Suggestion to couples who love "personalized" photo thank you notes!

insertusernamehere · May 2014

So I love the idea of making personalized "thank you" notes.

For those unfamiliar, a bride & groom will sometimes take a photo holding a cute sign (usually related to wedding decor) that says thank you or something similar. Example from Google Images: http://applebrides.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Louisville-Wedding-Blog-Thank-you-Notes.png

I've gotten a couple in the mail from weddings I attended and loved having a wedding photo so quickly to hang on the fridge/dorm room wall/etc. Also, it can be cheaper than ordering more matching cards, depending on how you print them!

Etiquette says to send out thank you notes as you receive gifts, which is good taste, the right thing to do, etc. But obviously you don't have the cute cards with your wedding photos yet. I've already gotten a wedding present and am not getting married for another year and a half!

Solution: Take a similar photo at an engagement shoot, or even just go to a scenic spot with a decent camera/smartphone & a friend/tripod.

Make your own cards through a photo website (make sure you have rights to use the photo file!) or print them out nice cardstock with a Publisher thank-you note template.

BOOM. Personalized thank you notes, ready for any early wedding/engagement presents!

thesummersky · May 2014

Great idea! We will probably do this. Though I think some couples really want to have a photo with them in the full wedding garb.

HisGirlFriday13 · May 2014

At the risk of being accused of being snarky and an OMH, that idea has been suggested multiple times before on this forum.

buddysmom80 · May 2014

What's wrong with blank thank you cards? That's what we'll be using.

I guess I'm behind on the times.

Also, I hate when I get the mass-produced "thanks for sharing our special day!" thank you card with wedding pictures, like no handwritten note or anything, it just irritates me. Take the two minutes to be personal.

Maggie0829 · May 2014

I have gotten several "personalize" thank you's with pictures. All I cared about was the note written inside the card because that is the part that is personalized, not the pictures.

grumbledore · May 2014

HisGirlFriday13 said:

At the risk of being accused of being snarky and an OMH, that idea has been suggested multiple times before on this forum.

Like, somewhere between 200 and a gazillion times.

That said, it is a good alternative to waiting for wedding photos to do this for those who are inclined to use this type of card.

yogablossom · May 2014

All of my friends have sent me beautifully handwritten thank you's that were heartfelt and made me teary. None of these thank you's was a photo of them--just simple blank cards. To me, it's what's written personally, not the photo of the couple holding a giant generic "thank you" sign.

Fran1985 · May 2014

The one photo thank you card I got I loved. We got the thank you card so quick too, they obviously had something arranged ahead of time. Not only was it a beautiful picture of them on the picture, they included two prints of a great picture of FI and I that their photographer took at their wedding. Really the important thing is just getting them out on time. If you can do that with a picture great, but what really matters is the inside.

yogablossom · May 2014

@Fran1985--I LOVE that they included a print of you and your fiance! That's such a thoughtful gesture!

NYCBruin · May 2014

Fran1985 said:

The one photo thank you card I got I loved. We got the thank you card so quick too, they obviously had something arranged ahead of time. Not only was it a beautiful picture of them on the picture, they included two prints of a great picture of FI and I that their photographer took at their wedding. Really the important thing is just getting them out on time. If you can do that with a picture great, but what really matters is the inside.

We had friends that did this and LOVED it. That said, all other photo thank you cards...meh. I usually don't like them because I end up getting them very late.

HisGirlFriday13 · May 2014

grumbledore said:

HisGirlFriday13 said:

At the risk of being accused of being snarky and an OMH, that idea has been suggested multiple times before on this forum.

Like, somewhere between 200 and a gazillion times.

That said, it is a good alternative to waiting for wedding photos to do this for those who are inclined to use this type of card.

Yeah. But I'm Knotting on mobile, and with as jacked-up as the boards are, I didn't want to say 'use the search feature' because I'm not at all confident the search feature is working.

kitsunegari89 · May 2014

I just used stationery with my monogram on it. I didn't know I was supposed to do a photo card... Also, my wedding was a month ago and I just was notified that some old ladies on my husband's side are upset that they have not yet received thank-you notes. Jeez Louise. My sunburn from the honeymoon isn't even peeled off yet. Calm down. I'll get them out. Promise.

KGold80 · May 2014

mrshutzler said:

I just used stationery with my monogram on it. I didn't know I was supposed to do a photo card... Also, my wedding was a month ago and I just was notified that some old ladies on my husband's side are upset that they have not yet received thank-you notes. Jeez Louise. My sunburn from the honeymoon isn't even peeled off yet. Calm down. I'll get them out. Promise.

Some people feel a month is really too long, and I'm inclined to agree. You might make it a priority to get them mailed out over the next week.

kitsunegari89 · May 2014

KGold80 said:

mrshutzler said:

I just used stationery with my monogram on it. I didn't know I was supposed to do a photo card... Also, my wedding was a month ago and I just was notified that some old ladies on my husband's side are upset that they have not yet received thank-you notes. Jeez Louise. My sunburn from the honeymoon isn't even peeled off yet. Calm down. I'll get them out. Promise.

