Have you written Praise Letters?

Imagine hearing from your boss that a client was SO happy with your work that they took the time to write in to the company, singing your praises. That would do SO much for your job security and your esteem in the boss's eyes. You might get a raise or a promotion because you reflect so well on the company.

That's exactly what I'm proposing you do for your wedding vendors' staff, assistants, and the vendors themselves. It only takes a few minutes to write up a note saying, "Sheila did such a wonderful job with our wedding decor -- she really created exactly what we had in mind, and we're so thrilled that we got to work with her. We'll be sure to recommend her -- and your company -- to all of our engaged friends!" and e-mail it in to Sheila's boss.

It's a feel-good task, and since Sheila worked so hard on your behalf, it's such a generous thing to write a Praise letter at any point during your planning stage or after the wedding.

Do you have Thank-You notes to write?

Summer weddings in full swing mean there are a lot of you out there wanting to know how to write the perfect, personable and personalized thank-you notes for bridal shower and wedding gifts. The tricky part? Not keeping the groom motivated to sit down and write them, but rather finding the perfect, diplomatic wording for notes you'll send to those guests who did a little something unusual with their gift choices. My book The Bride and Groom Thank-You Guide gives you multiple options for writing thank-you's for the following tricky situations:

* Obvious re-gifts
* Gifts that are not from your registries
* DIY gifts that *are* your style
* DIY gifts that are not your style
* Gift cards
* Wedding gifts sent way before the wedding
* Guests attending the wedding without giving a gift (yet!)
* You've lost a few cards and got disorganized, not knowing who gave you the gravy boat and who gave you the $150!
* Charitable donation gifts you were alerted to through your registry
* Honeymoon registry gifts
* The 'future promise' gift: as in, "We'll take you out for a 5-star dinner when you get back from your honeymoon."
* The gift of legwork and labor as their wedding gift to you

Write those notes well, because people really get offended by the simplest wording!