I was planning to tie twine cord around my pocketfold invitations, but anything that makes the envelope not lay flat - like a ribbon or knot, makes the mailing price automatically increase b/c the invitations must be hand sorted. I opted for a seal and 65 cent postage rather than tieing all those knots and paying 85 cents!

butterflyjumper1 · May 2012

ajmom - glad I am not the only one who was stuck with some Hawaiian shirts, hahahaha!!!

KatieK good point about the twine!! Hopefully our belly bands lay flat enough that this isn't an issue....I am hoping for a helpful postal worker who is in a good mood, I am very inquisitive and annoying when I am dealing with something like this haha!

Can I just walk into the post office and buy pretty stamps?

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