13 Aug
Guest Posting on The Bobby Pin
I guest-posted for Natalie of The Bobby Pin today. I revealed a shameful secret about my wedding thank you notes. 
Also:
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I shamefully haven’t done mine either. It’s been 3 months exactly. But between working a FT job, starting a business, planning a baby, etc., where’s the time? I feel horrible about it, but then think, “how many thank you cards have I ever received from purchased gifts?” And truthfully, prob 1 for every 3 or 4 gifts.
1I wrote thank you notes for every single gift from our wedding and MIL’s reception (well I made the husband write a few), but we received two late gifts this spring and I haven’t written the thank you notes for those gifts and the guilt is. killing. me. Now I am just going to do them today. I guess no note is better than a note that only says “Thanks for the gift” (True story: my MIL actually got that). On a better note, a couple of ladies from my MIL’s ward called her or saved my thank you notes to show her at church. I thought that was very touching - to actually be complimented on a thank you note!
2We had a gift that our lovely apartment office never bothered to inform us about.
So about three months after the wedding we find out that it was shipped to us a good two weeks before the wedding.
Yep, still haven’t bothered to write a Thank You note. I think a lot of it is just that once you did it and got over the hump of having them all done to suddenly have a straggler just compounds that feeling you had of “It’s done, time to celebrate.”
I’d also like to shoot whoever started the ettiquette rumor that you have a year to send the couple something.
3haha… oh my gosh, Jenna… I’m so glad I’m not the only one! 5 months, and only like 2 notes written. I just. can’t. seem. to. do. it. My husband reminds me every two or three days after seeing one of his friends/colleagues… kills me! haha… maybe next week?
4This makes me feel SO much better. I haven’t done a single one either. I’ve only been married 4 months, so I know I’ve still got time.
5I’m so glad you wrote about latent thank you notes. I agree, it’s the the effort more than the note. While I appreciate a well written note, I’d rather have a simple and brief thank you in a timely manner, than seven months later (one I received a few months ago), or none at all. I find that my notes are more genuine when I write them soon after receiving the gift.
Also, I realize that late gifts are somewhat inconvenient from the TY note standpoint, but it may be that you guests want to gift you but were unable to gift everyone in their lives during the height of wedding season all at once. I have a couple of gifts like that which are overdue, but I just haven’t had to cash on hand to give at the time of the wedding. I would never complain about receiving a gift a few months later (but then, I usually gift money, everyone likes that, right?).
6You really should donate to the March of Dimes! They save lives every day..I respect you a lot and love to read your blog for the faith and lifestyle that you firmly believe in and stand up for, but it really disappoints me that you would plainly state that you haven’t donated to March of Dimes yet as if that’s something cute to make people laugh.
7I had two method for completing my thank you notes:
1. my husband and I would prepare 10 envelopes (addresses and stamps) each. Then we would each write 10 thank you notes. The notes are much easier to do one after the other. 10 is a very manageable number to do each night.
2. I went on a work trip to Chicago the week after we got back. My husband and I prepared all the remaining envelopes with addresses and stamps before I left. I wrote the rest of my thank you notes on the plane and mailed them at the Chicago airport.
I suggest that you pick an method that works for you and get them done. They don’t take that long once you have all the pieces in place (cards, stamps addresses, gift list) It’s much more important to get them done than to have personalized cards or the perfect stamp etc. I have never gone to a wedding or shower and not relieved a thank you note. You’ll feel soooo much better once they are in the mail
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