Thank you cards
How to fit this important step
into your busy life

Thank you cards are the last thing you want to work on when the wedding is over and life begins anew. So here are some time and hassle saving tips for this very important last step in your wedding planning.

The wedding is over. You're back from your honeymoon (or not - ours was delayed because of our jobs), and reality begins. Thank you cards are the last thing you feel like doing.

After all, you've been so wrapped up with wedding planning, getting married, and honeymooning that you neglected a lot of other important things in your life. Work, your house, bills, basic chores - all these things have been forcibly shoved into the back of your mind during this time, and now you can't get them out of your mind. Well here are two ways to solve this problem.

One, give yourself one last excuse to shove reality to the back burner while you soak up every last minute of time devoted to your wedding. Finish your thank you cards all at once and put off the return to reality until later. We like this - procrastination, staying in the wedding frame of mind, sounds good to us - not practical, but more fun.

Two, merge the task in a little bit at a time with the rest of the stuff you have to do.

Either way, we've got to think about a few things, so here are the tips we promised:

Before the wedding - However you decide to organize your wedding invitation list, leave a little room for noting what gift each guest gives you by that guest's information. That way everything is in the same place (like addresses and how to spell the names).

If you get gifts at a shower or open them in such a way that you can't write down the gift and giver (for example, if you open them in front of others), designate someone to handle this task for you.

Cost - This is not a huge factor. Thank you cards just aren't that expensive. This is one last chance to make a big difference with the small details.

Custom thank you cards, like the one shown at the top of the page, are inexpensive and give you one last opportunity to carry your wedding theme with the same custom monogram or wedding logo that you used throughout your wedding events. Alternatively, you can get thank you cards that match your invitations, cards personalized with your names or monogram, or cards that carry your wedding motif or a variation thereof.

Want the truth? More important than style is...

Prompt thank you cards - they should be in your guests' hands no more than two months after the wedding and...

Personalized thank you cards - What we mean here is that you or your spouse should write a personal note. Mention the gift specifically and how it will be used, if appropriate. For cash, don't mention the amount. Just say something like, "Thank you for your generous gift. It helped us have an unforgettable honeymoon." Or, "It is earmarked for the house fund." NEVER say that you returned a gift.

Personalization tip: You don't have to be completely original with each thank you card. Unless your guests are cruel, sick, and demented, they won't be comparing thank you cards to analyze your technique. So don't worry if the cards start to sound alike. If they do compare and mention to you that they don't appreciate getting a similar card to someone else, then we have only one suggestion. Back away slowly, no, run, RUN from these crazy people! ! !

Time savers

• Have your spouse respond to his guests and you respond to yours. The guests will probably appreciate this on some level as being more personal.

• Write a few a day. Make it fun by offering your spouse a little treat (we'll leave the definition of treat to you) for successful completion of the daily quota. The right treat will motivate most slacker spouses to pull their weight.

• Make it easy. Put all the things you need for the task (addresses, gift list, cards, envelopes, stamps, pens, etc.) in one place so it's easy to do.