Barack and Michelle Obama left the White House almost 200 days ago, but some supporters of the 44th president are still reaching out to him as if he were in office. We’re not talking about policy changes, though he probably gets plenty of letters about that still. It seems many people are still inviting the Obamas to their weddings — and the Obamas are writing back.
Twitter user Brooke Allen posted the response her mother, Liz Whitlow, just received after inviting the couple to their wedding in March.
“Congratulations on your wedding,” said the signed card that Liz Whitlow and Eddie Edgar received. “We hope that your marriage is blessed with love, laughter, and happiness and that your bond grows stronger with each passing year. This occasion marks the beginning of a lifelong partnership and as you embark on this journey, know you have our very best for the many joys and adventures that lie ahead.”
Allen’s tweet has been flooded with replies, many from people sharing photos of their own responses from the Obamas, congratulating them on weddings, new babies, and graduations. Inviting sitting presidents (along with celebrities and cartoon characters) to weddings is a time-honored tradition that’s usually done just to get that declined RSVP as a keepsake.
One couple in Manchester, England, sent an invitation to Queen Elizabeth in 2012, and though her office declined, she surprised them by stopping by anyway.
Inviting former presidents, however, may be a new thing. In a text that Allen also posted, Whitlow made her political preference in making this gesture known, writing, “I didn’t send one to Trump.”
— b. (@96_brooke) July 31, 2017
While Obama was in office, it doesn’t seem like he accepted any of these hopeful invitations, though he did crash one wedding at San Diego’s Torrey Pines Golf Course, after he finished the 18th hole.
His hobby also led a Hawaii golf course to relocate an Army couple’s wedding to another site on the property for security purposes. When Barack found out, he called the couple to apologize during their ceremony. “Listen, congratulations on your wedding. I feel terrible,” the president told the couple, according to ABC News. “Nobody told us, and had they mentioned they were going to have a wedding on the 16th hole, we would have skipped the 16th hole. But I hope the wedding went OK anyway.”
The groom, Capt. Edward Mallue, asked the president if he’d like to attend the reception later. “You don’t want me at the reception,” Obama said in a video posted on ABC News. “Everybody would have to be magged [checked by security]. Congratulations and thank you both for your service.”
