The wedding is over, but the work has not quite finished. There is a stack of thank-you notes waiting for the newlyweds to write up and send off. Everyone likes to hear if the bride and groom received and liked their present, especially older folks like Aunt Gertrude and Great Uncle Humphrey. So read on for some tips to getting this important job done.
When to Send Thank-You Notes for Wedding Gifts
Send wedding thank-you notes out as soon as possible. The usual maxim is that the new married couple has a year to send them, but it’s better to do them soon after the honeymoon for several reasons.
- It will stop weighing on the mind and perhaps stop the repeated question from mother and/or mother-in-law of, “Have you sent out the wedding thank-you cards yet?”
- It’s easier to remember who sent what while it’s still fresh in one’s mind.
- The people who gave the gifts will be impressed to get their thank-you notes sooner versus later.
So within in a month after getting the presents, it's a good idea to get the thank-you cards done.
Bride and Groom Write Thank-You Letters Together
What better way to start the marriage than divvying up writing the thank-you letters for the wedding presents? If possible, let the new husband write to his friends and family and the new wife to hers. The nice thing about this is that husband and wife will know how best to craft the letter and can make it personal to that buddy from grade three by putting in a shared joke, or know to write a more formal note to an aunt who is easily offended. It’s also fine to just split the list down the middle, but put stars or a sticky note beside guests who need special attention (with the reason) when their letters are written up.
How to Write up All Those Wedding Thank-You Cards
Set realistic goals. If it was a small wedding, maybe having a writing marathon together will work on a weekend. If it was a big wedding with hundreds of people, that writing will be better managed spread out. Mark it on the calendar and/or day planner to do a certain amount every day until they are all done. For example, if there were about 200 guests invited to the wedding, try to do about six to eight cards a day for a month.
If there are a lot of cards to send out, it can be nice to do them in batches instead of going to the post office with box loads of them. Make a checklist to keep track of letters written and letters sent if you are mailing them as they are written up.
Email Wedding Thank-You Notes
Some people are choosing to send both wedding invitations and thank-you notes by email. For close friends and younger folks this might work, particularly if the wedding was a more casual affair. The plus of sending email thank-you cards is that it not only saves money, it saves the environment when you take into consideration the use of paper and gas costs for delivering the cards to their destination.
But for guests who are older, it is usually best to go the formal route and send a card in the mail. They will have expectations of a hardcopy letter and some may not be as internet-savvy. Even for younger people, it’s sometimes nice to get real mail as it’s rare to get personal letters through the postal service during this Internet age.
Some tips for wedding thank-you notes include sending them as soon as possible, dividing the writing between husband and wife, setting a daily routine to write them and mailing them in batches.
Also check out out How to Write Wedding Thank-You Notes, Loving Marriage Quotes and Sayings, Funny Marriage Quotes and Sayings and Inspirational Quotes about Love and Romance.
Tami Nicholson - Tami is the Topic Editor for Parenting Methods at Suite101. She is a mother of two with a background in education and journalism.
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