Thank You Letters

As soon as you begin to receive your gifts, you must start to write those all important thank you letters. Whilst traditionally this delightful task was set aside solely for the bride, there is nothing stopping the groom from helping out, especially when it comes to thanking his own friends or relatives.

Never ever (and we repeat) EVER send a pre-printed thank you card. A warm personalized, handwritten note, no matter how brief, tells the guest how much you appreciated the gift and how it will be cherished for years to come.

Personally written thank you notes should be posted within a month of receiving each gift (sooner if the gift was received before the wedding, with a couple of extra weeks allowed for honeymooners). When writing your letters, try not to be too formal - thank your guests as you would speak to them.

Try writing just from yourself rather than from "us". This gives you the opportunity to speak directly to the person you are writing to, preventing your recipient from feeling that they are reading a mass-produced letter.

It's a good idea to specifically mention the gift you received, what it means to you, and how you plan to use it. Money should be referred to obliquely ('your generous gift'). You should include a short personal note regarding how nice it was to see the guest at the wedding, or how much they were missed if they didn't attend, and a brief comment about the day itself, or perhaps the honeymoon. Enlivening your letter will prevent it from being a plain thank you.

Here are a few examples:

To Guests Who Attended The Wedding:

Dear Nick and Sarah,

Thank you so much for the beautiful cutlery you so kindly gave us for our wedding. Geoff and I now have a service for eight and are so looking forward to using it for all our special occasions.

It was so lovely to see you both at our wedding and I hope you enjoyed yourselves. Our honeymoon in New Zealand was utterly fabulous - amazing scenery and wonderful weather. We're looking forward to going back someday - maybe for our first anniversary!

Thank you so much again for the gorgeous cutlery - we look forward to having you round for dinner soon so you can admire it properly!

Love to you both,
Liz

Thank You Letter For a Gift Received Before the Wedding:

Dear Alice and Andy,

Just a quick note to thank you both so much for the beautiful set of glasses. We were so pleased when we heard from the department store - you must come over after the wedding and help us christen them!

We're so happy that you're both able to come up for the wedding, we're looking forward to seeing you and Liz is eager to catch up on all the gossip from Yorkshire. Here's hoping it's sunny!

Cheers,
Geoff

Thank You Letter to Guests Who Gave Money:

Dear Cheryl and Mark,

Just a note to thank you so much for your very generous wedding gift. We've put it into our savings account, and it has been earmarked for our decking pro...

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