Early Wedding GIft Etiquette

bride2be7172010

My Wedding is not until July 17th. Many guest have already begun to send gifts off of our registry's to our home (our wedding will be in another state) 12 weeks in advance! So here is my question...first, do we open the gifts this early in advance; and second, do we send a thank-you right away or wait until after the wedding?

squirrly

Open them right away and send a TY.  Do not use the gift until after the wedding.  If there is shipping damage, contact the company they bought it from about a replacement.

andyandhillary

Open the gifts but do not use them.  Then write the thank you note right away.  If you receive cash, deposit it, but do not use it and write the thank you right away.

banana468

Ditto PPs.  Open, and write the TY note and send right away.  Inspect the gifts to make sure they're OK (we had two damaged saucers arrive w/ our China and a totally incorrect place setting that had to be fixed w/ Macy's) and don't use until after the wedidng.

Catwoman708

Yes, acknowledge receipt of the gift right away, and send a thank you note.  I believe traditional ettiquette is to not use the gift until the wedding, unless you are prepared to return the gift of equivalent if (God forbid), the wedding were to be cancelled for some reason.

If it were a week or two before the wedding, then you can wait to send the thank you note until after the wedding.  But they still might appreciate a phone call or e-mail to let them know it was received OK.  And for good measure, maybe confirm their address, so they know a TY is pending.