How to Make Short(er) Work of Your Wedding Thank You Notes
Thank you notes.
The mere mention of them can cause anxiety when you have a stack of them staring you in the face, waiting to be written. Add to that the anxiety of your parents or parents-in-law who are concerned that friends and family will judge if a note isn’t received soon after your bridal shower, engagement party or wedding. You and your love may already be on the receiving end of comments like these . . .
- “Have you written those notes yet?” This is spoken by someone who fears that you haven’t.
- “Let me know if you need addresses.” Of course you have all the addresses you need because your invitations were delivered, and everyone knows this. This is a nudge disguised as helpfulness.
- “Those shower thank you notes need to go out before the wedding you know.” Yes Mom. Thank you for the reminder, you say sweetly – while steam slowly escapes from your ears.
Sometimes couples tackle this task together, sorting notes into your side of the family and my side. Then, in an effort to connect with new in-laws, they may swap lists and begin writing. This is nice if your words are flowing freely. But, if they’re not . . . Try this instead: Sort your list by gifts received, i.e., all money gifts, all kitchen related gifts, all hobby gear, etc. Then create some basic wording for each gift category. For all your kitchen gifts, you might say Thank you so much for the Henkel knives you gave us. We enjoy cooking together and it’s even more of a pleasure in a well-equipped kitchen. See what I did there? You can swap out the gift and use this wording multiple times. Now, about that duplicate wording . . . Yes, it’s nice to vary the wording of your notes if only for your own sanity when writing lots of them. It’s also nice to vary the wording of notes that are going to members of the same household. For instance, if adult siblings who still live with Mom and Dad received separate invitations and/or sent separate gifts, they should each receive their own thank you note and your thanks will seem more genuine if those notes are not exactly the same. Beyond notes going to the same household, I see little reason to go overboard with original wording. If you have time to be more creative, go for it. But sometimes, efficiency trumps creativity.
It’s okay.
