diff --git a/app/assets/images/email/README.md b/app/assets/images/email/README.md
index c93a28f3b..bb68f70d0 100644
--- a/app/assets/images/email/README.md
+++ b/app/assets/images/email/README.md
@@ -17,5 +17,10 @@ the mailer view to reference the new file. Never mutate an existing file.
 ## Email stylesheet
 
 The email CSS lives at `app/assets/stylesheets/email.css` — not in this
-folder — but it's referenced by mailer layouts via the pipeline path
-`email.css`.
+folder. It's linked from mailer layouts via the pipeline path `email.css`,
+and `premailer-rails` inlines the rules at delivery time using the
+`:filesystem` and `:asset_pipeline` strategies (see
+`config/initializers/premailer.rb`).
+
+⚠️ Never add a `<link>` that resolves at open time — premailer handles
+inlining, and external CSS requests are unreliable in email clients.
diff --git a/app/views/shared_mailers/_social.html.haml b/app/views/shared_mailers/_social.html.haml
index 86b9974be..7774650e0 100644
--- a/app/views/shared_mailers/_social.html.haml
+++ b/app/views/shared_mailers/_social.html.haml
@@ -8,14 +8,12 @@
           %td
 
             %h5 Connect with us:
-            -# background-color is inlined on each link because email clients only
-            -# reliably render inline styles; see issue #2634
             %p
-              %a{ href: "https://slack.codebar.io/", class: 'soc-btn sl', style: 'background-color: #2EB67D;' } Join us on Slack
-              %a{ href: "https://www.linkedin.com/company/codebarcommunity", class: "soc-btn li", style: 'background-color: #0077B5;' } Follow us on LinkedIn
-              %a{ href: "https://www.facebook.com/codebarHQ", class: 'soc-btn fb', style: 'background-color: #3B5998;' } Follow us on Facebook
-              %a{ href: "https://bsky.app/profile/codebar.bsky.social", class: "soc-btn bs", style: 'background-color: #1daced;' } Follow us on Bluesky
-              %a{ href: "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEYz232agE47GHUq8wneBCA", class: "soc-btn yt", style: 'background-color: #FF0000;' } Follow us on YouTube
+              %a{ href: "https://slack.codebar.io/", class: 'soc-btn sl' } Join us on Slack
+              %a{ href: "https://www.linkedin.com/company/codebarcommunity", class: "soc-btn li" } Follow us on LinkedIn
+              %a{ href: "https://www.facebook.com/codebarHQ", class: 'soc-btn fb' } Follow us on Facebook
+              %a{ href: "https://bsky.app/profile/codebar.bsky.social", class: "soc-btn bs" } Follow us on Bluesky
+              %a{ href: "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEYz232agE47GHUq8wneBCA", class: "soc-btn yt" } Follow us on YouTube
              
 
 
