Response card etiquette and postage solutions for international guests

March 10, 2010 | Filed Under etiquette, posts with pics 

One rule of wedding etiquette that is now widely accepted AND expected is providing postage for your rsvp envelopes. Not only does it make it as easy as possible for your guests to respond, it seems kinda rude to request a timely response from your guests while expecting them to spend money in order to comply. Most brides we meet with are well aware of this ‘rule’….but they often fail to realize that special postage is required for guests who live out of the country, resulting in an ‘etiquette blunder’.  

 There are a few different ways to handle postage for an international response card:

• have a different response card printed for international guests requesting a response via phone, website or email instead of by mail 
• arrange to have a  friend or family member residing in the foreign country send the correct postage stamps to you so that you are able to use them in the ensemble
• order postage stamps online directly from the appropriate country and have them shipped to you (most of the time, shipping is just $1)
• purchase postage vouchers from your local post office and send them with the response card – your guests take the voucher to their local post office and exchange it for the correct postage (this is the method we suggest and we explain it further below) 

 

UNIVERSAL POSTAGE VOUCHERS

Thanks to Kendra and Kevin (one of our current custom invitation couples who are getting married in April) we were finally able to see, touch and photograph these postage vouchers for you! We’ve always known about them and encouraged brides to use them, but we have never physically worked with them while assembling invitations until now. So – the way it works – you (currently) pay $2.10 for the voucher and send it with your rsvp card. Your guest takes the voucher to their local post office and exchanges it for the appropriate postage stamp. This voucher works as an exchange in postage for nearly all countries. Though this option is probably the costliest solution, it is also the most convenient solution if you are sending invitations to a few different countries. Wanna see what they look like?!?! Here ya go! 

international postage vouchers can be purchased at your local post office and should be sent to wedding guests who live in other countries

this is how we include the universal postage voucher in response envelopes going to international wedding guests

front and back view of the universal postage voucher

 

 

Comments