diff --git a/frappe/email/bulk.py b/frappe/email/bulk.py
index fcf2e9de6a..9b69458526 100644
--- a/frappe/email/bulk.py
+++ b/frappe/email/bulk.py
@@ -230,7 +230,7 @@ def flush(from_test=False):
 	frappe.db.sql("""update `tabBulk Email` set status='Expired'
 		where datediff(curdate(), creation) > 3""", auto_commit=auto_commit)
 
-	for i in xrange(500):
+	for i in xrange(100):
 		email = frappe.db.sql("""select * from `tabBulk Email` where
 			status='Not Sent' and ifnull(send_after, "2000-01-01 00:00:00") < %s
 			order by priority desc, creation asc limit 1 for update""", now_datetime(), as_dict=1)
@@ -265,6 +265,9 @@ def flush(from_test=False):
 			frappe.db.sql("""update `tabBulk Email` set status='Error', error=%s
 				where name=%s""", (unicode(e), email["name"]), auto_commit=auto_commit)
 
+		finally:
+			frappe.db.commit()
+
 def clear_outbox():
 	"""Remove mails older than 31 days in Outbox. Called daily via scheduler."""
 	frappe.db.sql("""delete from `tabBulk Email` where
diff --git a/frappe/utils/__init__.py b/frappe/utils/__init__.py
index 418bdf4b8c..f197a1c14a 100644
--- a/frappe/utils/__init__.py
+++ b/frappe/utils/__init__.py
@@ -75,7 +75,11 @@ def validate_email_add(email_str, throw=False):
 	match = re.match("[a-z0-9!#$%&'*+/=?^_`{|}~-]+(?:\.[a-z0-9!#$%&'*+/=?^_`{|}~-]+)*@(?:[a-z0-9](?:[a-z0-9-]*[a-z0-9])?\.)+[a-z0-9](?:[a-z0-9-]*[a-z0-9])?", email.lower())
 
 	if not match:
-		return False
+		if throw:
+			frappe.throw(frappe._("{0} is not a valid email id").format(email),
+				frappe.InvalidEmailAddressError)
+		else:
+			return False
 
 	matched = match.group(0)