When I was growing up I hated my mother for making me write thank you notes. After any birthday party, holiday or any occasion, anytime where a gift or special something was received, my siblings and I had to sit down and pen a thank you card. I would like to take this opportunity now and say "thank you" mom for teaching me how to be a gracious person.
I do not wish to pose my standards on other people, however a thank you note shouldn't only be my standards but everyone's. It's a simple way to thank someone for something special they have done for you. It is likely that many brides did not have a mother as persistent as mine with the thank you cards so I have thought of a few "thank you card basics" that I would like to share with any brides (or any blogettes) who may not know where to begin.
1. When you are ordering your stationary for your wedding, order your thank you cards at the same time. They will match and many stationary companies can pre-address them in the same way they will do your invitations saving you time after your big day.
2. Don't wait. Many places you may research will tell you that you have up to a year to write your thank you cards. This is just tacky. I can tell you from experience, that first year goes by in the blink of an eye. Before you know it, a year has passed and you haven't sent your thank you cards. This will not sit well with your guests.
3. Send them to everyone. This includes: mom and dad, siblings, bridesmaids and groomsmen, even vendors who went above and beyond to make your day special. This may seem as if it is already understood that you are appreciative of what these people have done to be a part of your day, but a thank you card never hurts.
4. Never ever EVER ask anyone to address their own thank you cards. This is just tacky. I have been to showers where someone asked me to address my own thank you card envelope and even worse asked me to fill out a form of what I brought for the bride. Here is my tip on how to handle the "keeping track of gifts" situation. During your shower as you open gifts have a bridesmaid take your cards and inside the card write the gift given. This will already have the guest's name on the card and now also tells you the gift. In a quiet, discrete way.
5. Always hand-write your thank you cards. Never print them off a computer. It may be old fashioned, but hand-writing your thank you card is a personal touch. In our technology driven world, it's a lost art to hand-write a letter, but an important one to keep when it comes to wedding thank you cards.
6. Men should write thank you cards too. Purchase some masculine thank you cards as well to be sent after the bachelor party to the host and any other events where this would be appropriate.
7. Send thank you cards to guests who have attended your wedding, even if they did not give you a gift. While I do not think it is ever appropriate to attend a wedding with out giving a gift, as the bride you should still send a thank you card. A simple "thank you for being a part of our day" will do.
8. Never ever, ever, EVER chose not to send a thank you card. I have attended weddings of couples who did not send thank you cards. I can tell you there is no greater disrespect that you can show your guests than to not send a thank you card.
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