In this guide · 7 sections
The day after: a short thank-you
The morning after the wedding, your guests are heading home, nursing sore feet and scrolling through the photos they took. It’s the best moment for a short thank-you. It tells everyone how much it meant to have them there, and it catches the photos while they’re still at the top of everyone’s camera roll.
Send it however your guests already hear from you: email, a text or the family group chat. A few lines will do:
- A thank-you, in your own words. It doesn’t need to be polished.
- One link for photos, and for anything else you’d love, such as guestbook messages, voice messages or notes.
- What you’d love to see. The dance floor, your table, anything you think you missed.
- Anything still to come, like the time and place of a farewell brunch.
Thank you for celebrating with us yesterday. It meant the world to have you there. If you took any photos, we’d love to see them, and you can add them at the link below.
Tip. This message doesn’t replace thank-you cards. It’s a quick thanks for coming. Gifts still get a personal note, and there’s more on those below.
A week later: one gentle reminder
Plenty of guests mean to share their photos and don’t get to it until they’re home and finally look through their camera roll. One more message about a week after the wedding catches many of them. Make it the last nudge.
- Photos, as originals. Ask guests to add photos straight from their camera roll. Copies saved from a group chat are usually smaller.
- Videos too. People forget them. If your link takes video, say so.
- The guestbook. If your guestbook is online, guests who didn’t sign it on the day can still leave a message.
- Voice messages. If your audio guestbook takes messages after the day, guests who missed it can still record one.
Give a gentle date to aim for, such as the end of next week. A deadline isn’t pushy. It tells people when to do it. And if one friend in each group asks “did you add yours?”, that often works better than another message from you.
Sharing the professional photos
Your photographer’s gallery arrives later, most often four to eight weeks after the wedding and sometimes more. There’s more on that in how long it takes to get your wedding photos back. Guests are usually keen to see them, especially the photos they’re in.
Look through them first. Decide whether guests see everything or a set you choose.
Send one message. Share one link with everyone, along with a thank-you and whether they can download the photos. Ask them to credit your photographer if they post.
Check your contract. Photographers usually keep the copyright and let you share the photos for personal use. Your contract says what’s allowed.
Remember the people who don’t do links. A few printed favorites for grandparents, or a small album for your parents, can mean more than any gallery.
Thank-you cards: timing and etiquette
The day-after message thanks everyone for coming. A thank-you card thanks someone for a gift, and it’s still expected to be personal.
When to send them. Etiquette guides agree on two windows:
- Gifts that arrive before the wedding: within two to three weeks of the gift arriving.
- Gifts at or after the wedding: within about three months. Emily Post calls the idea of a year’s grace period a myth.
If you’ve missed the window, send the note anyway, as soon as you can, with a short apology for the delay. A late note is far better than none.
Handwritten, if you can. A handwritten note is still the standard for a gift. Emily Post suggests an email only as a stopgap, to say a gift arrived safely and that a note will follow.
Who gets one. Everyone who gave you a gift, plus the people who helped on the day, like your attendants. Many couples thank their vendors too. Guests who came without a gift don’t need a card, though a word of thanks for coming is kind.
What to say. Three to five sentences is plenty. Name the gift and say how you’ll use it. For money, say what it’s going toward and leave out the amount. Add a line about the person, and sign it from you both.
Thank you so much for the beautiful serving bowl. It’s already had its first outing at Sunday dinner, and we’ll think of you every time we use it. It meant so much to have you with us.
Make it manageable. Keep a list of who gave what as gifts arrive, split it between you, and write a few notes every day or two instead of saving them all for one weekend.
A simple schedule
After the wedding · move the dates to suit you
- The day after A short thank-you with your photo link
- About a week later One gentle reminder, with a date to aim for
- When your gallery arrives Share the professional photos, once
- Within three months Thank-you cards for every gift
06 · How Forevermore does it
The messages Forevermore sends for you
Forevermore, a wedding website and RSVP app that’s free to use today, sends the first two messages in this guide for you, and a third when you share your photographer’s photos. Here’s exactly what goes out.
- The day after: a thank-you. At 10:00 your time, the guests in every household that RSVP’d yes to an event get a thank-you from you both. It lists what they can still add: their photos, a message in your guestbook (while your guestbook page is on), an audio message and a note for your time capsule. If they’re invited to something the next day, such as a brunch, it mentions that too.
- A week later: a gentle reminder. The same guests get one email saying there’s still time to add their photos and the rest. If you’ve shared your professional photos by then, it links to them too.
- No app or account for guests. The “Add your photos” button opens your day-of page in their phone’s browser. From there they can add photos, record a voice message or write a note for the time capsule.
- When you share the professional photos. Once your photographer or videographer has delivered to your Photos & video page and you share their work, you can email your guests: the guests who came, everyone you invited or one event’s guests. They get one email with a link to your gallery page, and they’re only ever emailed once about each set.
- See what goes out. Your Guest reminders page lists the day-after and week-later messages, with a preview of each, and shows what’s already been sent.
- Good to know: They follow your RSVPs. The day-after and week-later messages go to guests with an email address in households that said yes, once your site is published. Keep your RSVPs up to date, including any replies you took by phone.
- Thank-you cards are still yours. Forevermore doesn’t send gift thank-yous or track who gave what. A thank-you tracker is under consideration.
Sources
Etiquette advice was checked on October 25, 2026: Emily Post on wedding thank-yous and thank-you note dos and don’ts, Zola on writing wedding thank-you cards, The Knot on thank-you card timing and Here Comes the Guide on thank-you note etiquette. Photo timelines come from the sources listed in how long it takes to get your wedding photos back.