Sunday, January 5, 2014

Post Wedding Tasks: Thank You Note Etiquette

Many brides put so much work into planning every detail of their dream wedding that they wear themselves out look forward to their big day as a liberation from the chaos.  “I do" feels more like “I’m done”.  Well, lovely brides, that is not at all the case.  Etiquette calls for only a 2-3 week window before you send out a thank you for every gift!


Photo Credit:  Mountainside Bride


It’s easy to forget about any work to be done when enjoying the freedom of the wedded-bliss-coma you experience after your nuptials.  The honeymoon is a dramatic change of events after the obsessive, hair pulling stress of planning your wedding, so it’s common to get lethargic in enjoying your life together as Mr & Mrs; but penning your gratefulness is a very important task, as it means much more than you think to most people.


I need your full attention for a moment, as we tread over some important territory:  Resist the urge to email or do anything other than handwriting and mailing your thank you notes!  You will be tempted, after a luxurious honeymoon with the looming thought of soon being thrusted back into reality, to not spend your free time handwriting your notes.   You could just type them, which would look nicer than your handwriting (not to mention that you type 80 words per minute, which would cut the time investment down to a fraction of the handwritten);  BUT, your scribed note feels so much more personal to your gift giver than a typed one.


Make sure that you mention the gift they gave you (even if it’s monetary), and tell them how you used it or plan to use it.  If they bought you the measuring spoons on your registry, let them know that you intend to put them to work baking goodies for your groom.  If it’s a monetary gift, let them know what you’ve bought with it (be it an item in your registry that no one purchased, or if you’re pooling it together with others to do the much-needed renovations in your kitchen--they will be glad to know.

It may seem like a daunting task, so work out a plan.   Do 5-10 a day until they’re knocked out, or grab yourself a drink, put on your favorite movie, and power through all of them.  As much as you’re procrastinating, the anxiousness you feel will be completely settled after you’ve sent them all off!  

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