Some people feel a month is really too long, and I'm inclined to agree. You might make it a priority to get them mailed out over the next week.

I've mailed out over 100 cards since before the wedding. I am hand-writing them. They are getting out. I'm not ungrateful... I just have a job. I think within 3-5 months is acceptable, and I am still within that grace period.

HisGirlFriday13 · May 2014

mrshutzler said:

KGold80 said:

mrshutzler said:

I just used stationery with my monogram on it. I didn't know I was supposed to do a photo card... Also, my wedding was a month ago and I just was notified that some old ladies on my husband's side are upset that they have not yet received thank-you notes. Jeez Louise. My sunburn from the honeymoon isn't even peeled off yet. Calm down. I'll get them out. Promise.

Some people feel a month is really too long, and I'm inclined to agree. You might make it a priority to get them mailed out over the next week.

I've mailed out over 100 cards since before the wedding. I am hand-writing them. They are getting out. I'm not ungrateful... I just have a job. I think within 3-5 months is acceptable, and I am still within that grace period.

I also hand-wrote all of our thank-yous. I also worked more than FT during that time period.

We didn't have that many guests -- I wrote 36 shower TYs total and about 60 wedding TYS total -- but both my showers were on Saturdays and the notes were in the mail Monday. Our wedding was Sunday and our notes were in the mail Thursday when we got back from our mini-moon.

They take not even three minutes to write and address. You could crank out easily 60 a night while watching TV. Even if you had 400 guests (and let's assume about 200 notes), that should take you 3, 4 days max.

manateehugger · May 2014

mrshutzler said:

KGold80 said:

mrshutzler said:

I just used stationery with my monogram on it. I didn't know I was supposed to do a photo card... Also, my wedding was a month ago and I just was notified that some old ladies on my husband's side are upset that they have not yet received thank-you notes. Jeez Louise. My sunburn from the honeymoon isn't even peeled off yet. Calm down. I'll get them out. Promise.

Some people feel a month is really too long, and I'm inclined to agree. You might make it a priority to get them mailed out over the next week.

I've mailed out over 100 cards since before the wedding. I am hand-writing them. They are getting out. I'm not ungrateful... I just have a job. I think within 3-5 months is acceptable, and I am still within that grace period.

Thank you notes aren't that hard though. You have a job - so does most everyone else. Instead of sitting on TK or watching TV for an hour, scribble them out. Enlist your FI - even if just to write addresses and stamp envelopes. I knocked out 30 from my shower in about 45 minutes on the plane ride home. Unless you have 500 guests, thank you's really shouldn't take more than a few evenings if you prioritize them.

kitsunegari89 · May 2014

PDKH said:

mrshutzler said:

KGold80 said:

mrshutzler said:

I just used stationery with my monogram on it. I didn't know I was supposed to do a photo card... Also, my wedding was a month ago and I just was notified that some old ladies on my husband's side are upset that they have not yet received thank-you notes. Jeez Louise. My sunburn from the honeymoon isn't even peeled off yet. Calm down. I'll get them out. Promise.

Some people feel a month is really too long, and I'm inclined to agree. You might make it a priority to get them mailed out over the next week.

I've mailed out over 100 cards since before the wedding. I am hand-writing them. They are getting out. I'm not ungrateful... I just have a job. I think within 3-5 months is acceptable, and I am still within that grace period.

Thank you notes aren't that hard though. You have a job - so does most everyone else. Instead of sitting on TK or watching TV for an hour, scribble them out. Enlist your FI - even if just to write addresses and stamp envelopes. I knocked out 30 from my shower in about 45 minutes on the plane ride home. Unless you have 500 guests, thank you's really shouldn't take more than a few evenings if you prioritize them.

His handwriting is illegible and he refuses to help me. We've been to that rodeo before. I'm going to finish them today. Don't worry. I'm just annoyed that someone's already mad... and I got their notes out already, they just haven't received them yet. They all live in a cul-de-sac. I also got all the notes out before the wedding, too. Some gifts I didn't receive until after the wedding and those were from friends who did not attend. I've gotten most of those out too (yesterday). I now have the count down to about 20 and should be done today. The cards have gone out in the order of when I received the gift. Obv someone who sent me a gift long before the wedding has already gotten a card, so those people who haven't yet have really only experienced about a 15-20 day lag.

xoxoxxo going to finish up. Getting off the interwebs.

Marzipan13 · May 2014

I'm generally neutral about thank-you pictures (as PPs have already said, I only really care about the actual thank-you), BUT if they're not tacky and not overdone, I wouldn't mind them.

