Gifts from People Who Weren't Invited

roseariel

We had a really small wedding and didn't invite all of our distant relatives.  We still got a few gifts from people who were not invited.  I am not sure what to say in the thank yous.  Most of them I'm saying something like "It was wonderful to have you at our wedding celebration.  Thank you for [whatever the gift was]."  It will look really sparse to just say thank you and nothing else, but I don't know what else to put.  I can't put "We missed having you at the wedding" because they weren't even invited.  Any ideas?

haleyrealtor

Oh yeah, don't address the fact that you didn't invite them. I'm sure they understand (if they were mad, they wouldn't have sent anything). Love the wording of the PP's.

jacquiforbes

How about
"Dear Bill and Margaret,
We sincerely appreciate the thoughtfulness of the wedding gift you sent to us!  We will certainly cherish it--always!  We regret that, in these economic times, that we could not afford to invite as many people as we would have liked, and the fact that you thought enough of us to send us a gift although you didn't attend the wedding makes it even more cherished by us.  More than the lovely gift, we cherish the love and friendship that we share with you,  Thank you for your thoughtfulness and for showing us what love is all about.

Lovingly yours,

Cathy & Eric"
(and enclose a wedding photo and copy of the DVD for them).

jacquiforbes

Not mentioning that you didn't invite them doesn't give them closure.  They will be wondering why you didn't invite them.  An unscrupulous person would ask why they didn't attend or why their invitation was returned and then thank them.  That was the advice my classmate who I told about this just gave me.

EmIuliana

I was thinking of something like "thank you very much for your gesture of sending this gift to me. it will come in really handy! hope to see you soon."... I hope this will seem helful to you!