Wedding Thank-You Cards that You'll Remember

Forget the traditional wedding thank-you card; I've just found a winner. These days, I'm on the lookout for unique wedding ideas. Both our son and daughter are getting married this year, so it's fun to discover a different spin on familiar traditions.

A few months ago we attended the wedding of my cousin-in-law's daughter. This cousin definitely has the creative gene, and is always surprising the family with fun and crafty ideas. She is the same person to whom I introduced photo scrap booking, years ago. But she took off, leaving me in the dust, and produced some amazing books.

This thank-you card concept may have come from her daughter, the bride, who appears to be as clever as her mom. Where ever the idea originated, I will encourage my kids to steal it!

Today we received their thank-you card, or should I say thank-you post card. The front of the card was a photograph of the bride and groom, wearing their wedding finest, and holding up a large hand written sign that says: thank-you. There was also a printed inscription on the front of the card, below the photograph, that read "Thank-you for sharing our day with us". Below that, was a printed notice giving the couple's new address. On the back of the postcard was room for a personal greeting.

I loved the idea that they arranged to take this very special photo sometime during or directly after the wedding reception, expressly to use for their thank-you postcards.

What really touched me was the happy expression on both the bride and groom, and the fact that they both looked a bit disheveled. It was obvious they had been doing some major dancing and celebrating.

A postcard with a formal photo of the bride and groom, used from the traditional wedding photographs would have been well received. Yet, this was better. It was the informality, with the bride's hair a bit mussed and the groom's tie removed. There was almost a bit of breathlessness, as if bride and groom had stopped just a moment to have someone snap the picture, before taking a deep breath and then hitting the dance floor again.

I liked the concept, and imagine it would make an equally successful thank-you card for other occasions; baby showers, birthdays, anniversaries or any such occasion that warrants the old fashioned thank-you card, but delivered with new styled flare.