Saying Thank You

Saying “thank you” is always in style! So don’t be ungrateful – say thanks for your wedding! Here’s how to give wedding thank you’s to all the people who’ve helped you put it together, given you gifts, or just have been a shoulder to lean on.
Wedding favors are the first thank you to your guests. So spoil them in return! It need not be anything expensive, even just a sweet, personalized thank you message on their place cards, a slice of wedding cake individually packaged, a mixed CD sharing all your favorite moments. Be clever about it: why not give away those expensive flower arrangements on the tables, by adding a little tag or bag with a message for your guests to please take them home with them. Create a sweetie or cookie bar where guests can indulge, give bottled home-made jams, cordials, ground coffee, specialty tea, olives, infused salt, cupcake mix or honey. Any small token of thanks will do, the trick is just to make it special, personal and lovely.
It may be the final piece of your wedding correspondence trousseau, but the thank you is certainly one of the most important. A beautifully written and presented thank you note is the last impression you will leave with your wedding guests — not to mention the first impression of you and your mate as a newlywed couple.
Most guests do not expect to receive a note before the wedding; they know that the couple is busy preparing for the special day. However, aim to mail your thank yous no later than three months after receiving a gift. When you return from your honeymoon, spend a concentrated 15 to 20 minutes per day on this task. Because you will need to write a thank you note for each and every gift received, writing in short periods allows for each note to remain lively and original. One way to expedite the process: Share the responsibility with your husband. (He can help by writing notes for those gifts from his family and friends.)
Many couples like the idea of matching the look, color and feel of invitations to the thank you notes. By doing so ahead of time, you can save money on design, ink and plate charges by ordering them alongside the wedding invitations. If you’d like to continue the tone set by your invitations but not match them exactly, select a similar ink color, type style and printing method that relates to your overall style. Methods for printing thank you notes are the same as for invitations—engraving, letterpress, embossing, off-set, and thermography—but if your invitations were engraved, save money by using thermography for your thank you notes to achieve the same look.
A popular trend in thank you note design is continuing the logo, pattern or motif first introduced on your invitations. Recently, a bride chose to recycle the Moroccan symbol of a hand used on her save the date cards. Another couple included the monogram used on its wedding invitations, simply tweaked with an updated color. It is this attention to detail (in addition to your heartfelt words) that will make your thank you’s more than just notes; they’ll be keepsakes for your guests.
Regardless of its design, a beautiful and graciously handwritten thank you note is a gift in itself.