As the Summer is quietening down and Autumn is luring us into its cosy embrace, many couples who tied the knot over the past few months have been thinking about ordering their wedding thank you cards. Here at Ananya we love supporting our clients in designing, ordering, and printing little paper parcels to spread the love and share their gratitude! We are also always here to assist with advice, questions about etiquette, and inspirational ideas.
Here are some of the key topics surrounding wedding thank you cards:
Are wedding thank you cards necessary?
One of the questions that comes up most often is: are wedding thank you cards really necessary, and why write a thank you card? The answer is that they are not necessary, but they are always a thoughtful, kind, and personal way of letting your friends and family know how much it meant to you to have them be a part of your special day. I personally feel that, when it comes to stationery, aside from your invitations, there is nothing more important than thanking your guests for attending!
Physical cards are particularly well-received for destination weddings, which require guests to travel a long way, or weddings which have relied on guest contributions to a donations fund or extensive gift list. Instead of needing to reach out to guests individually and adding time-consuming tasks to your post-wedding to-do list, preparing these cards in advance allows you to send thank you’s to friends and family whenever you are ready: this might be before the wedding, as and when you receive gifts, or immediately after the celebrations and honeymoon.
Do wedding thank you cards have to be personalised?
Should thank you notes be handwritten and personalised? This really depends on you, your lifestyle, and the size of your guest list. For more intimate weddings, couples will often choose to send personalised, handwritten cards to each of their guests – often with mention of the specific gift received from that person, or the unique way that that guest contributed to the wedding planning or atmosphere of the day. If this makes you happy and is something you would like to do, wonderful! But as lovely as this is, please don’t feel obliged - it may very well be that this is simply not feasible with the amount of downtime you have in your life, especially for celebrations with large groups of guests. In the latter case, it is also perfectly acceptable and equally thoughtful to send a printed card that expresses your gratitude and perhaps shares a little bit about how you feel about this new chapter of your lives together, and as a family.
Do wedding thank you cards have to match the invitations?
If you’ve decided that you would like to send thank you cards, then working with the same designer or company that printed your invitations is a really effective way of carrying on that theme or aesthetic that you had lovingly chosen for your wedding. It will make them feel more seamless, sophisticated, and cohesive, and immediately remind your guests of the joy of being there with you. If you had a monogram, colour palette, or cultural motif in your save the dates and invitations, then this can be easily and very beautifully integrated in your thank you cards too. If you tied the knot abroad, why not include the words “thank you” in the language of the country you chose? Anything you can do to make the card feel more personal and unique will be noticed and joyfully appreciated by your friends and family.
Ideas for wedding thank you cards?
As most couples choose to send wedding thank you cards after the wedding, there is usually the very fun opportunity to include an image from your day as part of the card design. If this is something you would like to do, it’s definitely worth mentioning it to your photographer ahead of time, so that he/she knows to send you an edited preview as soon as they can. Another really fabulous idea is to include a QR code which links guests to something that reminds them of your wedding: this could be a small gallery of images, your wedding video if you have this already, or even a playlist of the songs you played on the day!
How to write wedding thank you cards?
Once you’ve chosen your design, the next step is deciding the wording for your wedding thank you cards. My advice is to keep it simple, short, and meaningful – there is no need to fill the page! A concise and heartfelt message will go a long way, particularly if it is personalised to the recipient. Mention the moments that made your wedding so special: share a few sentences about how joyous the memories of the day are, how you enjoyed any particular cultural traditions, how happy it made you to share the celebration with them, and express your appreciation for the gift they sent. You can also say a few words about your honeymoon adventures, or something exciting happening in your lives (like a new home, business, or baby!).
When to order and send wedding thank you cards?
My advice is to send thank you cards within three months after your wedding. This way, you’ll have had a chance to receive the gifts from your registry, you’ll most likely have returned home from honeymoon, and your photographer and videographer will have had a chance to edit some teasers you can share! I generally recommend that my clients order their thank you cards at the same time as their invitations, to ensure they can be sent in a timely manner following the day.
How many wedding thank you cards to order?
The number of thank you cards to order should be fairly similar to the number of invitation sets you ordered. My advice would be to review your guest list, count the number of households attending, then add enough cards to send to all your wedding vendors, and then add an additional 10% spare to send to guests who might not attend but will send you a thoughtful present or message.
Who to send wedding thank you cards to?
There are three main categories of recipients for wedding thank you cards: the guests that attended (whether or not they bought you gifts); the guests who were not able to attend, but whom still sent you a nice card or gift; and then your wedding vendors.
What size are wedding thank you cards?
Most couples choose A6 wedding thank you cards – which is the same size as a standard card you might buy in a stationery store.
How much do thank you cards cost?
When ordering these off-the-shelf from a high quality online retailer, you might expect to pay around £2 per card; the investment will be higher when working with a designer to create something bespoke to you. Ananya thank you designs start at £3.50 per card.
I really hope this overview on advice and tips for your wedding thank you cards has helped, and encouraged you to spread the love in a way that is right for you. If you would like any support in brainstorming, designing, and printing some personalised cards, we would love to hear from you!
Until next time,
