Calling Cards
The etiquette for calling cards is the same as the etiquette used for weddings. Since calling cards are formal social cards, names and social titles are used. Men and women under the age of eighteen, however, do not use titles. Some older women, especially those who are divorced, choose not to use their titles either.
Gift-Acknowledgement Cards
Back in the day when a honeymoon meant, for some, a cruise around the world or a summer in Europe, gift-acknowledgment cards were used to postpone the bride's obligation to send personal thank-you notes. Today, however, the reason is more likely an extraordinary number of gifts or pressing professional responsibilities. Nevertheless, gift-acknowledgment cards are still sent—sometimes even by the bride's mother—to buy the bride and groom additional time to send their thank-you notes.
Gift-acknowledgment cards do not take the place of thank-you notes. They merely acknowledge the fact that a gift has been received and mention that a personal thank-you note is forthcoming.
Informals
Informals are small, fold-over notes that have a woman's full social name centered on the front. They are always ecru or white and are always engraved in black ink. To deviate from this format is to create something other than an informal. Informals were originally used for invitations to informal events, responses to informal events, reminders, and gift enclosure cards but not as thank-you notes.
When used as wedding thank-you notes, informals read, "Mrs." followed by the name of the groom. Since the informals will be used by the bride only, "Mr. and Mrs." should not appear on them. Informals that have "Mr. and Mrs." on them are appropriate only for informal invitations issued by both husband and wife.
Thank You Notes
Thank-you notes give you the opportunity to express your appreciation to those who were kind enough to send wedding presents. In addition to conveying your appreciation, thank-you notes also let the recipients know that the gifts they sent were received and not lost in transit. They should be sent as soon after the wedding as possible, Your thank-you note will seem more sincere if it is sent in a timely manner.
Wedding thank-you notes are ecru or white fold-over notes that match your wedding invitations. Your monogram is usually blind embossed or engraved in a conservative color on the front of the note.
Postponement & Cancellation
Occasionally, a wedding may need to be postponed or canceled. If time permits, engraved or printed formal announcements can be mailed to invited guests. When a wedding is postponed before a new date has been set, the invitation must be recalled. When the new date is determined, a new invitation must be issued.