What Is Hand-Canceling?
How to Hand-Cancel Your Wedding Invitations: A Complete Guide
Sending out your wedding invitations is one of the most exciting milestones in the wedding planning process. However, if your invitations feature delicate details, such as laser cut or acrylic invites, wax seals, or ribbons, you may be concerned about how they’ll fare during transit. Machine processing at the post office can sometimes damage or destroy these beautiful touches. That’s where hand-canceling comes in!
Here’s everything you need to know about hand-canceling your wedding invitations and ensuring they arrive at your guests' doorsteps in pristine condition.
What Is Hand-Canceling?
Hand-canceling refers to the process where a postal clerk manually marks each postage stamp on your envelopes using a hand stamp, instead of relying on the machines that typically do this automatically. This process helps preserve the integrity of your wedding invitations, particularly if your envelopes are bulky, contain multiple inserts, or feature embellishments like wax seals or ribbons that might be damaged by machine processing.
Why Should You Hand-Cancel Your Wedding Invitations?
Machine processing can be tough on wedding invitations. The heavy-duty equipment used by USPS can rip, tear, stain, or bend envelopes that are even slightly bulky or uneven. If you’re using textured paper, wax seals, or anything that protrudes from the envelope, you should definitely consider hand-canceling to avoid any damage.
Hand-canceling will also help ensure that your invitations, especially delicate ones, avoid being rejected by the mail sorting machines. It’s the perfect way to protect your wedding stationery and ensure they reach your guests without any issues.
How Do You Hand-Cancel Your Wedding Invitations?
Assemble and Weigh Your Invitations Before you head to the post office, ensure that your invitations are complete with all inserts, embellishments, and the right postage. Take a mock-up of your wedding invitations to your local post office to be weighed and checked by the postmaster or an employee. They will let you know if your invitations are too bulky to be processed by machine and will provide the correct postage.
Check for Extra Costs Hand-canceling comes at an additional cost. Around $0.24–$0.44 per envelope, depending on the USPS branch. This is added on top of the regular postage, but it’s a small price to pay to keep your invitations in good condition.
Visit the Post Office Once you have all the details squared away, take your invitation suite to the post office. You can either have the clerk hand-cancel each envelope for you or, in some cases, you may be allowed to do it yourself. Ensure the clerk knows you want your invitations hand-canceled and clearly communicate this when you arrive. It can be helpful to mark “Hand Cancel” in the upper left corner of your envelopes (opposite the stamps) to make sure the request is not overlooked.
Be Patient Hand-canceling can take time, especially if you have a large guest list. To make things easier, visit the post office during off-peak hours (avoid early mornings or lunchtime) to reduce your wait time. Some post offices may also ask you to come back on different days to hand-cancel your envelopes in batches.
Final Tips for Safe Delivery
Check with your local post office beforehand: Not all post offices offer hand-canceling, so it's a good idea to ask if they can accommodate your request. If they don’t, ask for the manager or try a different location.
Consider bundling your invitations: After they’re hand-canceled, ask the post office to bundle your invitations with a rubber band. This prevents them from getting buried under other mail and helps them stand out during processing.
Plan for extra delivery time: Hand-canceling takes longer, so plan on your invitations arriving at least a week later than standard mail. Make sure your guests know to expect their invites a bit later.
Is There an Alternative?
While hand-canceling is your best option to ensure your invitations arrive intact, it’s not without its challenges. Some post offices may refuse to offer the service, and others may charge more than expected. If you're looking for a guaranteed safe delivery option, you can opt for a mailing service that specializes in delivering delicate invitations, but it comes with a higher price tag.
Hand-canceling is the ideal solution to ensure your wedding invitations arrive safe and sound, especially if they feature delicate details or unique embellishments. With a bit of patience and planning, you can protect your hard work and make sure your guests receive a beautiful, intact invitation to your special day
