How long do you have to send wedding thank-you messages?

A common etiquette rule is within three months of the wedding. Sending them in the first few weeks is easier, because you still remember who gave what. A late thank you is still much better than none.

How do you say thank you for a cash gift?

Thank them for their generous gift without naming the amount, and say what it is going towards, for example "It is going towards our first home together." That tells them it mattered without making it about money.

Do you need to thank guests who didn't bring a gift?

Yes, for coming. Thank them for celebrating with you and mention something they did on the day. Don't mention gifts at all.

Can you send a wedding thank you by text or WhatsApp?

Yes. A personal message to each guest is now normal in the UK. Avoid a single message to a group, and consider a card or a call for elders who would prefer one.

Guide · After the day

Wedding thank-you messages to copy

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The short answer. A good wedding thank-you message names the guest, names the gift or the help, and says one true thing about the day. Two or three sentences is plenty. Send them within a few weeks if you can; a common etiquette rule is within three months. A personal message on WhatsApp is now normal, as long as each guest gets their own.

What should a wedding thank-you message say?

Their name. From you, to them. Not a message to a group.
What they gave or did. "Thank you for the gift" reads like a form. "Thank you for the beautiful photo frame" reads like you opened it.
A line about them. Their speech, their dancing, that they drove four hours. One true detail is worth more than three adjectives.
How you'll use it. For money especially: what it is going towards, never how much it was.
Your names. Sign it from both of you.

When should you send wedding thank-you messages?

Sooner is easier, because you still remember who gave what. A common rule is within three months of the wedding, and a message within the first few weeks feels warm rather than dutiful. If it has been longer, send it anyway: a late thank you is far better than none.

Write down each gift as it arrives, with the giver's name, before the cards are opened and the envelopes are lost. Matching an unnamed cash gift to a guest weeks later is the hardest part of thank yous.

Thank-you messages for a gift

Change the names and the gift, keep the shape.

For a present

Hi Kemi! Thank you so much for celebrating our wedding with us, and for the beautiful photo frame. Our first picture as a married couple is already in it. Love, Ada and Femi

For money, without the amount

Dear Auntie Ngozi, thank you for being with us on our day, and for your kind gift. It is going towards our first home together, and we will think of you every time we open the front door. With love, Ada and Femi

For a voucher

Hi Sam, thank you for the voucher! We are saving it for a weekend away once things calm down. Thank you for coming all that way to be with us. Ada and Femi

For a honeymoon fund

Hi Jo! Thank you for the contribution to our honeymoon fund. We'll raise a glass to you on the beach in Zanzibar. It meant so much to have you there. Ada and Femi

Formal, for an elder

Dear Mr and Mrs Okafor, thank you for joining us and for your generous gift. Having you both there meant a great deal to us and to our families. With our warmest thanks, Ada and Femi

Thank-you messages for help on the day

For the best man or a helper

Tunde, we couldn't have done it without you. You kept the whole day running and still found time to dance. Thank you, from both of us.

For someone who cooked

Auntie Bisi, thank you for the food. Everyone is still talking about the jollof. You worked so hard and we are so grateful.

For the officiant

Thank you for the beautiful words at the church, Pastor Ade. So many people told us how much the service meant to them.

Thank-you messages for guests who couldn't come

Guests who sent a gift but couldn't be there deserve a thank you too, and it shouldn't read as though they were.

With a gift

Hi Leah! Thank you so much for thinking of us, and for the lovely candlesticks. We were so sorry you couldn't be there, and we hope to see you soon.

Without a gift

Hi Leah, thank you for your kind message on the day. We missed you, and we'd love to show you the photos when we next see you.

Thank-you messages for guests who came without a gift

Plenty of guests come without a present, and plenty give money on the day rather than a gift. Thank everyone for coming, and don't mention gifts to the people who didn't give one.

For being there

Hi Dami! Thank you so much for celebrating our wedding with us. Seeing you on the dance floor at midnight was one of our favourite moments.

For travelling

Thank you for coming all the way from Manchester to be with us. It meant the world to have you there.

Is it OK to send a wedding thank you on WhatsApp?

Yes, for most guests. A personal WhatsApp message to each guest, with their name and their gift, is warmer than a printed card nobody wrote in. The one thing to avoid is a single thank-you message to a group chat, which thanks nobody in particular.

For elders who would value it, a printed card or a phone call is still a lovely touch, and you can do both.

How to send thank yous with Our Guest List

The thank yous on Our Guest List are a card with each guest's name and gift on it, sent from your own phone with a short message. They are on every plan.

Design the card. Open the Thank yous step. In The look and The writing, set out your card. A photo from the day is free on every plan.
Choose a day. In Send, pick the day you mean to sit down and send them. It is a note for you, and nothing sends on it. If nobody has been thanked yet, we also email you once, soon after the celebration, to say the thank yous are ready to send.
Go through your guests. On that day, work through them one at a time, just like the invitations. Type what each one gave, and their card and message thank them for it by name.
Send each one yourself. Each thank you leaves from your own WhatsApp or Messages, or by email for guests with an address. Nothing sends by itself.

Guests who told you they couldn't come get different words: thanks for thinking of you, rather than for being there. A gift is a note in your own words, never an amount. See the wedding page for the rest of what Our Guest List does.

A thank-you card for each guest, with their gift on it, sent the way the invitation went.

Questions people ask

How long do you have to send wedding thank-you messages?: A common etiquette rule is within three months of the wedding. Sending them in the first few weeks is easier, because you still remember who gave what. A late thank you is still much better than none.
How do you say thank you for a cash gift?: Thank them for their generous gift without naming the amount, and say what it is going towards, for example "It is going towards our first home together." That tells them it mattered without making it about money.
Do you need to thank guests who didn't bring a gift?: Yes, for coming. Thank them for celebrating with you and mention something they did on the day. Don't mention gifts at all.
Can you send a wedding thank you by text or WhatsApp?: Yes. A personal message to each guest is now normal in the UK. Avoid a single message to a group, and consider a card or a call for elders who would prefer one.

Last updated 29 October 2026