Hand Poured Wax Seals for Wedding Mailing

Here’s everything we could find out
about hand poured wax seals for wedding mailing.
Yes, you can put them through the post.
With caution.

With today’s interest in minimalist wedding stationery suites,

using a wax seal to dress it up with a little color is quite popular.

Mostly monochromatic, the papers are beautiful in their own right.

But usually brides have another color or two they want to incorporate into the wedding,

so adding the wax seal gives a tiny glimpse at what’s to come for the wedding guests.

Can you pour your own wax seals?

Yes, you can pour wax seals quite easily. Even an amateur can do it, because there’s no rule that they have to look a certain way to be beautiful. All wax seals, including the ready-made seals you can order, are hand-poured, one by one. Which is why they tend to be rather pricey.

There are three edge styles to wax seals:

Modern: The “bleed” around the design is smooth and even all around.
Organic: The edges are uneven, yet smooth, creating a more natural look.
Artisan: Completely natural and poured without concern for an even “bleed” around the design. This would be the perfect choice for a first attempt at making your own wax seals.

If you can’t accept an “artisan” look you probably want to order them ready made. Unless you’re the patient type, and are willing to try, try again, to get the look you want. At least you can keep pouring the wax back to re-melt and keep trying for the perfect edge, without any waste.

Edge-designs-for-wax-seals-via-paigebydesign — via paigebydesigns.com

Supplies for Hand Poured Wax Seals

These wax melts in your color of choice. Plan on 3 or 4 beads for one seal. A wax puddle the size of a quarter is what you pour for each seal.
Melting ladle and tea light. If you use the above link for the wax melts, these are included. Use a bigger candle for faster melting. Any metal ladle can work. Try a small ladle you have at home if you buy melts without a ladle included.
Solid, heat proof surface for pouring the seals, like parchment or a silicone baking mat.
Designed metal stamp with handle.

basic-supplies-via-raleigh-calligraphy — via raleighcalligraphy.com

Tips for success:

Prepare all the seals in one batch instead of individually onto each envelope.
Pour the melt onto parchment, then press the design into the wax carefully.
Using wax melt sticks in a glue gun is a faster method, but the wax can overheat. So to start out, you might prefer the individual ladle with wax pieces that melt over a tea light. If you’re only doing a few hundred, I don’t think I’d invest in the wax melt sticks and glue gun. Besides, the ladle and tea light method are more romantic!
Keep the metal stamp on ice so it releases from the wax more consistently.
Use heavy-duty double sided stickers on the back of the seals for the best adherence if you are putting them through the mail on the outside of the envelope. You can also glue each seal individually with regular hot glue, as the stickers are a little pricey.
Wipe the back of the ladle off with a paper towel after every couple of pours if you’re using a candle as your heat source. An open flame creates soot on the ladle, and you don’t want to contaminate the wax.

Mailing with wax seals

There’s a few things to keep in mind if you want to mail envelopes with a wax seal on the outside.

Weigh a sample envelope with your invitation suite inside ready to mail to see how much basic stamps will cost for your mailing. Then add an extra $0.21 for the wax seal.

You can place the wax seal on the outside of the envelope for mailing. The wax melts are not ordinary wax that would crumble if it’s handled through the mail. Also, make sure you use strong adhesive to attach the seals.

Putting envelopes through the cancelling machines at the post office is hard on any envelope, and really scary with an envelope with wax seals. Check with your post office to see if you can hand cancel your envelopes. Ask if you can do it yourself to save them the extra work. (If they do the work, offer them a tip. They can’t charge for it, but it is time away from their ordinary duties.)

Another option for the wax seals is to use an outer envelope, with the wax sealed envelope inside. Or use it as part of your invitation card suite, perhaps using it to hold a band or ribbon around your cards before placing it in the envelope.