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The Ultimate Wedding Thank You Card Guide

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One of the lessons I learnt when getting married was the importance of delegation. On your wedding day, you can't very well roll up your sleeves and cook your reception dinner, or take selfies while reciting your vows.

Yes, plenty of the people you are delegating to are being paid for their help, but what about the volunteers? The Mother in Law who picks up the flowers from the florist and drops them off to the bridal party. The friend who calmed your nerves, carried your bouquet and fended off the weird relatives you didn't really want to invite.

And then there's all your nearest and dearest who got dolled up, devoted their day to you, and gifted you a thoughtful present.

So one of your first challenges as a newlywed is expressing your gratitude to a boatload of people who made your day what it was. And it is quite the challenge! Chances are you're quite happy to see the back of the "shoulds" and etiquette that come with wedding planning.

In order to help you cross this final piece of admin off your list, we've put together this post "The Ultimate Guide to Wedding Thank You Cards".

When should thank you cards be sent after a wedding?

Don't panic about getting your cards out ASAP. Wedding thank you cards are typically sent out up to a year after your wedding to all guests, plus and anyone who gave you a wedding gift. So you have time to weigh up your options, get your wedding photos back and consider what on earth to say about the ugly placemats your great-Aunt Greta gifted to you.

Why Write Wedding Thank You Notes?

The art of the thank you note is being lost, which is sad in some ways, but in others it's a bonus. (Whaaat? Why?!) Well, when you write a thank you note these days, you're typically doing it because you WANT to, not because some social rules are forcing you. So the act of sending, and receiving a thank you card is a whole lot more genuine than it once was.

The other positive, is that because we are receiving less of them, the thank you notes we do get are all the more impactful and appreciated. Lordy, any physical mail we get that's not a bill is a surprise these days!

So, if I've convinced you not to forgo a thank you and you're ready to tick this off your post-wedding admin list... what are your options?

Well good news, there's a few.

Thank You Cards Personalised with your Wedding Photos

It's not often you hire a professional photographer, so how about sharing your wedding photos somewhere other than Insta?! There are lots of options, whether you want to share a heap of photos or just one. I personally love when couples share their group shots in their thank you cards!

All our thank you cards are designed, printed and shipped from our studio in Mosgiel, just out of Dunedin. We offer three main styles of thank you cards, tried and tested over our 9+ years:

Thank you cards come in all shapes and sizes, so just pick the one that resonates with you. All our stationery is NZ made, even our envelopes.

Postcard style thank you cards

The postcard style is a flat card measuring 105x148mm. This can be printed on both sides. Perhaps pop a photo on the front and then a preprinted “thanks” on the reverse? Cute with a magnet for someone’s fridge and not too much room if you don’t feel like writing a long thank you message!

Greeting card style thank you notes

A folded card, measuring 210x148mm when unfolded. We can design these to sit tall (portrait) with the fold at the lefthand side, or long (landscape) with the crease at the top. It’s usually whatever will suit your favourite wedding photo! Either way, these should sit on a bookcase or mantlepiece quite nicely.

Add photos to the outside of the card and leave lots of room for a handwritten message inside the card – or get us to print a special note on the inside to help get your note-writing underway. We also often add a group photo from the wedding on the inside.

Concertina style thank you cards

A concertina thank you card is a folded style of card. Suitable for sharing lots of shots from your wedding day, while still allowing you plenty of room for a thank you message. You can get three or four panels, depending on how much room you need!

When your friends or family pull the card out of the envelope, the card is all closed and only the top panel is visible. They open the invitation to reveal all the important wedding details on the panels inside.

Personalised Thank you notes

Getting your wedding photos on a greeting card is all well and good, but if you want to share your gratitude prior to getting these photos (like, on your wedding day!) then we have some lovely cards for this sort of situation too.

What should I write in my wedding thank you card?

I'm not going to sugarcoat it. Writing a message for your wedding thank you notes can be tricky. Communicating your gratitude and excitement via a hand written note can become a chore.

And when something is a bit tricky, we tend to procrastinate... so we have collated some thank you card wording ideas to help.

Wording Ideas for Saying Thanks

Thank you so much for sharing our wedding day with us.

Thank you for travelling so far to be with us on our wedding day

Thank you again for your support and love. You are a special friend and incredible bridesmaid

A huge thank you for sending your well wishes and support from so far away.

How do you say thank you for a Wedding Gift?

We have put the beautiful set of wine glasses to good use already!

We are really looking forward to catching up once we've settled into married life.

We are very excited to be able to catch up again, maybe at our housewarming party fingers crossed!

If they didn't give a gift, or you're not sure what they have gifted you, keep it generic: We have been so blown away by the love and support from all our friends and family as we being our lives together.

How do you say thank you for money in a wedding card?

It was so lovely to see you at our wedding and the day-after BBQ. Thank you so much for your generous contribution to our honeymoon fund.

We would like to thank you for adding to the lovely memories we cherish from our special day. Thank you for your kind gift.

Thank you for sharing our wedding day with us. Your generous gift, love and support is very much appreciated.

We really appreciated the contribution towards our honeymoon. We are all booked for two weeks in Rarotonga after the New Year.

The contribution towards our house deposit is gratefully received.

Saying thank you with a gift

It's likely your new inlaws or your parents contributed a great deal to the wedding (financially and emotionally!). For an extra-special thanks, a printed wedding photo can be a special gift indeed. A collage of photos from the wedding, or one of our celebration prints can be a lovely way of thanking your parents for all of their support.

For your bridesmaids and any friends who spent a substantial amount of time contributing to your big day, you may wish to give them a small gift accompanied by your thank you note. I love the personalised wine labels for this - it's a fun way of adding personality, showing you've put some thought in, and a memento that your giftee can keep if they choose to.

Our labels come in a variety of sizes, so if cider, beer or spirits are more their thing, you can get something that suits! We can also customise the text, so if you want to add your thank you message right on your wine labels - no problem at all! You can find more gift ideas at our Comprehensive Gift Guide.