A thank you card for a wedding is a handwritten note to each guest, sent within three months of the gift. Name the gift, say how you will use it, add one personal line, and sign both names. Split the stack with your spouse and write a few each day, so the pile never grows.
When should you send a thank you card for a wedding?
Within three months of getting each gift, and sooner for gifts that came before the day. Lizzie Post of the Emily Post Institute says couples should send wedding notes within three months and shower notes within a month, and calls these rules of thumb (AARP).
She also says "the appropriate thing to do when someone receives a wedding or shower gift is to send a handwritten thank-you note." Gifts that arrive early, such as engagement presents, need a note within two to three weeks (Here Comes The Guide). A year is how long guests may still give, not how long you have to write (Pleasantdale).
What do you write for each kind of gift?
Use the same three parts every time: the gift by name, what it means for you, and one line about the person. Then sign both names. These are the cases that stall people.
- Cash or a cheque. Skip the amount and the word "cash." Say what it is for: "Your generosity is going toward our honeymoon in Italy" (4over4). Naming the sum is optional (The Daily Meal); leaving it out is safe.
- A registry gift. Name the item and where it lives: "The blue pan is already on our stove."
- A gift you do not like. Thank them for the thought, not the object: "It was so kind of you to think of us." Do not say you love it.
- A guest who came but gave nothing. Thank them for being there: "Having you at our wedding meant more than any gift."
- A guest who travelled. Name the journey: "We know how far you came, and we noticed."
For closings, see signing off a thank-you card.
How do you split the writing so it gets done?
Divide the list in half and write ten cards a day. Here Comes The Guide advises couples to "split them up with your new spouse" and to sign both names on each note.
Notes to your photographer, florist or venue are different; see thank-you notes to wedding clients, written from the vendor side.
Can a wedding thank you card be written and posted for you?
Yes. We write each card with a real pen on a flat 6x4 inch card, in black ink, and post it from Bengaluru within 3 business days of your order. You type the note, pick a design and a handwriting style. It is a pen on paper, not a printed font. More on handwritten greeting cards.
Guests abroad are where it helps most. These are the windows our checkout quotes for standard post, and we cannot promise a date:
| Where the guest lives | Usually arrives in |
|---|---|
| India | 3 to 7 days |
| United Arab Emirates, Singapore | 6 to 12 days |
| United Kingdom, Germany | 7 to 14 days |
| United States, Canada, Australia | 8 to 15 days |
Inside the US, First-Class Mail takes 1 to 5 days (USPS). See how to address a card.
Sources
- Lizzie Post, "Money manners: wedding thank-you notes", AARP, 4 July 2025: aarp.org
- Here Comes The Guide, "Wedding Thank-You Notes: A Small Thing That's a Big Deal": herecomestheguide.com
- Pleasantdale Chateau, "Proper Etiquette for When to Send Out Your Wedding Thank You Notes": pleasantdale.com
- 4over4, "What to write in wedding thank you cards for cash gifts": 4over4.com
- The Daily Meal, "Thank You Note Etiquette Guide": thedailymeal.com
- USPS, "First-Class Mail": usps.com
