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Embellished Invites going through machine at Post Office ... even with hand cancelling??? Help!

Kyle&MeliKyle&Meli
in Wedding Invitations & Paper
Hello all!

Our invitations are finished and ready to mail after the holidays.  I took them to the post office to get the proper postage for the RSVP cards and outer envelopes.  

While I was there, the postman noticed the heavy embellishment on the invitations (it's an adhesive strip of pearls and rhinestones over lace).  He said that they wouldn't go through the machine.  Of course, I panicked and explained that I would be getting them hand cancelled. After debating with another USPS worker, they informed me that they would hand cancel, but that the invitations *might* still go into a machine - causing them to possibly rip or wrinkle due to the bulkier embellishment.

What is your experience?  Should I chance it?  Or have the embellishment removed?  How many times do wedding invitations have to go through a machine?  Do they have to go through a machine if hand cancelled?

Any insight is GREATLY appreaciated!

Melissa
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Re: Embellished Invites going through machine at Post Office ... even with hand cancelling??? Help!

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    HobokensFuryHobokensFury member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Answer Name Dropper
    edited November 2012
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_invites-paper_embellished-invites-going-through-machine-at-post-office-even-with-hand-cancelling-help?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:cd062f89-8272-496a-b0ab-225e1f87acecDiscussion:6b200eb4-5523-4b59-9abd-2f14aeb8ce48Post:e3e76e80-59ba-42a6-bbf9-b2dffb3eef54">Embellished Invites going through machine at Post Office ... even with hand cancelling??? Help!</a>:
    [QUOTE]Hello all! Our invitations are finished and ready to mail after the holidays.  I took them to the post office to get the proper postage for the RSVP cards and outer envelopes.   While I was there, the postman noticed the heavy embellishment on the invitations (it's an adhesive strip of pearls and rhinestones over lace).  He said that they wouldn't go through the machine.  Of course, I panicked and explained that I would be getting them hand cancelled. After debating with another USPS worker, they informed me that they would hand cancel, but that the invitations *might* still go into a machine - causing them to possibly rip or wrinkle due to the bulkier embellishment. What is your experience?  Should I chance it?  Or have the embellishment removed?  How many times do wedding invitations have to go through a machine?  Do they have to go through a machine if hand cancelled? Any insight is GREATLY appreaciated! Melissa
    Posted by Kyle&Meli[/QUOTE]

    Hand canceling only guarantees that the envelopes do not go through the first machine which places the postmark over the stamp.  This is the machine that is likely to tear the invite up.  They will still go through sorting machines.  I hand canceled mine and they still got a bar code on the bottom.  Honestly if it's only for decorative purposes I would remove the embellishment no only because it may get ruined in the mail but  because it's driving the mailing price of your invites up because it gives the envelope an odd shape. 
     
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    coraleetbwedcoraleetbwed member
    First Comment

    A lot of people put these types of invitations in a decorative box to mail them.

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    OliveOilsMomOliveOilsMom member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    Also, know that if you waiting til next year to mail the invites, postage is supposed to go up in January.  Do you have forever stamps on your RSVPs?
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    maggieandreymaggieandrey member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    Our post office gave me a hard time about my invitations being rigid. They said that they can't guarantee that it won't get extra postage tacked on at its destination, since it's rigid it's an extra 20 cents or whatever. But, i insisted they hand cancel, they did, and as far as I know it was fine. I've gotten responses back from people all over the country, and I didn't get any sort of bill to pay the extra postage.

    IMO - they are trying to cover their arses in case it gets messed up along the way. I really think that if it's hand canceled at the first place, the postage workers at the next sort / handling facility are probably smart enough to figure out that it can't go through the machine.

    But, it's up to you if it's worth the risk of damage along the way.
    image 312 Invited
    image 182 Are ready to party!
    image 127 Will be missing out!
    image 3 Are MIA!
    Wedding Countdown Ticker
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    QueerFemmeQueerFemme member
    First Anniversary First Answer 5 Love Its First Comment

    Hand cancelling avoids the first sorter.  There is usually 2 or possibly 3 additional sorters/machines that the invitations will go through.  They are less likely to ruin the invitations, because they aren't actually "stamping" the envelope, but there is still a possibility that they will be damaged.  Unless you hand messenger or fedex the invitations, there is no way to avoid this.

    If you want to keep the embellishments, you should consider doing a small box or rigid cardboard envelope mailer.  Your postage will certainly be higher, but at least you wouldn't have ot worry about the packages being stuck in a machine somewhere.

    image

    Websites/blogs where our wedding has been featured:

    http://www.dapperq.com/2013/11/a-very-dapper-wedding/

    http://www.onabicyclebuiltfortwo.com/2013/10/wedding-christina-g.html

    http://4realequalityweddings.com/2014/05/16/g-christina/

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