The wedding’s done, you’ve come back from your honeymoon, you’ve opened all your gifts, and are slowly winding down from your wedding high. What’s next? Your thank you cards of course! Whether it’s for a gift, someone’s presence at your wedding, or both, make your guests feel your love and gratitude with personalized thank you notes from you and your spouse. (It’s good etiquette too!) So here’s a post-wedding thank you cheat sheet we made to help ease you into it.
It’s always good to be prepared–and the earlier you start, the better! Get the guest list you used for your wedding, copy it, and as soon as you get RSVP texts or calls, note them down on your guest list. When your gifts start arriving, also take note of who gave what.
Yes, it’s so easy to procrastinate and find something else to do, but keep in mind that proper wedding etiquette dictates that thank you cards should be given not more than three months after the gift was given. So if you’ve got hundreds of guests to thank, you might want to get to it. (Bonus tip: Don’t do it all in one go. Allot maybe 30 minutes every night and have a comfy corner in your room just for penning them.)
Make your guests feel extra special by personalizing them. Instead of going for one generic message, be specific and mention the gift they gave or a memorable moment you had with them at the wedding.
Instead of mentioning monetary amounts, thank them for their generous gift. You can also tell them what you plan to use it for–like your honeymoon, a new house, etc.
They’re his gifts too! You can either divide them by family (he thanks his family for the gifts they sent, you thank your family) or you can just pick and choose the ones you want to write to. Either way, two is always better than one!
(Another) Bonus tip: Put your heart into it
Be gracious and sincere. There’s nothing better than a heartfelt thank you.
Now for the cheat sheet (that you’ve all been waiting for)! Here are some samples you can refer to when writing your thank you notes.
Dear Jude,
Thank you so much for attending our wedding. We just wanted to take the time to thank you for joining and celebrating with us, truly making our wedding more special.
Love,
Jack and Jill
Dear Jane,
Thank you so much for being with us on our special day. We really appreciated your presence–especially during that hilarious dance-off! We’d also like to thank you for the amazing silverware you gave us. We’ve already unpacked it, and plan to use it soon. Thank you for thinking of us.
Love,
Jack and Jill
Dear John,
We were sorry to hear that couldn’t make it to our wedding. Your presence was sorely missed. But we’d like to thank you for the gorgeous silk bedsheets you gave us. We love them so much, they’re currently on our bed right now. We hope to catch you sometime soon.
Love,
Jack and Jill
Dear Aunt June,
Thank you so much for your generous gift. We’ve put it in our honeymoon fund and it’s gone a long way in helping us achieve our Palawan honeymoon. Hopefully we can come and visit you when we get back!
Love,
Jack and Jill