1. Get organized
2. Write the notes
3. Get them in the Mail
Getting Organized and Ready to Write
Writing thank you notes actually begins before the wedding. As you receive wedding gifts it's a good idea to record what the gift was and who gave it to you. Other useful information to collect and have in the same spot is the address of the giver. I always suggest you record this information in a notebook especially dedicated for this purpose, or in a section of your wedding planning notebook. If you did not keep good records, I strongly suggested that you make a list now of everything you can remember receiving and from who. After you make the list, go through your guest list again, sometimes seeing someone's name will help remind you of a gift you may have forgotten, and don't forget people who were not invited to the ceremony but kindly sent a gift anyway. Also, make sure you include people who gave you the gift of their time and energy and helped make your day special.
Once you know who you have to write to, you will need something to write on. You may have ordered the thank you notes when you ordered your wedding invitations or you may have to get some now. The note cards do not have to be fancy, they do not even have to be "Thank You" notes, they could be nice blank cards or even some nice stationary. The important part is that you have something to write on and envelopes to mail them in.
Another thing you need to have will be stamps and return address labels with your correct address on them. You can address them ahead of time but I would suggest waiting to put the stamps on until you are ready to mail them.
What to Write
Sitting down to write all of those thank you notes out at one time is a daunting task, so why make it hard on yourself. Set a goal to write 10 to 20 thank you notes at a time and within a few days you can have them all done.
When writing thank you notes for your wedding, there are some simple things to remember. First you need to keep in mind that the giver had to put some thought into choosing what to give you, whether it is something you like or not. In most cases, you probably like the item you received and writing the thank you note from you heart is the easiest way to come up with what to say. In other cases, you may not know what to say to Aunt Matilda who knitted you those matching bright orange sweaters with the pink flowers, or something similar. The best way to handle thanking someone for something you don't actually care for is to thank them for their thoughtfulness.
Here is a short list of things to include when writing thank you notes:
- Name the gift in your note
- Say how you will use it
- Personalize the note by referring to your relationship with the sender.
For example you might say something like:
"Dear Aunt Matilda,
Thank you so much for the matching sweaters. We can see the love you put into knitting them for us and we will think of you often this winter when it gets cold enough to wear them. We were so pleased you were able to find someone to take care of your cats while you were here and really appreciate you making the trip to share our wedding day with us.
Love,
Bert and Sally"
Get the Thank You Notes in the Mail
All that should be left is to put a stamp on the envelopes and put them in the mail. For gifts you received before the wedding, thank you notes should be sent out as soon as possible. For gifts you received at your wedding reception, the proper wedding etiquette is within 6 to 8 weeks of the wedding but if it is never too late to send a thank you note.
Once you have some of the thank you notes completed, you can either mail them as you complete them or if you finish writing them in a timely manner, you could mail them all at once.
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