When my girlfriend got married and I was unable to fly from Portland to Chicago for the wedding, I of course intended to send a lovely gift in my place. The wedding came and went, and since I'd heard that it was acceptable to send a wedding gift out any time before the first anniversary, I figured I had plenty of time. The first anniversary came and went. And while I wouldn't think about it all the time, here and there guilt would creep into my mental recordings. I wanted to send a gift and I never considered not doing it, but frankly, as time passed, my sending anything average was out of the question. They lived in Los Angeles and I hadn't spent any time with them as a couple so I didn't really know what to send, but at some point (2 or 3 years in) during a particularly heavy hunting and collecting phase, I decided on vintage barware. It started small with matches, cocktail stirrers, playing cards and before I knew it, a gift was born.

After I had acquired a sizable collection, I wrapped it in vintage wedding paper and sent it on it's way, right around their 5 year anniversary. It was a huge relief to have finally showed up as a decent friend. A friend who was sorry she wasn't there for the wedding and more importantly, a friend who was happy they found each other. As I remember it, they loved the gift and though they may not still have any of that stuff, they probably won't forget it. Now for all those gifts I planned to send for babies of friends... that's another story.