Thank You: Surviving Wedding Planning
Deep cuts from the early 'Aughts.
While the guests have gone home and the DJ has packed up, there's still quite a bit left to do for your wedding. Sharpen those big calligraphy pens, put on a pot of coffee and get comfortable because it's time to write out your thank you cards. With a little help from your favorite Boston Wedding photographer, you'll be well equipped to tackle the task...
Personalize It: The structure of a thank you note seems pretty straight forward, but don't just say "thanks for the gift." Good form begins with a greeting (spell their name right) and then thank them for being a part of your wedding celebration. With the preliminaries out of the way, best practice to mention what the gift was and how you plan on using it (or have used it). For cash maybe talk a little bit about what you might use it toward, like how it helped pay for an extra excursion on your cruse. Knowing something was useful or you enjoyed it makes the gift-giver feel even better. There are some exceptions, like if your friends decided it would be hilarious to get you a gallon jug of personal lubricant (or do let them know, you do you). Then you close off with a little extra thanks and a flourish.
Before the Wedding: Let's face it, no one wants to tote a stand mixer along to a wedding. With online shopping, it's not uncommon for the couple to have received most of their gifts well before the wedding. But don't wait until after the wedding to send out thank you cards, send them out as you get the gifts. It will cut down on your workload later and it lets guests know you got their gift in one piece.
Shower Gifts: While you're probably going to thank everyone in person for their shower gift, it doesn't hurt to send them a note.
Late Notes: So things got carried away and suddenly it's well after your wedding and it feels a little more awkward every day to pick up that pen and chip away at the pile of thank you notes. Should you just change your name and go into hiding forever? While you should aim to get your thank you notes out as quickly as possible, it's not the end of the world if life gets in the way and you don't get around to them until your first anniversary.
Hierarchy of Notes: A thoughtful, handwritten note is best. A thoughtful typed note can work well, especially if your handwriting is bad. A quick, handwritten note is fine in a pinch. A short typed note isn't great. Try to avoid sending out a thank you note via e-mail to everyone (especially if you don't even bother to BCC it).
Pictures: Having a custom thank you note with a picture from the wedding can be really cute, but if you're looking to turn things around quickly then consider ordering your cards through your favorite Boston Wedding Photographer, because nothing encourages a quicker turn-around on specific edits like bribery.
What are your plans for your thank you cards? Are you planning any specific props or pictures for them?
Ryan Richardson is a wedding and engagement photographer serving Boston and beyond; including Cape Cod Weddings, New England Weddings, Massachusetts Weddings and Rhode Island Weddings.