Receiving gifts for your wedding is something to really appreciate. Gifts ranging from household decor through to cash and cheques is a way for your guests, both family and friends to help towards you new life together.

It is good manners therefore, to send each contributor a letter thanking them for their kindness and thoughtfulness.

Unfortunately, letter writing is a dying art and many people have had little practice at thanking people for gifts by letter. In fact, most see it as a chore to be endured in childhood at the end of birthday and Christmas celebrations.

This need not be the case. Thanking your guests for their presents is a task that can be shared by you both, either before or after the wedding, and is a great way to keep in contact with the special people who will share, or have shared your special day.

The question most often asked about thank you letters is "Should we send thank you letters upon receipt of our gifts or wait until after our honeymoon?"

The answer is to write your thank you letters as soon as you receive your gifts (or when you have been notified by the store you are using for your wedding list that a gift has been purchased for you).

By writing immediately upon receipt, the safe arrival of the gift is acknowledged and the gift can be checked for any damage it may have sustained in transit. It also means that you write a few letters a week rather than having the full task to come back to at the end of your honeymoon.

Thank you letters for gifts that arrive very close to your wedding day, or on the day itself, should be written as soon as you return from your honeymoon. These letters can take a different form as you will be able to reminisce about the wonderful day you both enjoyed. People unable to attend your wedding may also purchase gifts. A letter written after your wedding will give you the opportunity to tell them how everything went, as well as possibly including a wedding photograph.

Your thank you letters should always be hand written. Traditionally, thank you letters are written by the bride but, there is no reason why the task could not be shared. After all, your gift for both of you. Your letter should be personal and not of the 'round robin' variety.

Therefore, it should mention the gift that was received and the place it will take in your married life. This task will be made a great deal simpler if you have a record of who gave what. This is made easy if most of your gifts came via a store wedding list service, as most stores record the giver's names on their printout. If money was received, do not mention the amount, but say what use you will be putting the money to. The giver will derive great comfort in knowing that their money has been put to good use in your home.

If you do not have thank you stationery that co-ordinates with your invitations etc, invest in some quality heavy-weight writing paper or cards. This need not be a costly exercise. Many stationers and supermarkets stock ranges of quality writing materials, some with a wedding theme.

Alternatively, you could produce your stationery on your PC, using word processing software, but do check the maximum weight of paper that your printer will accept before you buy the paper. If you produce your own stationery, do not be tempted to print the message!

When writing your letters, try not to be too formal. Formality has a place in the wedding preparations and celebrations, but you should thank your guests in writing as you would speak to them. For thank you letters written after your wedding you may also like to include an anecdote from the day,perhaps a comment you heard from one of the guests or a funny story about something you saw. Tell the recipient a little about your honeymoon. Enlivening your letter will prevent it from being a plain thank you.

Also, try writing just from yourself rather than from "us". This gives the opportunity to speak directly to the person you are writing to, rather than your recipient feeling that they are reading a mass-produced letter.

Wedding Thank You Examples