Friday, July 2, 2010

Saying Thanks

It’s been almost a month since the wedding, and finally our gifts are all unwrapped and our “thank you” cards written. Though I know there’s no hard and fast rule saying the “thank you” notes need to all go out the very month after the wedding, our families, wedding party members, and guests showered us with so much love and generosity that we wanted to be sure we didn’t delay too much.

Yes, writing thank you cards may be time consuming (and result in severe writer’s cramp), but they truly are a sincere gesture that shows your appreciation for guests’ kindness. Don’t know where to start? Here, my top tips for "thank you" card success.

#1 – As you receive gifts before the wedding and open gifts afterward, keep a list of who gave you what, whether in Excel, a notebook, or whatever works for you. If you receive a gift from a group of people, be sure to list all of their names individually, so that no one is left out when you send your cards. For monetary gifts, be sure to also note the amount on your list. Though you won’t mention the amount in your note of thanks, keeping a record will help track just how much you’ve received.

#2 – Try to write each card as soon as possible after receiving a gift, even before the wedding. This way, you’ll avoid a huge backlog, and will also let guests know right away that their gifts made it safely to you.


#3 – Did your vendors do a great job? Don’t forget to thank them with a nice card or note! You may even want to write a review for Wedding Wire or another vendor site they’re listed on, so that others will know how fabulous they are.

#4 – Stuck about what to say? Just be sure to thank each gift giver for his or her generosity, and when appropriate, mention how you intend to put the gift to good use.

#5 – Want to personalize things? Tucked inside some of our notes, Stephen and I included a photo of that particular guest having fun at our wedding, or posing with us. For those who gave us Honeyfund gift certificates, we often sent along a picture that showed the two of us in Hawaii, enjoying whatever trip or special extra they had funded. Many couples also like to include a photo from the wedding day featuring a pretty parasol or prop, like the one seen above.

Do you have any advice to share? How quickly do you plan to send out your “thank you” cards?

(Photo Credit: iDoOriginals)

6 comments:

  1. Great post! I think thank-you notes are so so so important. I still haven't received one for a friend's wedding I attended LAST YEAR so trust me, people notice these things.

    I love the idea of sending along a photo of you enjoying the guests' honeyfund gift. That would be great to see as a giftor!

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  2. OMG - I don't even have the cards yet! We took a 3 week honeymoon and I think etiquette states you have 2 months from returning from the honeymoon so my goal is to get them out by the end of July.
    You are way too on top of your game!

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  3. Great tips! I should definitely pick out some thank you cards early so I can get them done quickly as well.

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  4. Great tips! This was one thing about having such a small wedding that was so grand. The thank yous were a piece of cake!

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  5. I picked up some white thank you cards with some cute silver monogramming from the dollar bin at Micheal's . I plan on really personalizing them with my butterfly cut out stamp and including their pictures from our faux-to booth.

    Really nice idea to include honeymoon pics to the honeyfund giftors.

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  6. OMG you are so putting me to shame; well done for getting them all out!

    Like Hannah, we also had a 3 week honeymoon, so couldnt start till we got back; then of course I decided I had to make them all to match the other stationery and also wanted to pic some pro pics on them so it all took a while. Any of the pro pics that we had of any guests I got printed onto Moo cards then put them inside the thank you cards.

    I aimed to get them all out by 3 months, which is today and they are all made, some have been sent but I still have loads to write! Its so time consuming!

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