Wedding Wednesday: Don't Forget the Thank You

In this Wedding Wednesday series so far we've covered how to set priorities for your wedding, how to make decisions without becoming bridezilla, and 5 things you don't really need at your wedding. 

Today, is a topic that I think applies for all of life, not just your wedding. It's the subject of saying thank you. I used to think that it should go without saying that you send thank you notes after your wedding. Lately, I've been to a couple weddings where we didn't receive thank you notes later and I'm wondering if the tradition of handwritten thank you notes is becoming a lost art? 

Writing thank you notes is tedious (We had 100+ to write and it took a long time), but it is so important. Think about it- would your day have been as special if no one showed up? You may not like the gift they got you, but they were there celebrating with you, and that in itself is worthy of a thanks. I can't emphasize enough the importance of sending thank you notes. 

Maybe you're stuck on what to say? I first started by thanking them for coming, and then followed that up with thanking them for the gift they gave us. If you need a little more direction, this awesome template by Tyler should give you some great ideas! 

Maybe you're tired of spending money on your wedding and don't feel like you have room in your budget for thank you cards and postage. I think that saying thank you is important enough that you allot money for thank you notes when you first create your budget. A lot of times, thank you notes will come with your invitations. If they don't come with your invitations you can buy some in bulk, or do what we did. We created a thank you post card (they're pictured in this post); we originally had planned on taking a picture on our wedding day with signs that said "Thank You" but that detail got missed so we just added "Thank You" over one of our photographs. We bought the postcards in bulk online for super cheap and were able to save even more money on postage because postcard postage is cheaper than regular postage. If you are worried about money, postcard thank you notes are definitely the most affordable way to go.

I find that a little effort goes a long way when it comes to thank you notes. Your guests will appreciate the time and effort it takes you to send a handwritten note. It's worth the time- I promise. 

Do you think writing thank you notes is important? What are other things that might get in the way of sending out a handwritten note?