thanks you cards for wedding gifts (when to send out...)?

Question

hello everyone~
i am just wondering when to send out thank-you cards for wedding gifts that we are recieving right now.. our wedding isn't until august 18th, but some people are sending us gifts already and some of the people who can't make it to the wedding have sent us gifts.
do we sent all the thank-you cards for the wedding gifts out at once, or should we send them out as we recieve the gifts..?
thanks

Answer 1

ASAP, as you receive each gift. You won't regret it, and you won't forget anyone. Also, your hand won't be as tired. Trust me, no one was EVER offended because they received a thank you card too quickly after they gave a gift.

Take your invite list and dump it into an Excel spreadsheet or Word table. Add three columns: (1) "gift" (describe the gift); (2) "date" the gift was received; and (3) "thank you" (date the thank you was sent). You will have a comprehensive and accurate source of all the addresses you will need, as well as a running list of everyone you need to acknowledge. If, a few months down the line, you hear through the family grapevine that someone is kvetching because they didn't get a thank you, you can consult your list and make sure it was a postal error, not your oversight.

Answer 2

If you get a gift prior to the wedding, send out a thank you card immediately. Then, if they attend the wedding, send another card to thank them for coming.

If you get a gift at your wedding, you have about 4-6 weeks after that date to send a thank you card. If you're going on a honeymoon right away, you have 4-6 weeks from the day you get back. Just get it done ASAP and get it over with.

If someone comes to the wedding but doesn't give a gift, within 4-6 weeks send them a thank you card for coming. You don't invite people to a wedding just to get presents, so thank them for taking the time to come and see you.

Answer 3

Make sure you are making out a complete list of the gifts and the givers from those you are receiving now, then add them to those you open the day after the wedding at the gift opening. Then, send them out all together after the wedding - AS SOON as possible after the wedding. It's hard work, but MUST be done promptly.

Answer 4

Write each one down in a book and keep track that way and then write all of them at once. Thats just what I did. Or get the cards you'll be using and write each thank you as the gifts come and then send them all when the wedding is done. The wedding should be over before you send thank yous. Not sure why I think that, but it just seems right. Congrats and have lots of fun!!

Answer 5

Traditional etiquette says that you send out thank-you notes within two weeks of receiving a gift if before the wedding, and within one month of returning from your honeymoon if received at the wedding. It's also easier to write the notes as gifts arrive, you don't have to worry about missing someone later, and the giver is thanked promptly. All good reasons not to wait.

Answer 6

Don't send out the thank you's right now...that would be tempting fate, OK? (I should have had the good sense to tell my ex-wife-to-be to take a hike before the wedding, but that's for another day.)

Wait until you get back from your honeymoon. I would agree with some of the people above me that it's a good idea to just write them all at once and git-r-done, so to speak. However, if your free time, attention span, motivation (or all three) are limited, then do a dozen or so at a time. I would make six weeks a target for trying to have them all done and mailed. That will keep any of the noodges in either of your families from pestering you that "Aunt Edna from Bug Tussle, Oklahoma (who you wouldn't know from Adam, and will probably never see in person...or have any desire to) wants to know if you got the velvet Elvis portrait she mailed you."

OK, so maybe my answer has been contaminated by my own marriage-from-hell and the contempt I hold for 95% of my in-laws. But six weeks is still a good time frame for the thank you's. Many of your guests (attending or not) will invest a good sized portion of time, money and love in picking out what they feel is the perfect gift for you two. A timely receipt of a thank you card (or even a note) will make them feel that their investment was appreciated and totally worthwhile.

Good luck on your upcoming wedding, here's hoping all the happiness in the world comes your way, and that you two will spend a long and full life together.

Answer 7

Make a list and start writing the names and address of all the people that is sending the gifts, that way you can keep track. You can ask somebody in your family to help you out. You are supposed to send the thank you notes after the wedding (up to 3 weeks after is ok). Also, you can include a nice picture of your wedding day with the note. They will feel very appreciated.

Answer 8

You can do it right away. Some people consider it bad luck to send them until after the wedding. Either way, I'd write them as soon as you get the gifts. It's a pain to wait until after and have all that to do.

Answer 9

You should send them out now, as you receive the gifts. Especially considering your wedding is over a month away.

Answer 10

A quick phone call to the ones who have sent gifts but aren't coming, to let them know you got the gift, is appropriate. Let them know that you will be opening the gifts at the reception and that you appreciate their generosity.

If you are going on a honeymoon right away, do the thank yous when you come back. Personalize them as well. Nothing is more icky than a card with signatures and nothing else. Try to say something nice about the particular gift you got.