Wedding Guide: How to Word Wedding Thank You Cards
The wedding is finished and you can finally put your feet up and relax. Suddenly, you‘re reminded that you have one more major task to do before you can officially hang up your bridal veil – write wedding thank you cards!
Taking time to write thank you cards is an important final step in the wedding process. Each of your guests deserves recognition for the support they provided during this special time in your life. Unique wording for each thank you card allows you to express gratitude for the generous wedding gift you received.
Although hand-writing your wedding thank you cards can be a tedious and repetitive job, bringing on spurts of tendonitis, it is the perfect time to reminisce over each guest. Think about a joke you shared during the reception, something funny that happened at the wedding ceremony, or just how much you appreciate the distance they traveled to be at your wedding.
- What to Include in your Note?
- How To Word Wedding Thank You Cards
- Example #1 – Guest who bought a gift from the bridal registry
- Example #2 – Guest who did NOT give a gift from bridal registry
- Example #3 – For guests who gave a monetary gift
- Example #4 – For friends/coworkers that pooled resources for a group gift
- Example #5 – For a guest you do not know very well
- Example #6 – For a guest who sent a gift, but wasn't able to attend the wedding
- Example #7 – Wording for a guest who gave a charitable donation
- Example #8 – Wedding Thank You Wording for Your Bridal Party
- Example #9 – Wedding Thank You Note Wording for Your Vendors
- Example #10 – Wording for Guests Who Attended your Destination Wedding
- Example #11 – Thank You Card Wording for a Gift You Want to Exchange/Return
- Example #12 – Wedding Thank You Card wording for a gift you don't like / can't return
- Example #13 – Flower Girl Thank You Card Wording
- Closings and Signing off
- Signatures
What to Include in your Note?
The purpose of a thank you card is to make the receiver feel warm and fuzzy. Writing a thank you card to tell someone how much you loved their gift and company at the wedding is personal and endearing.
If you are anything like me, you will probably find an example of a thank you card that speaks to you (potentially in one of my examples below) and use similar wording over and over again. Ensure you include small tweaks to personalize the note.
Okay, 4% of you (one being my husband) are going to write individualized thank you cards, but don’t hate me because I am efficient!
Tips for How to Word Thank You Stationery
- First, thank the guest for the wedding gift!
- Use your imagination and describe how you will use the gift. Don’t be vague. You want them to know you are talking about their gift. Writing, “Thank you for your wonderful gift, we are very excited to use it in our new kitchen,” could be speaking about any gift. Make sure they know you are talking about their gift. For example, “Thank you for the wok, our nightly stir-fry meals taste so much better!”
- Four to five sentences are fine for thank you cards that are not sent to close family or friends.
- Write a sentence about how you enjoyed seeing them at the wedding. Try to include something you remember about them that day. This could be a funny joke they told, how nice they looked in a specific color dress, or their killer dance moves!
- If the guest sent you a gift, but were unable to attend in person, make sure to include regrets that they were not able to attend.
- Reference a future visit together and how you will use their gift. For example, “We look forward to having you over for a drink using our new wine glasses!”
- Finally, if you weren’t too fond of a gift you received, try to write primarily about the time at the wedding and less about the gift.
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How To Word Wedding Thank You Cards
Example #1 – Guest who bought a gift from the bridal registry
Example #2 – Guest who did NOT give a gift from bridal registry
Mention how much you love the gift and how you can’t wait to use it regularly.
Example #3 – For guests who gave a monetary gift
You don’t have to write the dollar amount, but let them know how you will use the money.
Example #4 – For friends/coworkers that pooled resources for a group gift
Send each a thank you card, mentioning the ‘group gift’.
Example #5 – For a guest you do not know very well
Example #6 – For a guest who sent a gift, but wasn’t able to attend the wedding
Example #7 – Wording for a guest who gave a charitable donation
Example #8 – Wedding Thank You Wording for Your Bridal Party
Example #9 – Wedding Thank You Note Wording for Your Vendors
Example #10 – Wording for Guests Who Attended your Destination Wedding
Example #11 – Thank You Card Wording for a Gift You Want to Exchange/Return
It is always best to keep quiet about gifts you have exchanged or plan to return. In such cases, you don’t need to broadcast the situation or say how you’ll use it, instead just talk about the lovely gift.
However, there are some circumstances that you may not have a choice and must admit to the gift giver that you won’t be keeping the gift, so as to avoid any future embarrassing moments. Here is the wording on how you might approach this situation.
Example #12 – Wedding Thank You Card wording for a gift you don’t like / can’t return
Lead with a positive tone, but don’t be fake or over-the-top commenting on the gift.
Example #13 – Flower Girl Thank You Card Wording
Closings and Signing off
Make sure to sign your thank you notes with a warm closing.
The following are all appropriate to use for close friends and family:
- “Love”
- “With love”
- “Lots of love”
- “Love Always”
- “Much love to you”
- “Love and thanks”
Some good choices for friends of your parents or work friends:
- “Sincerely”
- “Best”
- ” Yours Truly”
- “Fondly”
- “Warmest Thanks”
- “Gratefully”
- “Best Always”
Signatures
Back in the old country, it was traditional for the author of the card to sign the card. Nowadays, some couples choose to sign the card using each of their names. Whatever floats your boat!
Just make sure that if you both sign the bottom of the card, you write the card in first person plural. For example, “We were thrilled that you were able to attend our wedding.”
Do’s and (One) Don’t
- Do put your new return address on all thank you cards.
- Do thank guests in separate cards for separate presents. If you receive a shower gift from a family member, and then 2 weeks later receive a wedding gift, it is not appropriate to thank them for both gifts using one card.
- Do use either black or blue ink to write your wedding thank you cards.
- Do try and use the word ‘you’ more than ‘I’ or ‘me’ when writing out your notes. Do not start the note with the word ‘I’.
- Do splurge on thank you stationery (within reason). As a newlywed couple you want to be proud of your married status. Buy some luxury thank you cards. Better yet, get them monogrammed with your newlywed initials!
- Do try to follow tradition. In general the woman’s name should go first. If you are planning on using your full names it should be “Kristen and Thomas” or initials “K+T” or “K&T”. Same sex couples: time to play a crucial game of rock-paper-scissors!
- Do evenly split the thank you card writing task. The groom can write his share of thank you cards as well.
- Do set a date for when you want your thank you cards finished. Don’t forget to reward yourself along the way!
- Do send both sets of parents a thank you card and acknowledge their support, love, and any money they provided to pull off this once in a life time event. If you have any money left over in your wedding budget, sending thank you flowers is also nice.
- Do thank your wedding vendors. They appreciate handwritten notes and love sharing them with future clients. Try and send thank you notes to vendors within a month after the wedding.
- DO NOT send a pre-printed thank you card (except in special circumstances). Thank you cards are a handwritten expression of gratitude for attending your wedding and how much you appreciate a wedding gift.
I hope this makes the process of ordering, sending, and how to word wedding thank you cards a little less painful.
So, what’s next?
Oh, we’ve got no shortage of things to do around here…
- Brush up on your wedding thank you card etiquette!
- If you need a refresher on how to address your thank you cards, check out our article on how to address your save-the-dates.
- Find out how to properly preserve your wedding dress after the wedding.
Meredith
Despite her dreamy wedding blogger lifestyle, Meredith's day job is running ClassicVeils.com and a full-time mom to an active toddler. If she could, Meredith would spend her days taking cruises, helping animals in need, and watching Big Brother!