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Mrs. Starfish, Boston/Newport Age and Occupation: 25, Operations Assistant Fiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Sales Engagement Date: October 8, 2008 Wedding Date: October 2010 Venue: The Atlantic Beach Club About Me: I'm a perfectionist who is a planner at heart. I don't do well with surprises. I love planning, crafting, Newport RI, family and friends, and most importantly, Mr. Starfish---all of which will be big components in our October wedding in our favorite little city by the sea.
About Mrs. Starfish

Thank You Notes & More!

April 15th, 2010 @ 1:10 pm by Mrs. Starfish

One of my favorite engagement gifts was a book on writing notes, which conveniently included thank yous, from Sister Starfish. It’s from the Hallmark “Gift Books” collection called On a Personal Note: A Guide to Writing Notes with Style, by Angela Ensminger and Keely Chace.

Thank You Notes and More! :  wedding newport stationery thank you 130 1

photo credit: Brooke Photography

I like the authors’ attitudes towards thank yous. In the chapter introduction they explain that “great thank you notes tell people what they did—as well as how and why they did it—matters to us.” It’s a great way to view them as many people think of the thank yous as a daunting task. To be honest, I love writing notes, but I think after such a huge occasion that has taken quite some time to plan, writing notes is probably the last thing I’ll want to do.

So it’s nice to remember the importance of the note because the person probably did something really nice that made you happy.

One of the most helpful parts in the chapter is the breakdown of the note. The authors break down the structure of different types of notes, including thank you notes. They break the note down into 6 parts.

  1. Greet the recipient
  2. Express your gratitude
  3. Elaborate
  4. Compliment and look ahead
  5. Restate your gratitude
  6. Give your regards

They also give great adjectives to describe gifts. I find this helpful because when I have to write multiple thank you notes, it can get repetitive. It’s nice to have a resource for changing things up. If my writer’s block is really bad, I turn to their sample notes for some new writing style inspiration.

And if that doesn’t help, they even include questions to get ideas going. A couple I find helpful include:

  • How did you feel when you opened the gift?
  • If it is a gift of money or a gift card, how do you plan to use it?

The thank you chapter is broken into three parts: gifts, support & kindness, and social events & hospitality. So far, I’ve only used the gift section for engagement gifts, but I know the next two sections will be helpful when thanking our families and wedding party for their support and the vendors for their services.

Thank You Notes and More! :  wedding newport stationery thank you 005hobo

photo credit: Nashan Photographers

The best part of the book is that it expands beyond thank you notes. It includes all types of notes from business to congratulations to sympathy and more.

It’s great because I know I’ll use this gift long after our thank yous are sent out.

Did you find any great resources to help you write your thank yous?

Tags: newport, stationery, thank-you |
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25 Responses to “Thank You Notes & More!”

1 2 

1.
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Bee
Mrs. Cheeseburger (message)  1,020 posts, Bumble bee

this was a great post! I’m about to start writing ours, so thank YOU!! :)

 
2.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Hamster (message)  4,046 posts, Honey bee

This is so useful! I’ve been meaning to start my thank you notes for my bridal shower, and it is definitely daunting. The framework you detail will certainly make it more approachable!

 
3.
gill84
Member
gill84 (message)  725 posts, Busy bee

Care to share some of those great gift adjectives? I’m so curious now!

 
4.
Ms. Library
Member
Ms. Library (message)  1,251 posts, Bumble bee

I love the photos you included. They give me such good ideas for our thank you cards!

 
5.
ktisthatbees
Member
ktisthatbees (message)  2,742 posts, Sugar bee

I love the last pic from Nashan Photographers! Such an amazing shot. Thanks for the great Thank You ideas!

 
6.
Mrs. French Bulldog
Bee
Mrs. French Bulldog (message)  7,730 posts, Bee Keeper

Great and very helpful post, since we NEED to complete our Thank yous!

 
7.
cnuptain
Member
cnuptain (message)  330 posts, Helper bee

So cute! What a great idea! I saw one thank you picture note from a friend’s wedding that was just a photo of the couple but this is a great way to do something new!

