Barack and Michelle Obama Still Reply to Wedding, Graduation, Birthday Invites From Strangers After Leaving White House
Barack and Michelle Obama continue to receive invites for weddings, graduations and birthdays from complete strangers. Even as the former president and first lady are no longer in the White House, they still make it a point to reply to the invitations.
Liz Whitlow sent the Obamas her wedding invitation in March. The former first couple could not attend but they were not remiss in sending back a congratulatory note to Whitlow and her new husband Eddie Edgar.
Whitlow's daughter, Brooke Allen, shared the Obamas' note on Twitter.
"Congratulations on your wedding," the message read. "We hope that your marriage is blessed with love, laughter, and happiness and that your bond grows stronger with each passing year."
Soon after the post went viral, others also shared the replies they received from the former first couple. The Obamas' note was actually a standard form letter that they sent out during their eight years of staying in the White House to anyone who mailed an invitation.
But it was not just wedding invitations that got a reply. The Obamas also get save the dates, birthday invitations, baby announcements and graduation notices.
Aubree Spath told CNN that she mailed her high school graduation announcement to the Obamas and she also received a note.
"It's somewhat magical reading the letter and thinking Obama's proud of you," she said. "It really did put the cherry on top of my senior year."
The White House's Office of Presidential Correspondence sorts over 10,000 mails daily. When Obama assumed the U.S. presidency in 2008, he made it a point to personally reply to 10 mails a day, which his staff sorted and placed in a purple folder during the daily briefings. An average of 300 volunteers, 50 staff and 36 interns go through the White House mails, as per New York Times.