Thank-You Verses for Scrolls, Bookmarks and Favor Tags
A few printed lines at each place setting is one of the oldest and cheapest ways to thank wedding guests. How to use scrolls and bookmarks well, what to print alongside the verse, and fifteen short verses written for Today’s Weddings that you are free to use.
Long before favors became boxed chocolates and monogrammed bottle openers, couples thanked their guests with a few printed lines: a verse rolled into a scroll and tied with ribbon, or a bookmark tucked into the napkin. It is still one of the nicest small touches at a reception, because it costs very little and says something a sugared almond can’t.
Scroll or bookmark?
Scrolls are decorative. Print the verse on parchment-style or cotton paper about 5 by 7 inches, roll it, and tie it with ribbon or twine in your wedding colors. Lay one on each plate or across the napkin. They photograph beautifully, but most go home in a handbag and are never unrolled again.
Bookmarks are useful. A strip of heavy card stock about 2 by 6 inches, with a tassel threaded through a punched hole, is a keepsake people actually keep. If you are already giving another favor, a bookmark can double as the tag tied to it.
Favor tags are the smallest version: two lines and your names on a card the size of a luggage tag.
What to print
- The verse. Keep it short. Four lines works on any format; eight is the maximum for a bookmark.
- Your names, as you would like guests to remember them, for example “Elena and Daniel.”
- The date, written out or in numerals, and the place if it matters to the story.
- Optional: a small monogram, a pressed-flower motif, or a line telling guests what the favor is, such as a donation made in their honor or seeds to plant.
Use a typeface that is easy to read in candlelight, at least 11 points, and print a test sheet before running a hundred copies. Matte card stock takes home-printer ink better than glossy.
Fifteen verses to use
Each of these was written for Today’s Weddings. Use them as they are, change a word to suit you, or mix lines from two of them.
Simple thanks
Thank you for the miles you came,
for every smile and every toast.
Of all the gifts we got today,
your being here we’ll treasure most.
You laughed with us, you cried a bit,
you danced until the end.
We couldn’t ask for more than this:
a room of family and friends.
A day like this is best when shared,
and so we’re glad that you were there.
For the part you’ve played in our story so far,
and the chapters still to come — thank you.
For a bookmark
Keep your place in every book
and keep a place for us:
the two who started something new
today, surrounded by your love.
Every good story needs good company.
Thank you for being part of ours.
Page one of a long and happy book,
and you were here to read it.
With a faith note
We made our promises today
before our God and you.
We pray His blessing on each guest
who came to see us through.
Two lives joined, one home begun,
and grace enough for everyone.
Thank you for your prayers and love.
For family
To the people who taught us what love looks like:
thank you for showing us, and for being here today.
Grandparents, parents, cousins, friends,
the ones who knew us way back when:
we’re who we are because of you,
and grateful that you saw this through.
Light-hearted
You RSVP’d, you found the place,
you wore the shoes that hurt.
Thank you for celebrating us.
Now please go get dessert.
We said “I do,” you said “we’ll come,”
and that made all the difference.
For a favor that gives back
In place of a favor, we have made a gift
to a cause close to our hearts,
in honor of the people
who made this day ours.
Plant these seeds and watch them grow,
as we will grow together.
Thank you for being here at the start.
Where to put them
Place one at every setting, on the plate or under the napkin ring, before guests are seated. Or line them up in a basket by the exit with a small sign. If you are tying them to a favor, attach them the week before; it is a good job for an evening with the wedding party. Add a few spares for the band, the photographer and anyone who joins at the last minute.
Related reading
For favors guests actually keep, see our wedding favors guide. For thank-you wording after the wedding, the registry and gift etiquette guide covers thank-you notes and when to send them. And if you want a longer reading for the ceremony itself, browse the readings library.
Written and edited by the Today’s Weddings editors. How we research and check what we publish is set out in our editorial standards. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
