Going Postal for Postage

I bet every time I post, you think my entry titles couldn’t possibly get lamer. But I just keep surprising you, don’t I?

Back to business. So, I’ve been deep in the thick of making my Save the Dates for the past few weeks. First I designed ’em, then I mocked ’em up, then we hashed out a printing method, then we picked out colors from the corresponding Pantone guide (uncoated process, in this case), then we chose and ordered matching paper, and now, I’m just agonizing. I can’t order the actual printed portion until I get the printing samples from the company we’re using (catprint.com, if all goes according to plan, and yes, I chose them because they like cats) and OUR ENGAGEMENT PHOTOS!

In the meantime, I’ve been cutting, cutting, cutting. I don’t want to reveal too much about them until they go out, but suffice it to say, my Cricut has a starring role in the production process. I took a break from Cricut-ing on Saturday to run to the post office, and I got some “deets,” as they say, about the postage for my precious beauties. As it turns out, the envelope size I chose—6.5″ square—is the most expensive thing EVER to mail! Ready for this?

A non-rectangular letter is subject to a $0.20 surcharge, because it won’t go through the machine. Fine. I figured they’d be $0.64 to mail, no big deal.

But then I found out that any letter that’s taller than 6 1/8″ high is not considered a letter—it’s considered a large envelope. These start at $0.88 to mail.

But a large envelope that isn’t rectangular is considered a package! And packages start at $1.22!

And whoops, in the process of adding a million unnecessary details to these things, I’ve probably gone over an ounce in weight, so now we’re looking at $1.39 each. $1.39 each for a Save the Date. Are we all aware that most people mail their entire invitation suite for $0.61? Yeah. So. My original plan to have one cute little 64-cent dolphin stamp has gone awry, and now my mathematically-challenged brain has been working on combinations of postage that add up to $1.39. Want to see some of the hilarious options?

This seriously cracks me up. Because our Save the Date WOULD have two wedding cakes and a bighorn. That is SUCH typical Panther behavior.

The King and Queen of Hearts, and a kitty … and random small stamps that add up to 7 cents!

Comics, and a doggie, and the chair and star again!

But wait a minute, we might be onto something here.

The “Adopt a Pet” stamp shows our love for animals, and our passion for helping homeless fur babies find homes. The purple pansy stamp matches our colors and says “LOVE” on it. Mr. Panther LOVES comics, especially Calvin & Hobbes (I’m not kidding—the man has ALL THE HARDCOVER BOOKS on our bookshelf). The red, white and blue star signifies our wedding falling on Fourth of July weekend. And the chair signifies how much we both love sitting down! It’s PERFECT!

You know, it may be unfortunate and expensive and slightly ridiculous, but I think it was fate that our Save the Dates would cost $1.39. I’m so proud of myself for making that happen.

(All mock-ups made by me in Photoshop with images taken from the USPS site.)