Verification Email daily limit in Cognito. SES maybe not an option.

My app requires someone to first download and create an account. As part of the process they receive an email with a 6-digit verification code. Once the code is entered they and their email become verified. THey're listed as such in the USERPOOL.

Currently using Cognito system to send the email but there's a daily quota limit of 50 (yes 'fifty"). That is non-negotiable. It cannot be changed. Well - my app has begun to hit that limit on some days and with projected growth it will happen regularly. I tried to switch to SES but SES emails (even Transactional emails) can only be sent to verified emails so it failed to send and everyone got errors. Chicken and the egg problem. I need the email with 6-digit verification code to go to the user in order to verify the email but Cognito limits to 50 sends per day. SES won't send an email to the user until they are confirmed. How do the bigger apps get around this?

Would love to hear from someone.