It's Friday and here's my promised post! Hope you enjoy! (Here's How to Write Thank You Notes Part I, if you haven't read that one yet! :-)
Okay, this part may seem to be the most daunting, but I’m here to help you out! Here’s an easy method: think of each thank you note in three parts - greeting, thank you, ending.
Greeting
This is pretty straightforward, but sometimes it’s tricky knowing how to address people you don’t know really well.
Try as hard as you can to spell their names correctly. If they signed their name on a card, check that. If there’s no card, try checking Facebook. But don’t stress over it - if his name is spelled “Jon” and you spell it with an “H”, he won’t be too offended.
When in doubt, err on the formal side. Don’t call an older couple “John and Claire” when they have only ever been “Mr. and Mrs. Cooper” to you. If they gave a card with their gift, check that and use whatever name they signed (for example, if they signed “The Perry Family”, start your note with “Dear Perry Family). If you can’t remember someone’s first name, just use their last name. If the family signed every child’s name, simple address it to the family, saving you time and space. (Unless you really want to write out all their names.)
When writing to closer friends, write “Dear Martin and Patty”. When it was to someone you didn’t know very well, write “To Mr. Heath”.
The “Thank You”
If the person gave a gift, name it. Use adjectives to describe it. Say how you plan/look forward to using it. And thank them for their generosity and thoughtfulness, which is much more meaningful than the actual gift.
“Thank you for the beautiful afghan and pretty tea pot. I’m looking forward to using these on a rainy day with a good book to keep me company!”
Just don’t go overboard with this (“Thank you for the gorgeous lamp, pretty throw pillows, lovely candle, yummy chocolate, beautiful CD, fun journal…”)
If someone gave you something you can’t see yourself needing or using (or downright disliking), still thank them for it, but don’t lie and say you can’t wait to use it. Instead, thank them for their generosity and try to find something nice to say about their gift.
“Thank you for the fun colored sheets and bathroom spray! That was so thoughtful of you!”
If they gave money, don’t mention the amount. (don’t say, “Thank you for the $40”). People like to know how you’re using their gift, so if you know where the money will go, mention that if appropriate.
“Thank you so much for your generous gift! We plan to put the money towards purchasing furniture for our house - thank you!”
If a gift particularly stands out to you, say so! If you can tell they put a lot of thought and creativity into the gift, mention that as well.
“I absolutely LOVED the coffee mugs - they are so fun and cute! I can’t wait to wait to use them!”
“I love how you wrapped the gift - it was so beautiful!”
The Ending
Ending anything - stories, blog posts, letters - is always tricky for me, but here a few ideas to get you started (or ended. ;-P)
If they came to the wedding:
“We were so glad that you were able to attend our special day - that really meant a lot to us!”
If they couldn’t make it:
“You were so thoughtful to send a gift even though you weren’t able to attend our wedding! We look forward to seeing you soon!”
Other ideas:
Or, if you’re planning to see them soon (like seeing grandparents at Christmas), mention how you’re looking forward to that.
“We’re looking forward to seeing you all this Christmas!”
Then sign with “Love”, “Lovingly”, “Blessings”, etc. With close friends, you can be more personable, but stay more professional with those you don’t know well.
Putting it all together
It is totally okay to send several people the same note (slightly altered to fit each person). They won’t be comparing notes and it makes it much easier on you.
I had about four different templates that I used and I added more to the note if I felt that was needed (to close friends, to someone who helped with the wedding, etc.)
Here are a few examples that should cover all the bases! You can always add more to each note if you’d like, or just stick with the basics.
Dear Smith Family,
Thank you so much for the beautiful throw pillows - they look stunning on our bed! It was such a thoughtful gift!
We were so glad you were able to attend our wedding - that meant a lot to us!
Blessings,
Kris and Susanna
____________
Dear Paul and Mary,
Thank you so much for your generous gift! We are looking forward to purchasing a couch for our living room with some of the money.
You were so thoughtful to send a gift even though you weren’t able to make it to the wedding - that meant a lot to us! We look forward to seeing you soon!
Love,
Kris and Susanna
_________________________
To the Austin family,
Thank you for the Bed, Bath, and Beyond gift card! We’re planning on purchasing a few kitchen items that we need for our house - thank you for your generous gift!
-Kris and Susanna
In Summary
Writing all your wedding thank you notes is already a huge task, so try to keep it as simple as possible. There’s nothing wrong with saying the same basic thing in each note! If you want more ideas, there is so much out there on the web!
My best advice would be to just do it. Don’t put it off for months because you’ll never have more time than you do now (something will always come up) and inspiration will never just show up. Set achievable goals for yourself - after writing ten notes, you can do _____. Once you’re on a roll, you’ll get more excited to finish. And once you’re finished, you’ll feel amazing - I promise! (I should know! ;-)
Okay, this part may seem to be the most daunting, but I’m here to help you out! Here’s an easy method: think of each thank you note in three parts - greeting, thank you, ending.
