Wedding Thank You Cards: Responses, Wording, Notes

Apart from making a lifelong commitment to the person you love, one of the other parts of a wedding that most people love is getting wedding gifts. Of course, etiquette demands that for each wedding gift you receive and also as an appreciative gesture towards the guests who made the effort to attend your wedding, you send a handwritten note to thank them. For an important occasion like a wedding, sending thanks via a computer generated letter, a phone call, or an email will simply not do.

The best way to go about it is to keep track of all the guests that came to the wedding, and the gifts that were sent to you. You can do this either in a notebook, or on the computer. Then, buy some good stationery. People really appreciate it if you thank them in good quality cards, instead of some low-priced thank you cards you get at the dollar store. A good idea is to buy thank you cards that match your wedding cards. Once you have these basics, then you can go ahead and add your wordings in the cards. Here are a few tips on writing the responses or thank you notes in your wedding thank you cards:

• Keep your wedding thank you card responses brief. Epic letters elaborating on the marvelous hand painted martini glasses that was sent by your cousin need not be written. As a matter of fact, each of your wedding thank you notes should comprise of only a couple of lines.
• One of the best ways is to write the wedding thank you notes as soon as you start getting your gifts. Having to handle numerous blank than you cards soon after you get back from your honeymoon can be an intimidating task.
• Begin each wedding thank you note expressing your heartfelt thanks, while also mentioning the gift you received from the person you are addressing the note to. For example, the wording could be: ‘Dear Uncle John, Thank you ever so much for the coffee maker.’ This can be followed with an explanation about how the gift is being used by you. ‘Our breakfasts are never complete without the aromatic coffee we are having!’
• You can end the wedding thank you card wording by mentioning the fact that they attended the wedding, or not: ‘It was so wonderful to see you at our wedding reception. We really appreciate that you could make it all the way from Seattle.’ Or, if you receive the gift before the date of your wedding: ‘We are really looking forward to seeing you at our wedding in January.’ Or, if the person could not make it to the wedding: ‘We are really sorry that you were not able to come to our wedding ceremony; Carol has snapped some photographs which she said she would share with you when she meets you next month. They are also up on our website at (give the url).’ Wrap it up by thanking the person once more: ‘Again, we want to tell you how much we appreciate the thoughtful gift you gave us. Love, Ralph and Carol.’
• If money was sent as a gift, mention what you will be doing with the cash in the wording of your wedding thank you card: ‘Dear Aunt Maude, Thank you ever so much for the generous gift of money that you sent us. It will certainly be very useful for doing up our kitchen. Both of us really appreciate the thoughtfulness. With love, Ralph and Carol.
• If you happen to be unsure of what the gift is, it all right to keep the wording in your wedding thank you card vague, but only if you have to. For, it can be insulting to inquire about it directly from the person who has sent the gift. Try and find out about it from the Internet or ask around about what the purpose of the gift could be. But if these attempts do not help, you could just pen a nonspecific note: ‘Dear Rina, Thank you ever so much for the gift you sent us for our wedding. It was lovely seeing you at the reception. Both of us are looking forward to seeing you again when you come down here this summer. Love, Ralph and Carol.’
• And finally, divide the wedding thank you card response duties between you and your partner. By taking turns in writing them your wedding thank you notes will be sent off quickly, which will be a chore off your back plus the promptness will be appreciated by those who receive them.