A million thanks

Everyone knows that you should send an invitation before the wedding, to announce a celebration which you would like people to be part of, but… What about after the wedding?

One of the most “impolite” things I have seen happen with many couples is the lack of gratitude with their guests.
If you invite someone to share such an intimate moment as your wedding it is because you like that person. If it is so, you should treat her with respect and consideration. By this I mean that guests should always receive a thanking card right after the honeymoon, during a maximum of six weeks, thanking their gift and their presence at the wedding, as also everyone else who has accompanied you. This demonstrates to your guests that you really appreciated their presence and their gift, making them feel truly special because of what they did for you. This is such a simple gesture and all you need is to take an envelope, a blank card and write a phrase, by hand, or else, why not send an e-mail? If you think this is the only way to thank…

An easy way to do this is to take up the wedding list and note down all the gifts by the name of the people who offered them, making a small comment on the gift so that you won’t loose track of who offered what. It is not convenient to thank something that has not been offered to you! Even if you thank someone by telephone, you should always send a written note.

How to write a thanking note:

• You should always start by the person and only after mention the gift, always being quite brief. It is not important to use unnecessary formalities.
• When thanking a gift, you could write something like this: “Thank you very much for the tea set. We can barely wait to use it with you, one of these days! Thanks for taking part in such a special day for us”.
• Always send a card with personalised phrases. After all, it’s only one or two phrases per guest.
• If they give you money, you should always mention how you are planning to spend it, for example: “Thank you very much for your kind offer, we are thinking about buying a set of crystal glasses which will be of great use at the parties to which we intend to invite you”.
• Don’t forget the most important people, like your parents, friends or relatives who helped you celebrate your wedding. In these cases, a thanking card should never be sent without a special gift like flowers, a box of the best chocolates, a box of cigars, a nice bottle of wine, whatever you think best fits the person’s personality. In this case, the notes should be a bit longer, writing things that show your thankfulness and gratitude, saying that without them your wedding day wouldn’t have been so special. A nice way to do this could be to add, along with the thanking note, a special photo of your wedding.