Thank you. Writing Skills and Etiquette Importance

My entire life, everyone always emphasized the importance of writing thank you notes. Whenever I got birthday or Christmas presents, I would be told to send a thank you note to everyone. It was more meaningful than a phone call or text. I got praised for the writing I did in these notes by my family. In school, writing was my strong suit for essays, SATs, and English classes. As I started working my first jobs, I was complimented on the professionalism and articulate nature of my emails. I had always taken these skills for granted until it proved helpful with wedding planning.

A huge portion of this job is sending emails to clients and vendors. To be able to communicate what I need to is extremely valuable. During my internship in Nashville, I was able to improve an area of my writing by working so closely with my mentor, who has been planning weddings for 20 years. She made me aware that my way of communicating on a screen can be very blunt. I didn't know it came across somewhat cold until she pointed it out. I wasn't quite surprised because I text the same way and talk just as directly in person, but unfortunately, the receivers of my emails can't see a smile on my face or a change in tone. After 5 months of practice, I am much more conscious of how I correspond with people in the wedding industry and elsewhere. It has gotten be far up to this point in my life and I trust that it will continue to connect me with people in the future.

This translates to thank you notes as well. It is important to show your gratitude to your vendors after your special day. I always make sure to inform my clients of the guidelines for gratuity for each type of vendor and suggest that they include a written thank you note as well. It is more heart felt and genuine and since it is so unusual these days, it is more impressive to someone when they receive one. It shows you care by taking the time to be more personal. The same goes for your wedding guests. After you relax on your honeymoon, set aside a day to do the same for them, even just to thank them for being there at your wedding, it will go a long way.

I hope I made your day

XO Gabriella