Gifts

Some people open them at the reception (though this is in bad taste as it can take a long time and be boring), some open them before the wedding (as they recieve them). I recommend having the day after the wedding a brunch and invite those who do wish to come (then they know how long it will take). You can usually get rid of some leftovers from the night before this way too.

Open them as they arrive and send the thank you notes out as you open them. That will make it easier on you if you get of the notes written as the gifts arrive instead of having them all to do at once in the end. Also it will tell your guests that their gifts arrived instead of them wondering for weeks about it.

Yes, etiquette says that wedding gifts sent before the wedding should be opened and Thank you notes should then be mailed before the wedding. I`m not sure about gifts brought to the reception sight. I live in the midwest and guests usually only bring cards with cash, checks to the reception, which are never opened at the recepton. I`m unsure about wrapped gifts, the few weddings I`ve gone to that people have brought wrapped gifts they were not opened. Have fun!!!! Open away!

I know I would definately not have the personal discipline to wait! Open away! And all the sites I`ve seen say to send thank you notes as you receive gifts...

My fiancé doesn`t want to open them until after the wedding is over. :( Not that we have a lot of gifts at this point (wedding is six weeks away) it`s driving me nuts!

I want to send out thank yous with a photo from the wedding on them -I found a great site- Is it ok to wait until after the wedding to send a note even if the present arrives before?

Could you let us know where you found the site with the pictures on the thanks yous?? Thanks....Mandy

It would be a courtesy if you would send a thank-you before the wedding (as soon as you receive a gift). This is not only proper, but it lets the sender know that the gift arrived safely. Also, it will cut the amount of post-wedding thank-yous you have to deal with when you return from the honeymoon. You could send out regular thank-yous right now and still have a ton of picture thank-yous to send to people afterward as people will bring gifts and cards to the wedding. So, not everyone will get a picture thank-you, but at least you`re letting them know you received the gift.