When my wife and I were planning our wedding in 2008 and early 2009, we knew we wanted to keep our ceremony intimate, so we could mingle and interact with all our guests. We personally knew everyone invited and tried to minimize the amount of unknown “plus 1” guests. Well, we knew almost everyone. Just for fun, we sent our wedding invitation to Barack and Michelle … you know, the president and the first lady?
We sent our invites out in April 2009, at the customary eight weeks before the wedding, which was in June 2009.
Michelle and her man finally got back to us last week. And we were thrilled to get the congratulatory note—complete with an official White House seal and everything!
Here’s a little snippet from President Obama’s letter to us (and the envelope was addressed to Ms. Kirsten Ott, my maiden name, and Ms. Maria Palladino, how sweet of them to recognize our same-sex wedding—hopefully, they’ll recognize it legally very soon):
“Congratulations to you on this special occasion. Michelle and I hope it is blessed with love, laughter and happiness.
Your union marks the beginning of a lifelong partnership as you share in the jobs of your life together.
I wish you the very best as you embark on your journey together and hope that your bond grows stronger with each passing year.”
Want to invite the Obamas to your wedding? Here’s how:
Address your invitation to:
The Honorable Barack Obama and Mrs. Obama
The White House
Greetings Office Rm. 39
1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Washington, DC 20500