diff --git a/config/initializers/premailer.rb b/config/initializers/premailer.rb
index 7257df900..8430c09b2 100644
--- a/config/initializers/premailer.rb
+++ b/config/initializers/premailer.rb
@@ -1 +1,4 @@
-Premailer::Rails.config.merge!(preserve_styles: true)
+Premailer::Rails.config.merge!(
+  preserve_styles: true,
+  strategies: [:filesystem, :asset_pipeline]
+)
diff --git a/spec/mailers/event_invitation_mailer_spec.rb b/spec/mailers/event_invitation_mailer_spec.rb
index b2a94bfa2..5b202b588 100644
--- a/spec/mailers/event_invitation_mailer_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/mailers/event_invitation_mailer_spec.rb
@@ -90,4 +90,10 @@
       expect(email.body.encoded).to include('Safe content')
     end
   end
+
+  it_behaves_like 'email with social link colours' do
+    def send_email
+      described_class.invite_student(event, member, invitation).deliver_now
+    end
+  end
 end
diff --git a/spec/mailers/feedback_request_mailer_spec.rb b/spec/mailers/feedback_request_mailer_spec.rb
index b84eb4498..c5c7f0bbd 100644
--- a/spec/mailers/feedback_request_mailer_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/mailers/feedback_request_mailer_spec.rb
@@ -42,5 +42,11 @@
       expect(email.subject).to eq(email_subject)
       expect(email.from).to eq(['meetings@codebar.io'])
     end
+
+    it_behaves_like 'email with social link colours' do
+      def send_email
+        described_class.request_feedback(workshop, member, feedback_request).deliver_now
+      end
+    end
   end
 end
diff --git a/spec/mailers/meeting_invitation_mailer_spec.rb b/spec/mailers/meeting_invitation_mailer_spec.rb
index 9a8ea20e3..bdc9841ca 100644
--- a/spec/mailers/meeting_invitation_mailer_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/mailers/meeting_invitation_mailer_spec.rb
@@ -101,4 +101,10 @@
       expect(mail.body.encoded).to match('hello@codebar.io')
     end
   end
+
+  it_behaves_like 'email with social link colours' do
+    def send_email
+      described_class.invite(meeting, member, invitation).deliver_now
+    end
+  end
 end
diff --git a/spec/mailers/virtual_workshop_invitation_mailer_spec.rb b/spec/mailers/virtual_workshop_invitation_mailer_spec.rb
index ae13a5177..828807583 100644
--- a/spec/mailers/virtual_workshop_invitation_mailer_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/mailers/virtual_workshop_invitation_mailer_spec.rb
@@ -111,4 +111,10 @@
     expect(email.body.encoded).to match("the virtual workshop on #{humanize_date(workshop.date_and_time, with_time: true)}")
     expect(email.body.encoded).to match(workshop.chapter.email)
   end
+
+  it_behaves_like 'email with social link colours' do
+    def send_email
+      described_class.invite_student(workshop, member, invitation).deliver_now
+    end
+  end
 end
diff --git a/spec/mailers/workshop_invitation_mailer_spec.rb b/spec/mailers/workshop_invitation_mailer_spec.rb
index 1f52ba8a6..66a28e04d 100644
--- a/spec/mailers/workshop_invitation_mailer_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/mailers/workshop_invitation_mailer_spec.rb
@@ -110,14 +110,9 @@
     expect(email.body.encoded).to match(workshop.chapter.email)
   end
 
-  it '#invite_student renders social links with inline background colours' do
-    # asserts on the template output before premailer runs, so the colours
-    # don't depend on email.css being resolved (see issue #2634)
-    mail = described_class.invite_student(workshop, member, invitation)
-
-    html = mail.body.decoded
-    ['#2EB67D', '#0077B5', '#3B5998', '#1daced', '#FF0000'].each do |colour|
-      expect(html).to include("background-color: #{colour}")
+  it_behaves_like 'email with social link colours' do
+    def send_email
+      described_class.invite_student(workshop, member, invitation).deliver_now
     end
   end
 
diff --git a/spec/support/shared_examples/behaves_like_email_with_social_links.rb b/spec/support/shared_examples/behaves_like_email_with_social_links.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a0e308fbf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/support/shared_examples/behaves_like_email_with_social_links.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+RSpec.shared_examples 'email with social link colours' do
+  # rubocop:disable RSpec/MultipleExpectations
+  it 'inlines social link background colours from the stylesheet' do
+    send_email
+
+    html = ActionMailer::Base.deliveries.last.html_part.body.decoded
+    expect(html).to include('background-color: #2EB67D')
+    expect(html).to include('background-color: #0077B5')
+    expect(html).to include('background-color: #3B5998')
+    expect(html).to include('background-color: #1daced')
+    # premailer normalises #FF0000 to 'red'
+    expect(html).to match(/background-color: (red|#FF0000)/i)
+    expect(html).not_to include('/assets/email.css')
+  end
+  # rubocop:enable RSpec/MultipleExpectations
+end