Sending a personalize Thank-You note to your guests is one of the most thoughtful things you can do as a gesture of gratitude! They have taking the time to come to your wedding and have shown their love and support by showering you with such awesome wedding gifts. And although opening wedding gifts is totally fun (probably the next best thing to your childhood Christmases!), sending 100+ Thank-You notes – not so much! With that in mind, we have put together a list of tips to tackle this task like a champ while having fun!
The first thing you must know…
For all gifts received before the wedding, your thank-you cards should be sent within two weeks of their arrival. For all gifts received on or after your wedding, you have three months to show your appreciations with a thank-you note.
So, here are a few wedding Thank-You notes etiquette tips:
- Start preparing for as early as possible! You may receive engagement gifts, and you want to make sure that you have nice Thank-You cards on hand when gifts start arriving. So order a set of cards for those engagement/bridal shower/wedding gifts that will arrive before the big day.
- A separate Thank-You card must be sent for each engagement, bridal shower, and wedding gifts even if they came from the same person.
- Do send a Thank-You note to all attendants whether or not they sent gifts.
- If you want to have a wedding photo as Thank-You cards, we recommend you speak with your photographer to make sure you will receive your photos in a timely manner.
- Keep a list of your wedding guests and add a column for gifts and Thank-You notes. It is difficult to remember what each person gave you, so keep a detailed record of what you are receiving next their names (ex: caphalon pan set from our registry) as well as logging your card writing progress as you go. Trust me on this…you will be so thankful that you kept a record!
- Set a realistic goal and write your notes in small batches. No one can write 100+ personalized cards in one sitting. This is not a marathon! You will be able to think and focus better about what you want to say by choosing to break down your task in small bite sizes.
Other wedding Thank-You notes do’s and don’ts…
- Wedding Thank-You notes should always be hand-written.
- Don’t send stationery using your married name before the wedding. To avoid this, you could order two sets, or just use your first names, or initials.
- Avoid generic notes at all costs! People can easily spot an insincere or poorly written note, so when writing, try to use specifics (check out The Knot, they have some great examples on what to write).
- Do sign both names regardless of who’s writing the note.
Lastly, don’t forget to have fun while writing your cards! Sit on your favorite spot, put on your favorite tunes, and have a nice glass of wine.