Wedding Thank You Guide: What to Say & Cute Designs

You’ve celebrated the magic of your wedding day and now you’re settling into married life. While most of your wedding to-dos have been completed, there’s one final task you’ll want to check off your list — sending your wedding thank you cards.

Let your wedding guests know how much you appreciate them being part of your special day. With this guide, you’ll learn how and when to send thank you cards and find tips on what to include for a personal touch. Plus, we’ve included some of our favorite wedding thank you card templates so you can find the perfect design for sending your well wishes.

Why You Should Send Wedding Thank You Cards

Friends, family, and loved ones have joined the two of you to celebrate your special day together. While you more than likely thanked them in person on the day, it’s still customary to send wedding thank you cards after the event. These cards let your guests know that you received their gift or donation and are grateful for them being part of your big day.

It’s traditional to send wedding thank you cards in the mail following the wedding, but like most aspects of your wedding day, it’s fine to modernize to match your style. If you prefer, send digital thank you notes to get your thank you messages to your recipients faster than with paper cards.

While you can leave some elements out of your celebration, following up with a thank you note is still seen as a must. If you don’t want to invest in personalized wedding stationery, consider DIY notes or cards that you can send to everyone on the guest list. Alternatively, a quick personalized message on social media or another small form of acknowledgment would be appreciated.

When Should You Send Wedding Thank You Cards? 

Now that you know how important wedding thank you cards are, it’s a good idea to plan them into your wedding timeline. Most couples aim to send out thank you notes as soon as they can, but newlywed life is hectic, and it’s normal for this to be put on hold for a little while.

If you can, aim to send your wedding thank you cards to guests within three months of your wedding. This allows you time to settle into your new life together, get photographs back from your wedding photographer to include in your thank yous, and get everything together to make writing and sending your cards easy.

Sometimes life gets busy. So, if three months pass and you haven’t sent out your thank you notes, don’t panic. It’s always sweeter to receive a note late than not to receive one at all. Traditional thank you card etiquette says you should send your notes within a year after the wedding.

Who Should They Be Sent To? 

If you had a grand ceremony with hundreds of guests, you might be wondering if you need to pen a personalized note to everyone you sent save the dates or wedding invitations to. The simple answer is no, you don’t need to write a thank you note to every guest — although some couples choose to. 

If you used online wedding invitations, it’s easy to thank your entire guest list without spending days handwriting greeting cards.

Building your thank you card list may come naturally to you, but if not, here are some suggestions on who to include.

Closest Friends and Family

Concentrate firstly on guests who really made your special day memorable. This includes you and your husband or wife’s family and closest friends. It’s easy to accidentally leave your wedding party off your list as you’ve spent so much time together in the lead-up to the event, but make sure they make it on your thank you card list too. After all, it would be a very different day without their support in turning your ideas into reality.

To make these thank you cards extra special, include a custom message to each recipient. Reference a special moment from the big day or share how they contributed to your perfect wedding. If you’re writing the card to your bridesmaid or another guest who spent a lot of time and effort in the wedding planning, consider sending a small gift of appreciation or a gift card as an added thanks.

Out-of-Town Guests

Next, you’ll want to think about guests who made a special effort to attend your ceremony or reception. This might be a relative who traveled across the country or an old friend who saw this as the ideal opportunity for the two of you to reconnect. Take the time to add a special note sharing your appreciation for their efforts and how they made it the best wedding you could have dreamed of.

Vendors

Another group of people you might want to write to includes your vendors — your venue, wedding planner, florist, DJ, caterer, photographer, videographer, and anyone who brought joy to your celebrations. For these businesses, you can also show thanks in other ways by leaving a positive review for them online and recommending them to friends and family who might need their services.

What to Include in Your Wedding Thank You Cards

There are only a few basics you’ll need to include as you write your cards. First, you’ll want to acknowledge your guest or guests by name. If guests attended as a family group, it’s fine to send one thank you card to everyone.

It’s common to personalize each note card to the recipient, so reference their wedding gift or contribution in some way. They’ll feel reassured that you received their gift and touched that you remembered. If they didn’t bring a gift or you’re not sure, focus on thanking them for their presence. Sign off with a sincere thank you from you and your newlywed partner.

After that, the rest is up to you. Most wedding thank you cards are relatively short, but you might want to update guests on your honeymoon or let them know where they can find photographs or videos from the event. If you don’t have one already, a wedding website is a great place to collect memories from your special day. If you do, update it and let your guests know there are plenty of gorgeous photographs to browse through.

