What is the etiquette for wedding gifts?

Rules are:

* You open them now.

* You write your thank you notes now (and don't need to write a second one after the wedding).

* You don't use them until after the wedding.

The reason for the first and second rules are that people want to know you received their gift, that it didn't just get lost in the mail. (They also have the advantage that you can spread out the thank you card writing, instead of getting overwhelmed with it after the wedding.) The reason for the last rule is that if, God forbid, the engagement is broken off, you'd be in a position to return them.

@2d Bride thank you! That's what I thought. I was just a little unsure about the note, I don't want it to sound like we are using it now if we aren't supposed to be. Just have to word it right! Thanks for the advice!

@2d Bride said it perfectly Good luck HappilyHauser!

Send the thank you card as soon as you receive the gift. This lets the giver know you received it and leaves you with less to do after the wedding. Win win

"Thank you so much for X. We can't wait to put it to good use!"

Something like that, to let them know you're not using it yet.

I'm already using some of the registry gifts and I even have one friend who keeps asking if I've used his gifts yet. I didn't know I wasn't allowed to use them until the wedding was done. Oops! Luckily my wedding is only 9 days away haha

Open them and send a thank you card! Mine have all so far ended with, "We can't wait to celebrate with you in May!"

I just got into a debate with my dad about this. I told him it's perfectly acceptable to open gifts and send thank yous before the wedding. He basically told me I was rude af.

We had some people send wrapped gifts that told us not to open them until the wedding so we oblige.

When we recieve a gift I reach out to the person right away and verbally thank them and acknowledge that we recieved it. I then send out a written thank you.

Honestly I was so excited when we got our first gift that I opened it right away and sent my aunt a thank you on Facebook!!! Smh it is what it is. She teased me about how excited I was but she was happy we received it and loved it. I'll be sending her an official thank you card too though lol. I would definitely handle as was suggested above though! Wise suggestions for sure.