FI and I are considering doing something like this during our honeymoon, since it ties in with what we're doing at our reception. Our favors are going to be personalized Lebkuchenherzen, since we're both German, and are traveling to Oktoberfest for our honeymoon. Then, while we're in Munich, we're going to take a picture with a Lebkuchenherz that says "Danke", and place those inside our thank-yous.
They look like this:

We weren't planning on doing anything like this just for the sake of it, or just because it's popular now - we're just doing it because it ties in, and is somewhat more meaningful for us than just holding up a sign.

carliealissa · May 2014

Ok, let's be realistic, maybe a couple of cards take 3 minutes each, but nobody is going to write 200 thank you's in 4 evenings! My hand would fall off. If you were able to do that, congratulations, but I have a hard time imagining cards cranked out that hastily are all that heartfelt or nice looking either.

I don't think I have EVER gotten a thank you from a wedding in less than 6 months. I just got one from a wedding we went to last May. I'm not saying this isn't a crazy long time... it is. But I don't think @mrshutzler not having them completely finished and sent out within a month is so awful!

carliealissa · May 2014

Also, I think the real point is that a month is not so crazy long that people should have their panties in a twist about it. Do they have nothing better to do than stand by their mailbox all day or what?

grumbledore · May 2014

mrshutzler said:

KGold80 said:

mrshutzler said:

I just used stationery with my monogram on it. I didn't know I was supposed to do a photo card... Also, my wedding was a month ago and I just was notified that some old ladies on my husband's side are upset that they have not yet received thank-you notes. Jeez Louise. My sunburn from the honeymoon isn't even peeled off yet. Calm down. I'll get them out. Promise.

Some people feel a month is really too long, and I'm inclined to agree. You might make it a priority to get them mailed out over the next week.

I've mailed out over 100 cards since before the wedding. I am hand-writing them. They are getting out. I'm not ungrateful... I just have a job. I think within 3-5 months is acceptable, and I am still within that grace period.

Not to thread jack since this was done to death in the other thread, but everyone here already told you that this is incorrect.

kitsunegari89 · May 2014

grumbledore said:

mrshutzler said:

KGold80 said:

mrshutzler said:

I just used stationery with my monogram on it. I didn't know I was supposed to do a photo card... Also, my wedding was a month ago and I just was notified that some old ladies on my husband's side are upset that they have not yet received thank-you notes. Jeez Louise. My sunburn from the honeymoon isn't even peeled off yet. Calm down. I'll get them out. Promise.

Some people feel a month is really too long, and I'm inclined to agree. You might make it a priority to get them mailed out over the next week.

I've mailed out over 100 cards since before the wedding. I am hand-writing them. They are getting out. I'm not ungrateful... I just have a job. I think within 3-5 months is acceptable, and I am still within that grace period.

Not to thread jack since this was done to death in the other thread, but everyone here already told you that this is incorrect.

yeah, I got it. I've just finished anyways.

insertusernamehere · May 2014

Sorry, I'm relatively new! I've only seen threads with people determining an acceptable time to spend writing them out.

Also the search function is horrendous. When I do use it I get a jumble of everything ever posted on the entire website - not just the forums. I find ancient articles, slideshows, etc. And if a comment mentions the word "card" it seems to show up in the results, even when I put "thank you notes" all in quotation marks.

insertusernamehere · May 2014

mrshutzler said:
I just used stationery with my monogram on it. I didn't know I was supposed to do a photo card... Also, my wedding was a month ago and I just was notified that some old ladies on my husband's side are upset that they have not yet received thank-you notes. Jeez Louise. My sunburn from the honeymoon isn't even peeled off yet. Calm down. I'll get them out. Promise.

You don't need photo cards! They've just been popular lately and I was offering a suggestion I haven't seen on the boards, for those who want to send personalized cards

Jen4948 · May 2014

This is me, but I don't find photos of people holding up signs saying "Thank you" to be "cute" - nor do I want to receive one, who knows how long after I've given the gift, as a thank you.

I'd rather receive a timely heartfelt note, whether or not it has a photo in it.

lizzypoo96 · May 2014

I'm definitely a fan and already have my e-pic thank you notes ready to go- that being said I come from a Kodak family where everything is made better with a photograph!

BUT I'm still hand writing a note on the inside... not sure where people decided that they didn't have to actually write a note if the cards were pre-printed! Hand written notes are still a must!

we'll use a wedding photo for our holiday cards- esp for the family that doesn't use a computer and would not have access otherwise!

Maggie0829 · May 2014

I say at the most 2 months is acceptable. If you do 10 a day and you have 200 to get done then you will have all TYs done in 3 weeks. Even if you went on a 2 week honeymoon you will still have your TYs done in less then 2 months from the time of your wedding. Everyone has jobs and everyone has things that they would rather be doing but TYs are important to your guests.

I have gotten a TY at the year mark and by that point I really didn't give a shit. I didn't even read it because I was irritated that it took them that long. I would be irritated if it took 6 months to get a TY. I would be irritated if it took 3 months. By getting TYs out as soon as possible shows that you care about your guests and that you genuinely appreciate their gift.

insertusernamehere · May 2014

Oh yeah, definitely still write a thank you note inside! This is just the picture on the front.

Suggestion to couples who love "personalized" photo thank you notes!

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