July 5, 2010 by Tabitha
Today, I wish to discuss the timeframe that you should send out “thank you” notes for gifts received at your engagement party, bridal showers, and on the day of your wedding.
For engagement parties and bridal showers, you should send a “thank you” note out within two to three weeks of receiving the gifts. As for wedding gifts, there are three different times that you may receive gifts from people–before your wedding, the wedding day, and after your wedding.
If you receive any wedding gifts before the wedding date, you should immediately send a “thank you” note upon receipt. For wedding gifts that are received on the actual wedding date, ideally you want to have all “thank you” notes mailed within three months of the wedding. If you receive any wedding gifts after the wedding date, you should send a “thank you” note within two to three weeks of receiving the gift.
Please remember that each “thank you” note must be personalized. The best way to do this is to mention the gift by name in the note, tell the giver how you will use the gift, and sincerely express your appreciation for the gift and their attendance at your wedding (if they attended). Lastly, your “thank you” note must be handwritten. Never send out a generic “thank you” note.
*Originally published in October 2008
Photo from After College
Tags: wedding invitations, wedding planning advice
Categories: wedding invitations, wedding planning advice •
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March 3, 2010 by Tabitha
“Invitations are like previews to a movie. If the preview wasn’t any good, why should the wedding be?” @MyCreativeWed
This quote (and tweet) by John and Chanda Alicanté, the creative forces behind My Creative Wedding based in Long Island Beach, CA, sums of my belief that custom wedding invitations are worth the splurge.
As I have mentioned before on this wedding blog, invitations are a) part of your event design; b) they are the first impression you will make on your guests; and c) they inform your guests of all the key details as well as provide them with an idea of the level of formality for your wedding.
Here are just a couple of their invitation designs that I adore.
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Aren’t they fabulous? Each of their invitations designs can be fully customized to your specifications and your personal style. To view more of their wedding invitation collection, you can visit their website and blog.
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December 5, 2009 by Tabitha
Rain cards are an enclosure that you can include in your invitation set and they are the best way to inform your guests of your backup plan should it rain. In this way, they will know ahead of time where to go if it rains as opposed to having to call and or wander around trying to figure out where to go.
In sum, rain cards serve two purposes: to inform your guests that your wedding is taking place outside and to let your guests know of your back up plan or alternate location ahead of time. So, if you are having an outdoor wedding or hosting your wedding in an area that is prone to inclement weather, for example, on the coast during hurricane season, you should enclose a rain card with your
invitations.
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December 4, 2009 by Tabitha
Travel cards or accommodation cards serve the purpose of providing out-of-town guests with information about hotels in the same vicinity that your wedding will take place. The hotels listed should be a couple of locations where you have reserved a block of rooms at a negotiated rate. In this situation, your guests will have a limited time to reserve their accommodations in order to receive the discounted rate. You will want to specify a deadline for your guests to make their room reservations.
If you are planning a destination wedding, you can enclose accommodation cards with your save-the-date cards instead of your wedding invitations. In this situation, you may include full travel details, including airfare and hotel information if you are working with a travel agent as well as airport and transportation details. Please be sure to include the contact information for your travel agent on the accommodation card as well as a deadline for guests to book their travel.
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December 3, 2009 by Tabitha
Ceremony cards are used when you are having a private wedding ceremony with a few special guests–your closest family and friends, followed by a large wedding reception. In other words, everyone that is invited to reception are not invited to the ceremony. For those invited to your ceremony, you will include this enclosure to let them know that their presence is requested at your ceremony. Every one else will receive an invitation to the reception only.
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Reception cards can be used for a couple of reasons. Most often, they are used when your ceremony and reception are taking place at two different locations. Other times, they are used when your guest list to the ceremony is larger than the number of guests invited to the reception. So, if everyone is not invited to your wedding reception (and I really do frown upon this), you can enclose a reception card with the wedding invitation to discreetly let your special guests know that a reception will follow.
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December 1, 2009 by Tabitha
Maps and directions cards are an important invitation enclosure for out-of-town guests and if your are hosting a destination wedding. So, unless your all of guests are local to your wedding location, I suggest that you always include a map and directions to both your ceremony and reception venues. As for etiquette (and aesthetics), please do not insert printed directions on copier paper inside your beautifully designed invitations. 
Click on photo to view larger image.
While I am on the topic of maps and directions, a very popular trend among destination brides is to have custom map and direction cards that double as keep-sakes for guests like the one above designed by calligrapher, Laura Hooper. I am in awe of these custom maps and I think they are a great way to captivate your guests with details. To date, I have not had an opportunity to work with Laura, but I have heard and read nothing but rave reviews about her artwork.
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