There is a denomination in the USPS catalogue that exists almost entirely for wedding stationery: the two-ounce stamp. Understanding why it is there solves most of the postage problem before you have bought anything.
Why a wedding invitation is never one ounce
A single sheet in an envelope is comfortably under an ounce. A wedding suite is not. Invitation card, reply card, reply envelope, details card, tissue, inner envelope, heavier stock than anything you normally mail — assembled, that lands in two-ounce territory almost every time.
So you have two ways to pay it. Put a Forever stamp on the envelope and add a 24¢ additional-ounce stamp beside it. Or use a single $0.90 two-ounce stamp.
The second is better, and not only because it is one stamp instead of two. Two-ounce issues are designed as wedding stamps — corsages, boutonnieres, bouquets — while additional-ounce stamps are plain make-up postage. You are paying the same money either way; one of the options looks like it belongs on the envelope.
The two-ounce wedding issues
Garden Corsage, issued 2 April 2020, is the obvious one — a corsage on a two-ounce stamp, made for exactly this envelope.
Celebration Corsage and Celebration Boutonniere, the 2017 pair, work the same way: one at the letter rate for reply envelopes, one at two ounces for the invitation itself. That pairing is deliberate and it is the reason to buy them together.
Sunflower Bouquet is the two-ounce floral from the 2022 programme, alongside the one-ounce Tulips issue.
The one-ounce side: Love and flowers
USPS issues a Love stamp most years ahead of Valentine's Day, which is why people also call them Valentine stamps. The 2022 issue was flower blossoms in two designs.
These are Forever stamps, so a rate rise after you buy them costs you nothing — relevant when you are buying postage months before the invitations go out.
The first Love issue in Forever form was Garden of Love, in 2011. Since then: Hearts Blossom in 2019, Made of Hearts in 2020, and the 2021 Love issue. Any of them reads correctly on a wedding envelope.
Contemporary Boutonniere, from 2020, is the versatile one — miniature burgundy orchids with a succulent, pale green hydrangea and a ring of small colourful lilies. Enough going on to sit against most palettes without clashing.
Rates to work from
| Item | Rate |
| Postcard | $0.51 |
| Letter, 1 oz | $0.66 |
| Letter, 2 oz | $0.90 |
| Large envelope, 1 oz | $1.50 |
| Large envelope, 2 oz | $1.74 |
Two things this table does not show. A square or rigid envelope carries a surcharge on top of these figures — a separate charge, not an extra ounce, and it is the single most common way wedding postage goes wrong. And an invitation over 6⅛ × 11½ inches stops being a letter and becomes a large envelope, which is the jump from $0.66 to $1.50.
Do not forget the reply envelope
If you want RSVPs back, the reply envelope goes out pre-addressed and stamped. Asking guests to buy postage to accept your invitation is not a thing people do.
That means two stamps per guest, at two different rates — a two-ounce on the outer envelope, a one-ounce on the reply. Budget for both, and buy the pair as a set where a Corsage/Boutonniere issue offers one.
Weigh one before you buy any
Assemble one complete invitation — every insert, the inner envelope, the wax seal if you are using one — and weigh it. Everything above is a starting estimate. The assembled suite is the fact.
Timing
Leave yourself at least three months between ordering postage and the day the invitations go out. Commemorative issues sell through, designs get retired, and the one you picked from a catalogue may not be available the week you need it.
Best deals on Forever stamps
Wedding-themed Forever stamps carry the same postage as any other Forever design and cost the same at the post office. Below face value is only available on the surplus market, and it is worth more here than on ordinary mail — a wedding buys stamps in the hundreds, twice over.
Where to buy
Search love and wedding on USPS for current designs. Marketplaces carry retired issues but at a markup, and shipping is slow enough to matter against a fixed date. For retired designs at a discount, a verified surplus channel such as Forever Stamp Center at www.foreverstampcenter.com, or the love and wedding range.
The short version
A wedding suite is two ounces. Buy the $0.90 two-ounce stamp rather than a Forever plus a 24¢ make-up, weigh a finished invitation before ordering anything, and remember the reply envelope needs its own stamp.
More on buying Forever stamps
- 👉 Wedding Invitation Postage: The Square Envelope Trap
- 👉 The Wax Seal Costs More Than the Wax
- 👉 Six Wedding Stamps, Six Different Weddings
USPS specialist based in Los Angeles with extensive experience in postal operations and customer service. Certified in mail management and trained at the USPS Business Mail Academy, she offers reliable guidance on Forever Stamps and practical mailing solutions.