Wedding Thank You Card Wording Examples

Design: Manu Torres

A lot of couples freeze when it comes to the wording of their wedding thank you cards. Even for the most seasoned event host, there’s something nerve-wracking about writing so many notes. 

Don’t panic, though, because we’ve composed a few thank you card message examples to help inspire your own notes. As you’ll see from the examples below, you can keep it simple or dive deep into some shared experiences to create custom wedding thank you cards.

Example One

Dear Sarah,

Thank you so much for joining us on our wedding day. It was lovely to see you and reminisce about the old days. We’re touched that you contributed to our honeymoon fund. We decided to put the collection towards a memorable day trip on the island where we said “I do.”

With our warmest wishes,

Abigail and Simon

Example Two

Dear Arnold and Family,

It was our greatest pleasure to celebrate our wedding day with you all. Thank you for your generous gift of a fine dining experience at our favorite restaurant. We can’t wait to make use of it and create some new memories together!

Thank you again for joining us. We’re so blessed to call you friends.

Best wishes,

Peter and Mark

Example Three

To Our Beloved Bethany,

Thank you for celebrating our wonderful day with us. It was the best day of our lives so far, and we can’t wait to share more happy moments with you in the future. Hopefully without the rain!

We’re so grateful for your lovely gift of a weekend away at The Beach Hotel. From the way you described it at my bridal shower, it sounds truly amazing, and we can’t wait to experience that for ourselves.

Here’s to a lifetime of beautiful memories,

Lauren and Jan

Example Four

Dear Theresa and Darius,

We can’t thank you enough for taking the time and making the long trek to attend our nuptials. We know it wasn’t easy to juggle childcare and coordinate flights across the Atlantic. We will be forever grateful for the memories and time we spent with you on our special day. We’re so lucky to have you in our lives and can’t wait to see you again soon.

All the best,

Jennifer and Clarence

5 Stunning Wedding Thank You Card Designs

If you’re looking for the perfect backdrop to accompany your thank you notes, we’ve got you covered. Many of our wedding thank you card designs are part of a wedding stationery suite, so you can find something that matches your Greenvelope save the dates and wedding invitations perfectly.

And if you sourced your invitations elsewhere, there are plenty of choices to help you find a design that suits your style. These are all digital thank you cards, so it’s simple to create and send them to as many guests as you’d like. 

Like with handwritten notes, you can personalize every guest’s card before you send it. This means you can deliver your heartfelt gratitude with the convenience of a digital invitation.

Here’s a selection of our favorite wedding thank you card designs.

1. Elegant Overlay Thank You Note

Design: Owl and Toad

For couples lucky enough to have photos back from their wedding photographer, this elegant overlay photo wedding card design is perfect. The minimalist design is understated and simple, yet elegant. Let your smiles and the memories of your happy day shine through with one of your favorite pictures.

2. Crater Lake Thank You Note

Design: National Park Foundation

Celebrate your newly shared surname or swap it out to show your first names together on this relaxed yet charming photo card design inspired by Crater Lake. It’s ideal for weddings hosted in a national park or for anyone who simply loves the nature design featured on the reverse. 

3. Bauhaus Monogram Thank You Note

Design: Erika Firm

This gorgeous, modern wedding thank you note is the perfect way to combine your design aesthetic with a beautiful wedding photo. There’s a collection of color schemes to choose from and plenty of space on the back to write your thanks.

4. Watercolor Floral Romance Thank You Note

Design: Patrice Horvath Design

For a whimsical design that’s perfect for spring weddings or nuptials where nature was at the forefront, this high-quality thank you note creates a cohesive vibe. Use it as part of the larger stationery suite with a matching save the date and wedding invite where guests can RSVP or choose it as a stand-alone card.

5. Contemporary Duo Thank You Note

Design: Eric Clegg Design

This gorgeous modern thank you note features bold blocks and metallic elements for a touch of elegance. Available in gold, rose gold, and silver as well as several color palettes, it’s a stunning choice for just about any wedding theme.

Send Your Wedding Thank You Cards, Your Way

Whether you decide to DIY your paper wedding cards or send them electronically, there’s a lot of space to get creative and customize your cards to match your personal style, wedding theme, or photographs. Spend some time together to make the experience fun, as you send your thanks and words of gratitude to loved ones and relive memories from your special day.

With Greenvelope, you can design personalized thank you cards that reflect your appreciation. Easily choose a design that matches the rest of your wedding stationery or pick out a stunning template that’s unique in its own right. Customize the font and color palette and upload photos to make it more memorable. Type out your message and hit “send” to deliver it to individual guests with personalized messages or send it out to everyone on your guest list in seconds.