The Best Wedding Thank You Cards: The Etiquette Explained

You might think everything on your wedding to-do list is done. After all, the biggest thing you had to do is now done, you got married. However, there is one more thing on that long to-do list of yours, and it is writing the wedding thank you cards. Where do you even start, though?

There were so many people at your wedding; you now feel overwhelmed by all of the wedding thank you cards you will need to write out. After all, you can't just write one note and make a bunch of copies of them. You need to write them all by hand and individually to make it more personal. Here is where we come in to help you. Keep reading to learn the best wedding thank you cards etiquette.

Writing wedding thank you cards to everyone on your guest list will be a pain if you wait too late to do it. You should start as early as possible. One thing you might want to do is to make a copy of the wedding guest list. The reason for this is because you will have to write a thank you note to everyone on that list, whether they made it to your wedding or not. Even if a few on your guest list weren't able to make it, you did invite them, and it is proper etiquette to send them a thank you letter for at least trying to make it. Now, it is time to sit down with that copy of your wedding guest list and get to writing those wedding thank you cards, one card at a time.

Here is the fun part if you like to write or love stationary. You get to stock up on it because you are going to need as much as you can get to write those hand-written and personalized wedding thank you cards. Buying some pretty stationery in the wedding category is what you should do. Luckily, stationary isn't that expensive.

If you have a computer and a printer, you can even type some of the thank you notes out and then add a personal touch by adding your signature at the bottom in handwriting. Although you can do it this way, it is better and more personal to write the whole thing out. So, pull up a chair, with the copy of the guest list and start writing. 

Now, since you have 100s of wedding thank you cards to write out, it is time to designate an area in your home to set-up shop. Meaning, use a space in your home to sit down and write these notes out to everyone on your list. The best area for writing these thank you notes out are your office where it is quiet, or your kitchen table or dining room table. Whatever area you use, make sure it is the most peaceful room in your home since you need to concentrate on writing all of those thank you notes.

• Set some time aside just for writing them out. Don't expect to get all of these thank you cards written out in one sitting. It will take some time to get them all done. Set aside at least 30-minutes every day until they are all done.
• Buy a lot of stamps. Figure out how many thank you cards you will need to write out and send to people and get a lot of stamps. Make sure you have enough that you won't be running around trying to find more.
• Get some help from your new spouse. He or she can help too. Remember to remind them that you are both in this together for the rest of your lives. Get them in on the action of writing at least half of the wedding thank you cards out.
• Create a spreadsheet to help you out. One column will be the names of the guests if they came or not, or you at least invited, but they couldn't make it and don't forget the gifts. Make a list of the gifts whether it be cash, something from your registry, or even a gift you didn't really like. By making a list of all of this information, you will keep everything organized, and you will be able to go through it and know what type of card to send to who.

Who all gets the wedding thank you cards from you and your new husband or wife? Here is a list of those who deserve a wedding thank you card from the two of you.

• Those who came, of course! Everyone who showed up, no matter how long of a guest list you have, deserves to be thanked for coming to celebrate your special day.
• Those who helped plan the wedding. You definitely can't forget about the extraordinary people who helped you prepare one of the most important days of your life.
• Those who gave you a wedding gift. It doesn't matter if it was a gift you had on your wedding registry, a cash gift, a donation to something special in your name, or even a gift you didn't want. They all deserve a special thank you card from the two of you.

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• Those on the list who weren't able to show up but who you invited. Do not forget the people who couldn't make it for whatever reason. They still deserve to be thanked for trying to come to your big day!

• The special people who hosted your wedding and wedding reception. They should be first on your thank you card list. After all, they did host it for you!

• The individual people who were a part of your wedding. These people include the bridesmaids, maid of honor, the best man, and the groomsmen.

• Both of your parents, of course!

• The vendors. These include the caterer, the D.J (if you opted for one) or the live band, and anyone else who made this day special for you and your new spouse.

Now, that you know who all to send a thank you card to, when is the best time to address these wedding thank you cards out to everyone? As soon as possible after the wedding or at least within three months of getting married. That is the proper wedding thank you card etiquette for sending them out.

Here are even more excellent tips to help ensure everyone gets a wedding thank you card from the both of you.

1. Keep an organized list of everyone who sent or brought a gift. You can add this to the spreadsheet we suggested you make. The best thing to do here is to check those off the guest list of who bought what, especially once you start opening the gifts. Now is when you get your new spouse to help you. You open the presents and have them write down who bought or sent what, or vice-versa.
2. Make sure to get the proper wedding thank you cards for sending to everyone. You will need the appropriate stationery as well to add a personal note to the cards. Don't forget to buy a few boxes of envelopes and make sure to remember that large book of "forever" stamps.

Now that you know the proper wedding thank you card etiquette, get started as soon as possible writing them all out. You are going to be writing for a while so don't forget to set aside a little bit of time each day until you are finished. Make the notes and cards special for each person who was at your wedding, those who helped plan your wedding, the extraordinary people who helped with food and music, the wedding party, and even those who couldn't come but you invited.

Make sure you got everyone on the list. Check them off as you go so you know you sent them wedding thank you cards. This way, you won't send a card to someone twice. That would be kind of weird if they got two thank you cards, right? Just keep in mind all of the tips above, and you will do fine when sending wedding thank you cards. Good luck!