Wedding Ideas

How to write a letter he'll love

The first secret to writing a love letter to a man is brevity. Favor short notes. Men have economical attention spans, even for descriptions of their greatness. A fella wants to hear two things: 1) You've noticed his virtues, but 2) you dig him for mysterious reasons that have more to do with his elemental maleness than with his kindness, wit, intelligence or any of his countless admirable, but less George Clooney-esque traits.

Here's the template:
My Dearest Hugh (you can use your sweetheart's name if you prefer), I'm crazy about you for a hundred reasons I can describe—your (fill in an outstanding trait), your (fill in another fine feature), the way you (fill in something he does just right), the way you (fill in another specific behavior). But my love for you is also deeper than the way you do the things you do. You make the world exciting for me, and I cherish the chance to share my life with you.

All my love,
(Your name here)

Noticing each other is the most charming thing we humans do. Remember, a love note has zero impact if it's generic, if it could be written by anybody and to anybody. The key is the specificity and care with which you observe your beloved.

Hugh O'Neill is the author of A Man Called Daddy: A Celebration of Fatherhood. This article was originally published in the January/February 2007 issue of Hallmark Magazine.