 
8.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Guinea Pig (message)  1,377 posts, Bumble bee

Dear Starfish,
Thank you so much for this very helpful post! I have always been terrified of writing thank yous, so it is a huge relief to have this outline. You’ve done some great research and it was so kind of you to share it with us. I’m really looking forward to your future posts! Thanks again,
Love,
Guinea Pig.
:D

 
9.
alohababy28
Member
alohababy28 (message)  466 posts, Helper bee

OOOH I have to get this book! I have to write a lot of notes in my job, and I agree I felt like a broken record writing out our shower thank yous! Great post! LOL @ Miss Guinea Pig

 
10.
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Bee
Miss Cola (message)  2,870 posts, Sugar bee

Wow, this is really great, I’m totally bookmarking this! Thanks for the tips!

 
11.
ErinMarieMack
Member
ErinMarieMack (message)  728 posts, Busy bee

Great resource! Wish this post had been up when I was writing mine! I used the following formula:
1. Thanks for coming/We were sorry to miss you.
2. We loved the____________.
3. We will use it to_________________.
4. In the future, we hope we’ll be able to______________with you (if realistic).
5. Thank you again for your generosity!

Short and sweet. We also did a thank you picture with a (simple) banner I made myself. I don’t like the picture the best of either of us, but…they were a hit with guests!

http://lionscrestmanor.typepad.com/.a/6a010536fb8cdb970b0120a544f2e2970b-pi

 
12.
alivoo01
Member
alivoo01 (message)  2,625 posts, Sugar bee

Definitely bookmarking this post! Thanks for the info!

 
13.
ebs1123
Member
ebs1123 (message)  355 posts, Helper bee

Super helpful! A note, though - the second picture is from Lara Swanson, the third from Nashan.
Props to you for finding Lara - she’s my photog!

 
14.
Miss Elephant
Bee
Miss Elephant (message)  6,182 posts, Bee Keeper

Very helpful post! Thanks!

 
15.
Miss Pretzel
Bee
Miss Pretzel (message)  1,893 posts, Buzzing bee

ohh… i am googling the book now. I love thank you’s and sometimes a new fresh look is good.

 
16.
Miss Nachos
Bee
Miss Nachos (message)  1,734 posts, Bumble bee

I totally just bookmarked this…all of my thank you notes from my shower ended up sounding very similar so this will be helpful!

 
17.
labrat
Member
labrat (message)  473 posts, Helper bee

Thanks for the thank you info! Plus now I so what to do a “Thank You” wedding photo for the notes! Thanks for the great idea!

 
18.
Miss Jellyfish
Bee
Miss Jellyfish (message)  1,450 posts, Bumble bee

Thanks for this great post! I feel like you just distilled the book down for us :) I’m bookmarking this!

 
19.
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Bee
Miss Starfish (message)  1,926 posts, Buzzing bee

@gill84: I have it packed up. You should check out the book, it’s really great. I tend to use words like nice and awesome all the time, so having the list of over 20 other describing words was great. If you use google’s thesauras that’s really helpful too. I wish I could be more specific, but since we are in the middle of the move, I’m not really sure which box it is packed in.
@Miss Guinea Pig: Haha , I didn’t think this was a tutorial, but you pick up quick!
@ebs1123: Sorry! I didn’t even notice I messed that up, thanks!

 
20.
Miss Argyle
Bee
Miss Argyle (message)  2,516 posts, Sugar bee

Those are great tips!

 
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Mrs. Starfish
Mrs. Starfish

Mrs. Starfish, Boston/Newport Age and Occupation: 25, Operations Assistant Fiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Sales Engagement Date: October 8, 2008 Wedding Date: October 2010 Venue: The Atlantic Beach Club About Me: I'm a perfectionist who is a planner at heart. I don't do well with surprises. I love planning, crafting, Newport RI, family and friends, and most importantly, Mr. Starfish---all of which will be big components in our October wedding in our favorite little city by the sea.

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