When to send out Thank You cards..

I'm not getting married until May but have already received a few actual Wedding gifts. Should I send out the Thank You cards now or wait until after the wedding. I had originally thought I would make photo thank you cards from the wedding photos but it seems like such a long time to wait to get the cards out. I don't want anyone thinking I'm rude. So now I am just thinking of going and buying really nice thank you cards so that I can send them out when I get the gifts. What does everyone else think?

You'll hate your life if you save them all for later. Get a head start and keep up on everything you receive in advance. You'll likely still have an overwhelming amount to deal with after the wedding!

i think traditionally unless its for a shower gift, you should wait until after the wedding.

the reason being is (sad) but god forbid something happens and things dont go as planned, the gifts should be returned, since "manners-wise", you shouldnt make use of the gifts until after the wedding anyways.

but to me, im thinking you would want to have thanked the person beforehand, because you still appreciate the thought. and anyways nothing bad will happen so you might as well thank them now :)

I was also thinking how much easier it would be to start sending Thank You cards as I get gifts instead of 100 at one time. So, just wondering what kind of thank you cards I should get. I mean, don't people usually send wedding photo cards or cards that have the name of the newly married couple (with Mr. and Mrs.....)? Obviously I wouldn't do either of these things. Should I just go buy some really good quality thank you cards from a paper specialty store? I feel like it should be a little nicer than the cards that I am using for my bridal shower (purchased at a drug store). Thoughts on that?

I've always heard that you need to send thank you cards as you receive the gifts. I think it will cut down on how many you have to do after the wedding as well.

I say send them as you receive them, you don't want people thinking you got their gift and didn't care. You could always send a wedding photo card later if you want but thank you cards should be sent out within a matter of weeks from when you got the gift (imo).

We have been sending our thank you cards as soon as we get a gift. I think that way you dont forget about it later or the details of the gift from each person. Plus if I sent out a wedding gift to someone and didnt receive a thank you note for a few months I think it looks bad... IMO.

I had one friend that didnt send a thank you note to me for 8 weeks after her wedding and it just seemed weird to get it that late.

I am sending mine out AFTER the wedding!

My fiance thinks its bad luck to open even cards before the wedding so we have a pile of gifts and cards already.

I say wait!

I've been wondering the same thing. We've requested no gifts but have still received a few already. I'd never thought of the fact that it's not really appropriate to send it beforehand in case something happens but that makes sense. I guess I'll wait- at least this way I can do a photocard.

I might send them out as I get the gifts and then do an official photo card thank you again after the wedding-hhhmmm-Not sure. Or I might send out thank you cards as I get gifts and then send a photo card out to announce our marriage-there you go-that sounds like a good idea! Good Luck!