Wax Seals

FAQs About Wedding Invitation Wax Seals

• What Is a Wax Seal?

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  A wax seal is a decoration addon to your wedding invitation envelope, traditionally used to securely fasten envelopes. In addition, a wax seal was historically finished with the official house or family crest. A method of adding verification to the item that was being said. It was added to ensure its recipients knew of its importance and authenticity.

  In today's world, while it still allows the envelope to be sealed, consider wax seals as more of an embellishment that you can add to your wedding invitations. A way to really go above and beyond when creating your design. Perfectly suited for the more traditional or classic design, however still adding a touch of luxury to more modern styled invitations.

• What Are the Different Types of Wax Seals?

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  Wax Shape

  The shape of the actual wax itself can be altered using a mold. Usually the mold is either uniform circle, oblong, square or abstract. Abstract designs are all unique as it depends on how the wax falls when being created.

  Stamp Shape

  When the seal is stamped, the stamp shape can be changed. Most commonly the stamp is a circle with some kind of motif in the middle of the stamp. That being said, the stamp can come in any shape if the correct stamp is produced.

  Dried Flower

  One of the current wedding trends is adding dried flowers to the wax before stamping. This gives the seal a lovely rustic, handmade field. Choosing the right dried flower color with the right wax color can be a little tricky, but can result in a truly special design.

  Transparent

  Another current wedding trend is choosing a transparent wax. Great for more modern or minimalist invitation designs.

  Stamp Design

  Of course the most common personalization comes in the form of the actual stamp design. Most of our designs tend to use a generic motif that adds to the particular invite, for example a floral silhouette for a floral invitation.

  One of the benefits comes in the potential to use initials or unique designs for the stamp. Whether it's a family crest or just your first name initials, these little personalizations can help boost the impact to your overall invitation suite.

• Why Are Wax Seals a Nice Way to Finish My Invites?

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  Everything about your wedding should be perfect. Everything is about going all out and spending a little more time ensuring everything is amazing. That’s the same from choosing the most breathtaking dress to adding the finishing touches to your wedding invites.

  Wax seals add a little bit of intrigue. A little sophistication and class to your design. In addition, how often do you see a wax seal? They are a lot less common than just receiving an invitation. That’s for sure. It’s a small touch that goes a long way in really completing your invitation suite.

• Do My Wax Seals Need to Match My Invitation Suite?

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  While it's obviously not a law, it kind of makes sense to match your seals with your invitations.

  Most couples opt for a wax seal when they have chosen a more traditional, classic, formal look to their invitations. Think serif font over sans-serif. This is what wax seals tend to work best with.

  That being said, you can create a modern looking wax seal as well. Think somewhere along the lines of a rich black seal, with a minimalist motif that matches your stylish and modern wedding invitations.

  Realistically, while wax seals don't need to match, unless you are fancying adding a little bit of contrast, matching either the style or color can go a long way to crafting the perfect invitation.

• How Does the Ordering Process Work?

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  A little simpler than ordering your invites. Simply choose the design and color you like, click through to the product page and choose your quantity to roughly match your invites.

  If you are ordering in a set with your invitation suite, it will all come in one package to reduce our carbon footprint. See below for how you can apply your seal to your envelopes.

• How Do We Apply a Wax Seal to the Envelope?

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  All of our wax seals come with an attached self-adhesive. Simply peel back the protective layer and attach directly to your wedding invitation. Try to stick down as firmly as possible to ensure the seal doesn't become loose when being mailed.

  Just another quick note… While the wax seal can act as a fastener for your envelope, we would recommend also sealing your envelope as you usually would. While the seals can work, try to think of them as more of a decorative item.

• How Much Do Wax Seals Cost?

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  Our pricing for wax seals is based on quantity. A standard wax seal with a pre-made motif is likely to cost around $88 for 50 pieces. If you order 50 invites you will likely need 50 wax seals.

  In addition, we also offer custom motifs and monograms. These cost a little more as a new seal stamp is created specifically for your customization.

• Do You Do Custom Wax Seals?

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  Yes we offer custom wax seals. These seals can be personalized with your initials, your chosen word or a specific design that you feel best suits your wedding invites.

  To order a custom seal, simply choose a custom seal from our products. Here you can upload a custom design for your wax seal.

  Custom designed wax seals will take longer from order to shipping as the seal will need to be created uniquely for your design.

• Are Wax Seals Still Used in Modern Weddings?

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  Yes! Wax seals are generally seen as a wedding industry trend. One of the reasons that wax seals have regained popularity is due to the wedding industry.

