Wedding Card

The wedding is over, the guests have gone, and you're sitting in your new house or apartment with the floor covered in gift wrap. There are 12 toasters on the counter, three sets of mismatched glassware on the table, at least two dozen picture frames stacked in the corner, three fondue fountains (which much have been on sale at Walmart this week) on your kitchen floor, and a mountain of congratulatory and well-wishing cards in your lap. Despite the inanity of some of the gifts you can't help but feel overwhelmed by the love and attention your friends and family have poured into your wedding and marriage.I hope you kept track of who sent what; or rather, I hope you haven't actually gone home and opened your wedding reception gifts yet.

Because then you'll be able to take advantage of this priceless piece of advice: Keep a notepad and paper with you as you open your gifts. Write down who sent which gifts. Make some notes about what they wrote on the tag or card, what you thought of the gift, and what the gift says about your relationship with the sender.Yes, your husband will make fun of you for such triviality. And yes it will add hours to your gift opening time. But it will be worth it. Later when you are writing thank you cards you will have something to put on the inside other than "a lot." Not to mention the fact that you can file your notes away in a keepsake box, or as a scrapbook page, and years later look back and remember things that otherwise would have been lost in the shuffle.

Thank You cards are an excellent way to say "Hey! Remember you came to my wedding? I think. Your name was in the guest registry anyway. So uh, yeah. Thanks for coming and all that." That's what you'll be saying if you can't remember anything about what they sent or what they said. So take the time to write it down. And then when you are sending thank you cards take some time to personalize each one. When you sent out the invitations you spent a lot of time making them look exactly how you wanted. And you spent a lot of time going over the list again and again to decide to whom to send them. Then you wrote the names on the envelope and off they went. This time you already know to whom to send the cards.

Anyone who sent a gift or a card gets a Thank You. And the cards are premade, simple, and inexpensive. So the ONLY way to spend any time on Thank You cards is to make sure you write something non-generic to each guest. It might take some time so don't think of it as an obligation. Don't stress about Thank You cards and treat them as a chore to get done. Enjoy the experience and use it as a time to share your heartfelt thanks with your loved ones.