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 project.

Geoff has finally finished his 'research' (wandering around DIY stores on a Saturday afternoon and watching 'Ground Force') and is almost ready to start hammering in the first deck section. You must come around as soon as it's ready and celebrate with a nice gin and tonic!

Thank you so much again,
With love,
Liz

Thank You Letter to Guests who Sent a Gift but were Unable to Attend the Wedding:

Dear Phil and Lisa,

Thank you so much for the wonderful set of pans that you sent us for our wedding. They arrived in perfect condition and I'm now looking forward to Geoff getting to grips with them and unlocking his 'inner chef' ... maybe you should come over and sample the results!

We were so sorry that you weren't able to share our day, and hope that the enclosed photo gives you a feel of the happy atmosphere we enjoyed. The rest of the gang from the office seemed to enjoy themselves, and even Nick was spotted on the dance floor - although he has offered me a substantial cash bribe not to show anyone the photographic evidence of that!

Thank you so much again,
Love,
Liz