January 31, 2017
Who doesn’t love to receive gifts?! It is such an exciting part of getting married.
While you might think you won’t have to worry about thank you’s until after your first shower, think again. Milton and I started getting gifts in the mail soon after our save-the-dates went out! Staying on top of writing thank you notes is one of the biggest gifts you can give to yourself. I did a handful of things in order to keep this process as stress-free as possible…
The nitty gritty stuff:
- Once I completed my registries I purchase a cute little notebook that I dedicated to wedding gifts and wedding gifts only. All of my gifts were shipped to my parent’s house out of town, so any time I went home I made sure to bring this notebook.
- As soon as a gift came in I opened it and wrote down the exact gift and who gave it to us (in my cutesie notebook, duh). Sure, some of you may think it’s bad luck to open gifts that come in the mail before the wedding, but I did it! So many gifts are double boxed! So it saved a lot of space to go ahead and open them.
- My mom and I kept a folder for all packing slips and receipts. This came in handy if I happened to record something incorrectly in the notebook. Or, in the case that I received a duplicate item.
- No, I didn’t buy Thank You cards that matched the stationery of my invitations. I used leftover cards from high school and college graduation…talk about saving a few bucks!!!
- Aim to write your notes within two weeks of receiving the gift.
A few templates for different situations:
Shower gifts
Dear Name,
Thank you so much for the [ specify gift]. It will be perfect for my [kitchen, new bedroom, etc.]. I had so much fun celebrating with you at the shower on Sunday.
Sincerely,
Caitlin
Gift from someone that couldn’t make the shower
Dear Name,
Thank you so much for the [specify gift]. It will be perfect for my [kitchen, new bedroom, etc.]. We missed you at the shower, but we look forward to celebrating with you soon!
Sincerely,
Caitlin
Gift received in the mail
Dear Name,
Thank you so much for the [specify gift]. It will be perfect for my [kitchen, new bedroom, etc.]. We cannot wait to celebrate with you in [month of your wedding]!
Sincerely,
Caitlin
Are you seeing a trend here? Most of my notes sound the same, but those receiving them don’t know that. Repetition is ok because you are personalizing each note by name and specific gift. It’s very acceptable, given the overall volume of notes you will write.
For cards written after the wedding
Dear Name,
Thank you so much for the [specify gift]. It will be perfect for my [kitchen, new bedroom, etc.]. We had so much fun celebrating with you/y’all at the wedding!
Sincerely,
Caitlin
Cash or check gift
Dear Name,
Thank you so much for the gift of the $### check/cash. [Fiancé] and I are saving up for a new [house, car, etc.] and this is a big help! We had so much fun celebrating with you/y’all at the wedding!
Sincerely,
Caitlin
Gift from someone that didn’t make the wedding
Dear Name,
Thank you so much for the [specify gift]. It will be perfect for my [kitchen, new bedroom, etc]. We missed you at the wedding, but we know you were celebrating with us in spirit. We hope to see you soon!
Sincerely,
Caitlin
If I didn’t cover a situation that you have or may experience, please comment! I’d love to help. I had 100 questions for my mom when I began writing all of my thank you’s and I learned so much from her! Stay on top of thank you cards as much as you can! You don’t want them to pile up and have to write them all after the honeymoon. One last tip…pack a few cards and your gift book in your carry-on for the honeymoon flight. It made the flight to Mexico go by in a flash!
Caitlin
