DEAR ABBY: Please inform your readers not to invite people to bridal showers if they're not invited to the wedding.
I was invited to a shower and accidentally found out I wasn't being invited to the wedding. At first I was upset, but imagine how mortified I felt when I was told that if some of the invited guests sent back a refusal, then I would be invited to the wedding. I would have preferred to have been told, "I'd love to have you, but we just can't afford to invite all of the lovely people we would like."
I know this isn't the first time you've mentioned something like this in your column, but it amazes me how insensitive people can be. -- SECOND STRING, BRADFORD, MASS.
DEAR SECOND STRING: Being told we are at the top of the "B" list makes us feel really wanted, doesn't it? If people would take just a moment to consider how their words and deeds affect others, what a kinder, gentler world this would be.
P.S. For the record: People who will not be invited to the wedding should not be asked to attend a bridal shower.