Greeting
This is pretty straightforward, but sometimes it’s tricky knowing how to address people you don’t know really well.
Try as hard as you can to spell their names correctly. If they signed their name on a card, check that. If there’s no card, try checking Facebook. But don’t stress over it - if his name is spelled “Jon” and you spell it with an “H”, he won’t be too offended.
When in doubt, err on the formal side. Don’t call an older couple “John and Claire” when they have only ever been “Mr. and Mrs. Cooper” to you. If they gave a card with their gift, check that and use whatever name they signed (for example, if they signed “The Perry Family”, start your note with “Dear Perry Family). If you can’t remember someone’s first name, just use their last name. If the family signed every child’s name, simple address it to the family, saving you time and space. (Unless you really want to write out all their names.)
When writing to closer friends, write “Dear Martin and Patty”. When it was to someone you didn’t know very well, write “To Mr. Heath”.
The “Thank You”
If the person gave a gift, name it. Use adjectives to describe it. Say how you plan/look forward to using it. And thank them for their generosity and thoughtfulness, which is much more meaningful than the actual gift.
“Thank you for the beautiful afghan and pretty tea pot. I’m looking forward to using these on a rainy day with a good book to keep me company!”
Just don’t go overboard with this (“Thank you for the gorgeous lamp, pretty throw pillows, lovely candle, yummy chocolate, beautiful CD, fun journal…”)
If someone gave you something you can’t see yourself needing or using (or downright disliking), still thank them for it, but don’t lie and say you can’t wait to use it. Instead, thank them for their generosity and try to find something nice to say about their gift.
“Thank you for the fun colored sheets and bathroom spray! That was so thoughtful of you!”
If they gave money, don’t mention the amount. (don’t say, “Thank you for the $40”). People like to know how you’re using their gift, so if you know where the money will go, mention that if appropriate.
“Thank you so much for your generous gift! We plan to put the money towards purchasing furniture for our house - thank you!”
If a gift particularly stands out to you, say so! If you can tell they put a lot of thought and creativity into the gift, mention that as well.
“I absolutely LOVED the coffee mugs - they are so fun and cute! I can’t wait to wait to use them!”
“I love how you wrapped the gift - it was so beautiful!”
The Ending
Ending anything - stories, blog posts, letters - is always tricky for me, but here a few ideas to get you started (or ended. ;-P)
If they came to the wedding:
“We were so glad that you were able to attend our special day - that really meant a lot to us!”
If they couldn’t make it:
“You were so thoughtful to send a gift even though you weren’t able to attend our wedding! We look forward to seeing you soon!”
Other ideas:
“Thank you for being such a big part of our lives!”
Or, if you’re planning to see them soon (like seeing grandparents at Christmas), mention how you’re looking forward to that.
“We’re looking forward to seeing you all this Christmas!”
Then sign with “Love”, “Lovingly”, “Blessings”, etc. With close friends, you can be more personable, but stay more professional with those you don’t know well.
Putting it all together
It is totally okay to send several people the same note (slightly altered to fit each person). They won’t be comparing notes and it makes it much easier on you.
I had about four different templates that I used and I added more to the note if I felt that was needed (to close friends, to someone who helped with the wedding, etc.)
Here are a few examples that should cover all the bases! You can always add more to each note if you’d like, or just stick with the basics.
Dear Smith Family,
Thank you so much for the beautiful throw pillows - they look stunning on our bed! It was such a thoughtful gift!
We were so glad you were able to attend our wedding - that meant a lot to us!
Blessings,
Kris and Susanna
____________
Dear Paul and Mary,
Thank you so much for your generous gift! We are looking forward to purchasing a couch for our living room with some of the money.
You were so thoughtful to send a gift even though you weren’t able to make it to the wedding - that meant a lot to us! We look forward to seeing you soon!
Love,
Kris and Susanna
_________________________
To the Austin family,
Thank you for the Bed, Bath, and Beyond gift card! We’re planning on purchasing a few kitchen items that we need for our house - thank you for your generous gift!
-Kris and Susanna
In Summary
Writing all your wedding thank you notes is already a huge task, so try to keep it as simple as possible. There’s nothing wrong with saying the same basic thing in each note! If you want more ideas, there is so much out there on the web!
My best advice would be to just do it. Don’t put it off for months because you’ll never have more time than you do now (something will always come up) and inspiration will never just show up. Set achievable goals for yourself - after writing ten notes, you can do _____. Once you’re on a roll, you’ll get more excited to finish. And once you’re finished, you’ll feel amazing - I promise! (I should know! ;-)
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