How to Write a Sincere Thank You Card
Writing those all important thank you cards can at times feel frustrating and often forced. Of course, you want to thank your bridal party and guests for making your big day so special. However, it’s not always easy to put your feelings into words and most importantly, get the etiquette right!
First things first, don’t put it off for too long. Yes, you want to enjoy your honeymoon and soak up the bliss of being a newlywed, but it’s courteous to thank your guests as soon as possible after the wedding. There are obviously a few different scenarios when it comes to writing thank you cards. You could be thanking people for a number of reasons - for gifts, for money, thanking parents or in-laws, your wedding party, guests who weren’t able to attend the wedding but still sent a gift. The list is endless! So, we’re going to make sure you are prepared for all situations.
Bear in mind, if you’ve received a gift before your wedding, it’s totally okay to send a thank you card before the occasion. As a general rule of thumb, try to send a thank you within 2 weeks of receiving a present.
Potential scenarios and how to tackle them
Regardless of the person you are sending the thank you card to or the reason you’re sending it, there are certain elements that should always be present. You should be including the following things to make sure your thank you card is sincere:
- name of guest/recipient
- express thanks for the gift or their presence
- express your feelings about the gift or their presence (e.g. how you will use the gift or their best dance moves at the wedding)
- conclude with the next time you’ll see them or ‘hope to see you soon’ if you are unsure when that will be
- sign off with an appropriate closing (e.g. ‘best wishes’, ‘much love’ or ‘sincerely’ depending on your relationship)
Now you’re armed with the essential ingredients, you’re ready to tackle the task of writing your own. For extra inspiration, here are some of our own examples of how to write sincere thank you cards. Disclaimer: All the names and presents are completely made up… you can use our examples and interchange with your guests’ names and the gifts they bought for you!
For gifts you like
Dear Lisa and Paul,
Thank you so much for the beautiful set of wine glasses. We can’t wait to open our first bottle as a married couple and make a toast. You’ll have to come over for dinner to see them put to good use! Hope to see you soon and thank you for sharing our big day with us.
Best wishes,
Bride and groom
For gifts you don’t like
Dear Lisa and Paul,
Thank you so much for the garden gnome you sent to us. Whenever we look out into the garden we’ll always be reminded of you and our wedding day! Thank you again for sharing our special occasion with us and we hope to see you soon.
Best wishes,
Bride and groom
For money
Dear Lisa and Paul,
Thank you so much for sharing our special day with us. We were absolutely made up with your very generous gift. We’ll be putting it towards an excursion on our honeymoon to see the Pyramids! Hope to see you when we get home.
Much love,
Bride and groom
For parents/in-laws/close family and friends
Dear Mum and Dad,
Thank you so much for your generous gift, it’s certainly going to make our honeymoon a week to remember - we’ll be thinking of you when we open that champagne! And thank you for making our big day so special, we couldn’t have done it without you. We’ll cook dinner for you when we’re home.
Lots of love,
Bride and groom
For guests who weren’t able to attend but sent a gift
Dear Lisa and Paul,
It was so thoughtful of you to send us our beautiful photo frame - thank you so much. We are sorry we weren’t able to see you on our wedding day but thank you for thinking of us during this special time. Hope you are both well and hope to see you soon.
Best wishes,
Bride and groom
Quick tip: Regardless of the person you are sending a thank you card to, it’s always appreciated if you can hand write the letter yourself. Obviously, this may not be possible for everyone but a handwritten note always makes a ‘thank you’ seem much more sincere.
The two types of thank you cards we offer
Here at Project Pretty, we have two types of thank you cards available: photo and non-photo. Essentially, it’s up to you whether you’d like to include a photo with your thank you card or not. Usually, the image would be a photograph of you and your partner at the wedding, to remind people of your special day. However, this depends how personal you want to make. Also, if you’re sending thank you cards for gifts received before the wedding, it won’t be possible to include a photograph of the wedding yet! You could also use a mixture of thank you cards, saving the photo cards for close friends and family only. We offer designs such as our Kate range with both formats of card.
