Weddings make happy memories that last a lifetime.  One way to prolong those warm and fuzzy feelings among your wedding party and guests is by sending thank you notes to all involved in a timely manner.

Proper wedding etiquette dictates that thank you notes should be sent immediately after returning from your honeymoon.  Remember that this is not only a major event for the bride and groom, but also for their loved ones as well and appreciation should be shown for their thoughtfulness in bestowing a gift upon the happy couple.  Don’t delay more than three months after the wedding.

As the gifts arrive, or are listed as purchased by the your registry, start to make your list.  There are online applications with simple to follow instructions to check off who bought what, or you can easily do it yourself on your own computer.  Mark the name of the gift-giver, what they sent, and if necessary, their relation to the bride or groom.  For gifts given from off the registry, put a bridesmaid or two in charge of accepting the gift as the guests enter the reception venue after the receiving line.  Ask them to make sure each gift is tagged, and supply them with sticky labels for on-the-spot notes for any parcels with no name.  Take the time to do this!  With all the fuss of preparing for the wedding, it’s fairly easy to forget who gave which gift, misspell a name, or to confuse one gift-giver for another.

If the number of wedding guests is fairly manageable, sending handwritten thank you notes is a lovely gesture.  It sends a personal signal to your friends and loved ones that you are genuinely touched by their love and generosity.  Mention the gift itself, for example, "Bill and I can’t wait to make our first dinner in the lovely crockpot you sent us!"  If you don’t care for the gift, you can still mention their thoughtfulness. If the guest list was very large and handwritten notes are not practical, you can purchase very lovely pre-written notes but you should still try to personalize them in some way by signing them yourself.   Bear in mind that some still consider sending pre-written notes bad form regardless of the number of guests. Consider taking on this task over the course of a few days or a week.  Writing handwritten notes a dozen or so at a time per day is preferable to risking writers’ cramp by trying to do hundreds of notes all at once!  However, ALWAYS send your thank you notes on the same day!  It can cause no end of grief if Aunt Clarabel receives her thank you before Aunt Joan!

Don’t forget to send thank you notes to people outside of the wedding party who helped to make the wedding day a special one, such as friends who hosted out of town guests in their homes or vendors who performed above and beyond your expectations.