In this electronic world we live in, there still exist those few and far between items that require postage. And it seems to me that, as you plan your wedding, you'll definitely want to take this so often overlooked expenditure into account!
I discovered this via my reception site, Mount Mary College. Lucky for me, I chose a place that's not crawling with brides clamoring for the same date and that still believes in good will over business. It's a well-known fact that I'm not the most organized person in the world, which makes my decision to plan a wedding, purchase a house, and plan a 3.5-week trip to South America all at the same time seem comical at best. As was bound to happen, I misplaced the most crucial document to surface in our wedding plans thus far: The contract for the reception site.
When I received it and read that it needed to be returned within two weeks along with the deposit, I thought to myself, "no big deal." That is, until I took the contract to work as a reminder to mail it out during the day, which I forgot to do. Well, the next day, I was sick, and then, before I knew it, the contract was overdue and I had no clue where it was! I knew that the Facilities Director at Mount Mary only worked certain days, so the next week, I called and left a concerned message saying that I'd lost the contract, but had the deposit ready to go, if she'd be kind enough to send me another. Sure enough, she called me back and reassured me that the date was still ours and she'd send another contract right away.
When I received it, I made sure to sign it and get it in the mail the same day. Little did I know, I mailed it on the first day that postage was raised to $0.42! Well, when I found that out, I spent a few days worried that the contract would be returned to me and wondering how I could explain the additional delay without seeming like a complete flake (even though I was at that point), before determining that my underpaid envelope had fallen into the grace period. Whew, what a relief!
About a week later, though, I received another paper to sign, confirming receipt of the deposit and including safety regulations. I got this one ready to mail right away, and I still know exactly where it is: on my desk at work, waiting for me to invest in either the $0.01 stamp to go with my old stamps or buy a sheet of postage at the new rate.
So, to all those ladies and gents with contracts to mail in, invitations to mail out, and miscellaneous postage, here's my advice:
Invest in the Forever Stamp.
This stamp is a wonderfully generous option offered by the United States Postal Service, you can buy this stamp at the going rate for regular postage, and then, when the rate goes up, you can continue using the same stamps! I'll be picking up a sheet or two along with the $0.01 stamps to bump up my remaining $0.41 ones. It seems appropriate that I should commit to the Forever Stamp, even as I prepare to commit myself to one love, forever.
