A high-resolution image of the stamps is available to media by emailing frances.b.sansone@usps.gov

HAMPTON ROADS, VA - Couples-to-be can add a touch of beauty and romance to their wedding invitations and response cards with the new Love and wedding stamps.

In 1973, the U.S. Postal Service issued the first stamp in its popular Love series. The tradition continues with this year’s King and Queen of Hearts 44-cent stamps that pay a clever tribute to the game of love using images from 18th-century French playing cards as a reference.

The design flows through the stamp perforations and creates an intriguing image in the way the subjects look at each other and the way her hand reaches out to hold the flower he offers.

The “wedding” stamps will be available in two denominations to cover both the one-ounce and the two-ounce mailing rates. The 2009 Wedding Cake stamp is being issued at the two-ounce mailing rate of 61-cents to accommodate the heavier weight of an invitation. The stamp depicts a three-tier wedding cake topped with white flowers, with green stems and leaves making a delightful contrast to the cake’s creamy white frosting and lace-like embellishment. The stamp price also covers other mailings such as oversize cards that require extra postage.

The 2009 Wedding Rings one-ounce stamp featuring wedding rings is intended for use on the response envelope enclosed with a wedding invitation. The stamp depicts two rings resting on a small white pillow united by a slender ribbon of white silk.

Both wedding stamps will be issued on May 1, while the King and Queen of Hearts stamp will be issued on May 8. These three stamps, along with a noted author, philanthropist and a racehorse champion are among the subjects featured on the Postal Service’s 2009 price-change stamps.

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An independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 149 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes, six days a week. It has 34,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products and services, not tax dollars, to pay for operating expenses. Named the Most Trusted Government Agency five consecutive years by the Ponemon Institute, the Postal Service has annual revenue of $75 billion and delivers nearly half the world's mail.