It Seems Obvious, But I Have No Idea: How Much Postage Do I Need for an Invitation?

2019.05.14 published

I Don't Get It! How Much is the Stamp for the Invitation?

Nowadays, it's been a while since we've distanced ourselves from the culture of writing and sending letters due to the advancement of IT.

Not only have seasonal greetings and New Year's cards become less common, but for young people, engaging in postal correspondence with sealed letters or postcards (as opposed to messages through LINE or social media) seems to be limited to "wedding invitations" (other than Mercari).

When it comes time to send out invitations, the question of stamps arises.

To begin with,

**"Where can I buy stamps?"**

This leads to further questions like,

**"How much should I affix?"**

**"What is prepaid postage?"**

**"Some people even create original stamps..."**

For those unfamiliar with stamps, it can feel like a lot of confusing questions.

Personally, I find it inconvenient that every time I need to send mail, I have to search for the stamp price. Therefore, I plan to summarize everything in this article as a review for myself.＊

**Conclusion: What is the amount for the stamp on the invitation?**

It's a rather straightforward answer, but the amount required for the stamp on the invitation envelope is determined by the "weight of the invitation."

Sending mail with stamps, just like parcel delivery, is "priced based on weight."

**<See the price list here.>**

84 yen for up to 25g (standard)

94 yen for up to 50g (standard)

140 yen for up to 100g (non-standard)

210 yen for up to 150g (non-standard)

@＠bellr_design

However, putting it simply...

The stamp to affix on the invitation should be 94 yen!!!

It seems that wedding invitation envelopes typically have a 94 yen stamp affixed.

@_ra_wedding_

There are also stamps called "celebratory stamps," which are used for festive letters like wedding invitations, available in variations of 63 yen, 84 yen, and 94 yen. It appears that there are no celebratory stamps higher than 94 yen.

✅ Invitation main document

✅ Sticky note

✅ Reply postcard

If you are sending a so-called "ordinary paper invitation" that consists of these, a 94 yen stamp should suffice.

@kanako.0525wedding

Normally, letters inserted in an envelope are expected to be sent with an 84 yen stamp. However, wedding invitations tend to use higher quality, thicker paper, which is often heavier than normal (especially if adorned with large ribbons!) and thus, people typically affix a 94 yen stamp.

**"The stamp for the invitation is essentially 94 yen."**

Let's remember that.

**(Exception) Some are using 84 yen stamps!**

Yet, it’s true that if you look on Instagram, you might find brides using 84 yen stamps on wedding invitations.

This applies to those whose contents weighed under 25g.

① They had a cute 84 yen stamp they wanted to use, so they kept it under 25g.

Or,

② They were surprised by the actual weight being light enough and decided on 84 yen after measuring.

There are two scenarios to consider.

@miho_ftw_wedding

**Issue: Recent Invitations are Getting Heavier!**

Earlier, I mentioned that sending a typical paper invitation costs 94 yen. However, there has been an increase in original invitations lately,

with a trend toward thicker and higher quality paper, sometimes layered with tracing paper, tied with ribbons, adorned with flowers, sealed with stamps, or grommets... which results in heavier contents for the invitation envelopes.

@yuih_wd

In such cases, they won’t be using celebratory stamps, but if it's under 100g, a 140 yen stamp is needed. If it exceeds 101g but is under 150g, a 210 yen stamp will be required.

You can weigh the invitation envelope at home using your weighing scale. If you're unsure, you can also have it weighed at the post office during business hours for peace of mind.

There have been unfortunate cases where invitations were returned due to "insufficient postage" simply because they were slightly over the weight limit, so exercising caution is wise.

Anything over 51 grams will be charged at 140 yen.

@tocco.wedding

The Basic Stamp for the Invitation is 94 Yen!

To summarize...

The price of the stamp affixed to the invitation is fundamentally 94 yen.

For postcards, unless they are particularly heavy or have a unique size, they are uniformly 63 yen.

Please affix a 63 yen stamp on reply postcards.

This is the basic guideline.

For anything else like,

**"I think mine is definitely heavier..."**

**"I’ve altered the shape of the envelope, but is that okay?"**

In such cases, it's best to ask directly at the post office or check the pricing information on their website.＊

@miho_ftw_wedding