Mailing Labels on Wedding Invites: Tacky or Totally Fine?

Watch your mailbox for those ivory-colored envelopes announcing spring and summer nuptials, because wedding season is fast approaching.

Imagine you've received a wedding invite in a large, lovely beige envelope made from thick card stock. What if the name of the host was inscribed in the upper left corner, but your name and address were stuck on a mailing label?

Do you think the mailing label would appear tacky, or would you think it was a respectable way for a bride and groom to save time (no handwritten calligraphy-attempts) and money (no personalized printing) on their invites?

Ultimately any invitation should correspond with the formality of the event. If it's a black tie affair, than a mailing label might be a faux-pas, but if it's a casual garden party, then a mailing label will probably go unnoticed by guests completely. (With all due respect to the bride, she's probably the only one who will pay that much careful attention to the invitation envelope. Most folks will rip the invite open, toss the envelope in the trash and keep the parts with the wedding date and location).

So couples must use their best judgment in choosing to use mailing labels on wedding invites. Check out these tips below for printing wedding invitation mailing labels that work:

Reserve labels for replies

The reply card is where the bride and groom can get away with using a mailing label either for their own return address or personalized for their guests.

Send the replies to the right place

When printing wedding reply card labels, remember to have guests send responses to the host or whoever is planning the event. This could be the couple, the couple's parents, or an extended family member or wedding planner.

Choose a subdued stock

There are many ways to customize labels so that they work well with the wedding invitation design. For example, sheer or matte labels are more versatile and more likely to go with the invite than glossy labels.

Match fonts

It's also important to match the mailing label fonts with the invitation fonts (an exact match if possible). If you use a script font, then use a larger point size to bring out the first letters of each line of text on the address label, it will make the writing look more elegant.

Have fun

Dress labels up using a floral, lace or other decorative pattern as a background image. Another idea would be to use a custom die-cut to shape the label into a heart or a symbol associated with the type of party, such as a sailboat for the seaside or skyline for a city event. Leave us your thoughts in the comments section. What do you think about mailing labels on wedding invitations harmless or horrible?