  Many couples are looking to take their stationery to the next level. With wedding invitations, there aren't really many ways to “push the limit”. Choose one of our great designs, choose a nice colored envelope, now what? Well wax seals are seen as that next step. A small embellishment that can add a touch of flair to your stationery.

  When it comes to style of wedding, it's right that wax seals are perhaps better suited for couples choosing a more traditional look and feel to the invitations. However, in our opinion, wax seals really can accompany modern and more stylish invites as well. It's all about choosing a color and emblem that suits your invitation style.

• Does It Cost More to Post Wax Sealed Invitations?

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  Now this can be a little complicated to answer. If your invite includes a wax seal, it may be more expensive to mail. However, this is not a certain. There are several considerations that are likely made in order to calculate the cost.

  Generally speaking, our wax seals should both accommodate weight and thickness allowances for standard postage. Our advice is to visit your local posting office and request a price based on your full invitation, envelope and wax seals.

  Important: On some occasions, the posting office MAY charge you a “nonmachinable surcharge”. This translates as a fee due to the invitation being unable to be processed through the standard sorting machine that the post office uses. The price is usually quite negligible however if you are sending a high quantity of invitations it might be worth checking the total price with your posting office.

• Can I Use Wax Seals on My Save The Dates and Thank You Cards or Just Invitations?

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  Wax seals can be used in any part of your stationery. It’s usually best to only purchase a wax seal for items you are posting out. Your Save The Date, invitation and thank you card will all require individual posting and are sent out separately to each other. Enclosure cards and RSVP cards are usually sent out with the invitation so don’t require a wax seal.

  While most couples opt to focus on the invitation for wax seals, there is no problem in adding a seal to your Save The Date or thank you card.

• How Big Is The Wax Seal?

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  Our wax seals are around 1.3” in diameter for the uniform rounded seals. Abstract wax seals may be slightly bigger as they are not bound by any specific size. Each and every abstract wax seal is unique.

• Can Wax Seals Be Removed Without Damaging the Paper?

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  Yes, our wax seals can be removed without damaging the paper. You will need to take great care when removing the seal from the envelope. Simply pry the seal from the paper cautiously to remove it and avoid tearing.

  While it is possible to remove the wax seal without tearing, please ensure your wax seal is applied correctly to begin with. This should avoid any seals getting lost in the mail.

• Can We Incorporate Wax Seals into Our Wedding Day Decor?

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  Sure! Wax seals are more than just an invitation envelope embellishment. Many couples actually opt to choose one of our invitations that actually includes a wax seal as part of the invitation itself, rather than outside the envelope.

  While wax seals are traditionally used as a seal, they can also be used in many other ways including escort cards, place cards, favors, menus etc. They are a beautiful design aspect and can be used to improve many elements of your wedding decor.

• How Far in Advance Should We Order Wax Seals for Your Invitations?

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  For standard wax seals we recommend ordering with your invitation suite, 2-3 weeks before you plan to mail out.

  If you are just ordering wax seals, you should receive your seal within 1-2 weeks after purchase. They will likely be processed within 24 hours.

  Custom and personalized wax seals will take longer. Allow 3 weeks from ordering to be on the safe side although delivery will likely be much quicker.

• Can I Make My Own Wax Seals?

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  Making your own wax seals can be a perfect pre-wedding crafting experience. Don’t get us wrong, it won't be easy and we would much prefer you purchase from ourselves, but in reality, creating your own wax seals is perfectly possible.

  In order to create your own seals you will need:

  • Sealing Wax

  • Method of heating

  • A method of holding your wax while heating, usually a specific wax melting spoon

  • A mold to hold the wax before stamping

  • A stamp with your chosen design

  • Self-adhesive sticky tape

• Can You Rush My Wax Seal Order?

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  All orders will be processed within 24 hours meaning a rush order should not be required. If you feel the need to expedite postage, please get in touch with our team to discuss your situation. You can contact us at contact[@]storyamour.com.

  If your wax seals are being ordered as part of a larger order this may take longer as we will need to design and print the other elements of your order. As before, please contact us should you need to rush your delivery.

• How Many Wax Seals Should I Order?

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  When it comes to the number of wax seals to order, we recommend following our invitation guidelines.

  You should order one wax seal for every household you plan to send an invitation or Save The Date to. You do not need to send an invitation or Save The Date to every guest, just every household.

  We would also recommend you order around 10-15% more than you require. This will account for any mistakes, lost postage, or if you need to send another invite out if one of your guests is unable to attend your wedding date.

• Do You Offer Wax Seal Kits?

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  Unfortunately we do not offer DIY wax seal kits at the moment. However, we are working to create an all-in-one stamping kit that should be available within the next year. Please follow our social channels to keep up to date with everything that is happening at Story Amour