Writing wedding thank you notes may seem like a daunting task, but it’s a necessary one. Wedding thank you note etiquette experts will suggest various and numerous tips for sending out thank you notes after your wedding, but if you follow these simple wedding thank you note etiquette “rules,” your guests will feel that their gift was appreciated. It’s in such poor taste to not send out thank you notes or to send them out so late that the giver of the gift may not even remember what he/she gave you!
Here are some basic wedding thank you note etiquette rules to keep in mind as you plan your writing marathon:
While many experts say you have up to three months to send wedding thank you notes, it is best to get them mailed out within two weeks of returning from your honeymoon. If you get a gift before the wedding, thank you note etiquette advises you should write and send those out immediately after receiving the pre-wedding wedding gift. If you do this, you should use your maiden name on the thank you note and include the name of your future spouse.
If you and your groom write a few wedding thank you notes each day, it will not take that long. You should definitely enlist the help of your husband even though it seems like the woman is often the one who writes all the thank you notes. The gifts are for both of you; both of you should write thank notes.
One wedding thank you note etiquette NO NO is sending out preprinted, generic thank you cards that say the same thing. In the same vein, do not send out a thank you via email or text message. These thank yous are impersonal, unacceptable and downright offensive. People took the time to attend your wedding and buy you a gift; the least you can do is send them a hand-written, specifically-worded thank you note to show your appreciation for their generosity.
Even if you thanked the gift giver personally for the wedding gift, you still must send a hand-written thank you note. Also, the wording of a wedding thank you note is very important. You have to be specific when thanking your guest. You must specifically name the gift in the thank you note and include something brief about how the gift will be used. For example, if your aunt and uncle gave you a vase that matches your living room, you can write something like, “Dear Aunt Joan and Uncle Bill, Thank you so much for the lovely ceramic vase you gave John and me. It will go beautifully on the mantle above the fireplace. We appreciate your generosity very much, and it was so nice to see you at the wedding. Let’s get together soon. Love, Sherry and John.” Yes, it’s that simple! You just have to mention the gift specifically, so the giver knows you remember what he/she gave you and include how you plan to use it so the giver knows you value it. You then simply include a sentence or two about how nice it was seeing them (or that you understand they could not make it to the wedding but hope to see them soon) and that’s all there is to it.
Need some help with writing your thank you notes? Read “Proper Wedding Thank You Card Wording” for some help getting started.
PaperDirect is your online shopping source for wedding thank you notes, and our blog frequently offers advice and tips on how to pull off a wonderful, beautiful DIY wedding. From save-the-date magnets to place cards for your reception, PaperDirect has it all!
