A Guide to Wedding Thank You Notes
A written note goes a long way in showing someone that you appreciate something they gave or did for you. And just like any other form of writing, writing thank you notes can be an involving process. Okay, it is an involving process.
First, there’s the gifts to sort – the more they are the more work you have. Then there are people to thank for the different roles they played to make your wedding a success. The most difficult task is maybe remembering the non-gift gifts you received. Something like merely showing up is a gift that can’t go unnoticed. The people who threw a party for you deserve a note.
How Do You Go With The Wedding Thank You Notes?
How do you ensure you thank everyone that deserves to be thanked and people don’t get uncomfortable whenever you walk into a room one year later?
Don’t worry. This guide will take you through the process.
Who Should You Send the Note?
The first step is knowing who to thank in a note. Here are some ideas:
- People who gave you a gift on your engagement, bridal shower and/or wedding.
- People who gave you money (as a gift).
- The attendants.
- People who hosted a shower or party for you.
- Anyone who entertained or housed your guests.
- The vendors or suppliers who met (exceeded) your expectations.
- Those who hosted your wedding. If it’s your parents or anyone else, thank them.
- Those who did any form of kindness to you. Could be someone who picks up a gift for you or a friend who helped supervise parking, etc.
How to Prepare?
Even before the wedding, you should be ready to write thank you notes. Besides, some people will send you gifts some time before the wedding. Moreover, in deciding who you need to send a note to, you’ll discover that you already know who to thank even before the wedding happens.
Keep a list of people you need to thank and the list of all the guests.
Mark each person against the gift they give or whatever they do that deserves a thank you. Note that some people will do more than bring gifts. They deserve to be thanked for everything. And this does not mean simply saying “thank you for everything” but actually taking note of everything.
What You Need to Have?
Before starting to write, here is what you need to have with you:
- Wedding stationery
You didn’t think you’d just pluck sheets of paper from your note book and scribble something, did you? Some heavy-duty note cards will work. If you want to flaunt your marriage, you can consider having your (new) initials monogrammed on them.
- Roller ball Pens
Ditch the cheap variety at the supermarket. Write with a pen that won’t start making ink blobs after writing on three cards.
The Writing Process?
Here is what to have in mind to enhance the writing process.
- Start writing as soon as possible
If you have the time and space, write the notes as soon as you receive the gifts. This will ease the work. - Don’t attempt to write them in one sitting
Besides the fact that it’s tiring, you will end up messing up too much. - Keep time
You should send thank you notes at most three months after receiving the respective gifts. To ensure this – since you will have many cards to write – write a few notes on a regular basis. - Writing color
Thank you notes are usually written in black or blue. - Customize
“Thank you for the gift” is not enough. Describe the gift so the sender knows you really know what gift they got you. In case the gift is money, don’t quote the amount but tell them how you plan on using it.
Final Word
Remember that myth that you have a twelve-month “grace period” before starting to send thank you notes? Well, it looks like this post totally ruined that for you, didn’t it? But that’s how it should be. You don’t want to send a thank you note one year after you receive the gift. Three months should be the maximum time you take – yes, even with the honeymoon period factored in.
However, if you follow the above guidelines, the process should neither be daunting nor undoable. Just make sure you know what people to send the notes to and don’t just focus on the gifts though typically, you’ll receive a lot of gifts. Ensure that the message is not generic.
Customize it for that person for the specific gift or other good thing they did concerning the wedding. Also, it’s not every gift you receive that will be absolutely useful to you – don’t mention that. Appreciate everything as cheerfully as you can without sounding fake.
Write The Thank You Notes Properly!
Remember to write them in small bits. Don’t try to “set a day” when you’ll write all 200 notes. It can’t be done. Finally, use the right stationery. It’s really a pretty simple task if you come to think of it.