Hi all, I'm looking for something stronger than "sincerely" to end a letter with. The usual "warm regards" and "sincerely" or "yours sincerely" feel too ordinary. The intended tone is to match the emotion that what was written, which has romantic content or talk about feelings, was said sincerely, but also in recognition that it might be the last communication or final attempt to reach out or speak of their feelings that they will ever have. I.e. it is potentially the final statement ever made to them. Cheers
Non-serious addition: I have been, and always shall be your friend. Live long and prosper. Serious one: God bless you <name> with love, <name> Many many many people have written passionate love letters to sweethearts they thought they may never see again. I googled "love letter wwii soldier."
[Pulls out moldy stack of love letters] I had an ex who successfully used these: If you want it to be kind of, um...hot: 1. Yours, (and then just his first initial, because after all, he was mine so I presumably knew his name) Let's say his name was David. Then it would be: Always and forever, Your David Or, if a pet names were used (thankfully, we didn't): Always and forever, Your Davykins They were so successful, in fact, that the reason he's an ex is that he used them successfully on too many of us at the same time. ;-D On the other end of the spectrum, a knightly kind of romantic ex who I still think of fondly used: Thinking of you only,
@Tenderiser's are all good, and Shenanigator's suggestions as well. On another note I knew a guy who always started them with "My Heart," Which women just ate the hell up. Which amused me because as @Shenanigator experienced - it was so he didn't have to try to remember their names.
With all due affection, your: (check all that apply) ⎕ Love ⎕ Friend ⎕ Acquaintance ⎕ Creepy Stalker -- Dave.
I knew a guy at uni who used to start his letters "my darling" for the same reason ... he got caught out in the end but it took a while
I end a lot of my correspondence with With Respect Bob No matter what your relationship is, business, friends or romantic there is no higher praise than offering someone than the ultimate compliment
While I appreciate your reasoning behind the sentiment, I think I'd interpret that sign off as a "let's just part as friends" because it sounds so businesslike. So be sure you're clear in the letter!
Shenanigator, you give me no credit as a letter writer. The demeanor, I use in all my correspondence is always supportive and positive. Even for the few nasty letters I have written, I offer solutions and do so diplomatically. Even in that context, there would little room to take my ending any other way than the way it has been offered.
In the context of romantic love/feelings that may never be fully realised, I think something like "forever yours" or (depending on the stage of emotional attachment) "yours in longing" would end it on a bittersweet, emotive kind of note. Like even though we may go our separate ways ways physically, part of me goes with you.
I intended no offense, just stated what my interpretation would be and that for me, the context would need to be crystal clear. Likely, my interpretation comes from what we used as the ultimate F-you kiss-off at one company where I worked. It was "With all due respect," which meant the person had done something hideous and was deserving of absolutely no respect. If the boss was sending such a letter, it meant shit was going down and Legal probably had to OK the letter before it went out, if they weren't already involved in drafting it. Off-topic, but we also had a specific hierarchy to Warmest regards, Kindest regards, Kind regards, and Regards. Warmest regards was for most beloved clients or the kind of business relationships where you had social interaction over the years and knew what their kids were doing in school. Regards meant we were ticked off at the person, but it wasn't quite as bad as saying "With all due respect"
Thanks for explaining that. With no real connection to the professional world, I was un-aware of that. My correspondence being personal for the most part, I figured it the highest praise. I wonder how many people questioned my intent after reading your notes....Thanks