What to Write on Your Wedding Thank-You Cards

After the joy of celebrating your marriage, you probably won't be short on expressions of thanks for the wonderful smiles, hugs, gifts and sentiments that your wedding guests showered upon you that day.

However, if you are the type who has trouble finding the right words to say what you mean, here are some starter ideas to help you out.

Thank guests for...

...sharing the joy of your special day

...their generous gift (you don't have to be specific about what they gave... most NJ wedding guests give cash anyway)

...donating their time and talent, if applicable (see below for examples of what people might typically help out with)

...always being there for us (if, say, this is someone special whom you have relied on for various things – family support, advice, wisdom, etc).

...your love and support

...being such (a) great friend/s

...brightening our day with your smile

...your longstanding friendship

...being such good friends to Mom and Dad (they may be friends of your parents)...

You might also be specific in what you thank people for, especially if many guests have added to your wedding day in unique ways. However, it can be difficult to remember who may have contributed what. So here are some things guests sometimes help out with during the days leading up to, and on the day of, the wedding. At the very least these may jar your memory to recall other things to thank folks for!

Babysitting during the hectic days leading up to the wedding

Petsitting at the wedding/for the honeymoon

Watching one, some, or all of the kids AT the wedding

Cooking your delicious _______________ for everyone to enjoy (for those whose families may be contributing food dishes to a DIY wedding)

Helping to make the wedding dress/tux etc perfect (if, say, a family member did alterations or enhancements)

Lending me your (purse, shoes, hair pins, etc.)

Making the beautiful bouquets

Helping to make and pack up the wonderful favors

Driving us to and from the hotel

Helping to pin on the guys' buttonneires and fasten the girls' corsages

Staying with the bride during the nerve-wracking pre-ceremony hours

Helping us write our vows

Introducing us to the (priest, rabbi, wedding planner, whomever)

Referring us to the (name of wedding venue, hotel, etc.) - everything was wonderful

Remembering to bring the ________ that we forgot (there's always something!)

Running out last-minute to pick up  ________

Bringing sandwiches and beer for the after party

The wonderfully heartfelt (best man, sister of the bride, etc.) speech you made

Singing/playing the _________ (instrument)/deejaying

Doing the bible reading at our ceremony/helping to light candles etc.

Helping to design and decorate table centerpieces

Making my hair and makeup look beautiful

The sweet letter you wrote

Taking so many photos at the wedding/taking our beautiful engagement photos

Etc.

Getting Your Wedding Thank You Cards Out On Time

Even though you'll probably be full of gratitude after your wedding day of bliss, love, and so much generosity from family and friends... you probably aren't looking forward to writing out all those thank-you cards. It's not that you're not grateful... it's just that everything is so hectic all the time nowadays. Who has the patience to sit there with a pen and note cards for all that time?

One method I had for making sure my wedding thank-you cards went out time was to address the envelopes well in advance of the wedding.

You can tackle this project while you're sending out the actual wedding invitations. After all, if you already have the file open containing everyone's contact info, it's easy enough to just combine the tasks.

Some other tips for speeding up the process:

Make it a double shopping trip. If you plan to buy your thank-you cards, table cards and maybe even your wedding invitations at a place like Michael's craft store, then you may as well be efficient and just buy everyone at once.

The thank-you cards don't have to match the wedding invitations. They can, if you happen to find a set, but I wouldn't stress out or go from store to store searching for the ideal coordinating set. This blog is about saving time and money on your wedding, so that's the point I'm making.

The thank-you cards don't even have to be anything special, really! I know... a lot of people pay extra for the ones with the photo of the bride and groom. You can do that, sure... but I hate to break it to you, most people will eventually throw out that card with your happy faces on it. So you may as well just take the cheaper option and buy some plain and practical thank-you cards.

Don't hand-write the thank-you envelopes. You've probably invested enough time and energy into having your wedding invitations done. Just get some address labels and print them out at home yourself.

Stamp them while you're stamping your wedding invitations. What's another stamp, if you're already in the middle of the job? You can pick up all the postage at the same time at the post office, too.

A legitimate question: but what if someone decides not to reply yes to your wedding invite?

I say, it's worth wasting the small amount of time it takes to write (print) their address and stamp the envelope. Because otherwise, you'd be waiting until after the wedding.

Finally, if you really want to save time when sending out wedding invites – do like our friends who have two kids did. Just forgo writing the inside message, and send out a photo of the bride and groom with a generic thank-you.