Over a decade later, thank yous still wait
ASK AMY
Eleven years ago, I married the most perfect person for me. We’ve been blissfully married ever since.
We had a very small wedding with just our closest family and friends in attendance, or at least that was the plan. We ended up with quite a few tangential people there.
Despite our invitations saying “No gifts, please, people still brought gifts, a lot of gifts.
When we got home after the reception we opened everything and I immediately made a list so I could get my thank-you notes written. I’m fairly disorganized and tend to get scattered.
I got about a quarter of them written. Everything was in a box: the cards, envelopes, stamps, my list, everything! And then, oops, it got mistakenly tossed during a cleaning spree. Help me find peace, please. — SHAMED AND GRATEFUL
You have two choices here: Continue to not get over it, while suspecting that some people think that you are a “crass ungrateful brat,” or ... write your notes!
If your wedding was as small as you say, I’m sure you can figure out who attended, through photos and enlisting the help of your husband, close friends, family and the magic of Facebook.
Celebrate your next wedding anniversary by making this right. You and your spouse should take full responsibility for your inattention, and then let each guest know — by mail — that you are grateful for their presence in your life and at your wedding and that you are still “blissfully married.” Say, “If you gave us a material gift that has not been acknowledged, please let us know so that we may thank you properly for it.” Send along a wedding photo alongside a current photo.
If you’re feeling intimidated, consider watching an episode of called “The Right Thing,” in which Schmidt, a man in his 30s, is tasked with writing thankyou notes to his Bar Mitzvah guests ... 20 years later.