Pocket Sized Pastor*

Actually, I just read Etsy Wedding and wait for my fiancee to send me a link about something nice she’s seen. It’s a good way to pretend to be Martha Stewart when I’m really spending my time seeing which celebrity broke up with who. I spend too much of my time on the internets.

Anyways, Etsy Wedding posted their list of Top Ten Men’s Vintage Items of Etsy. I’m not really into the whole vintage craze. It’s always struck me as a way to raid your grandmother’s closet and charge several hundreds of dollars for clothes that smell like old people. I know some people can really make it work though. And I do know that vintage weddings are very trendy right now (though it seems to costs a lot of money to do it right). And if you love old cars, it’s hard to not have a vintage mind set. So, out of the list of ten, I liked 3.

Diamond Cut Cuff Links

Diamond Cut Vintage Cuff Links. You can never have too many cuff links. I like the cut and the design. I have a feeling that, when place on the wrist, the cut is going to go well with the natural contours of the forearm, wrist, and hand. And even though the cut is vintage, the design is classic which means it would work for most tuxes and suits. I like these quite a bit.

Tiger Print Swim Shorts

Manhattan Tiger Print Swim Shorts. To be honest, I couldn’t wear these. I carry all my weight in my giant thighs (I’m short and stocky sadly) but I like the look. Getting away from swim shorts either being speedos or baggy shorts is a nice trend to see. These shorts would fit well, be slimming next to the body – as long as you can avoid the muffin top. Guys having a muffin top is gross. I’m not sure exactly why these are considered wedding related but it’s a nice touch after all.

Bowtie

Big Bow Tie. I won’t be wearing a bow tie at my wedding. BUT, if I was going to, I would rock something that looked like this.

Well, one side of it.

It’s always a good thing when one of your great uncles, who is in ill health and has been struggling for years, can stop smiling at your fiancee and says that she’s very pretty. I never really requested or demanded my family’s support with my choice in fiancee but it’s very good thing to receive.

So, yeah, my fiancee and I took a weekend trip to Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love and the city where my mom was raised. Most of my mother’s family still lives (or is buried) in that area. Norristown, Fort Washington and Upper Dublin is where her clan thrives. We were fed cheese steaks, pasta, zepplins and home made deliciousness. We met my uncle’s new dog, saw my cousin play in her last game of the JV softball season, and I discovered that my fiancee is extremely good at Gin Rummy. It was a perfect little trip.

I’ve never really sought approval from my family when it came to my fiancee. I didn’t go out looking for a girl who my family would fall in love with. Instead, I went looking for the girl who’d be right for me and if my family loved her too, great. If not, well, that would be their loss. Does that make me stubborn and pompous sometimes? Of course – there is a monster in a tux on this page after all. But I don’t like having external, and what I view as unnecessary, pressures when it comes to my personal life. And having high strung parents, when it comes to my fiancee and my wedding day, would just be something I wouldn’t put up with. But it is very nice when my family does like my fiancee and they really do. They couldn’t stop mentioning how pretty she was, how nice she was, and how outgoing she was. They would compare her to my sister-in-law in admiringly ways. And she won them over by being herself, didn’t need to pretend to be kind or considerate or anything like that. She spoke her mind, was kind as she always is, and I saw how well she fits into my extended family. That was nice to see.

My great uncle Tony, at a Mother’s Day brunch that my uncle, aunt, cousins, and mom were at, after saying that my fiancee was pretty, then wondered who were left to get married. My cousins are 15 and 13 and we all looked at them. My fiancee mentioned her younger cousins who are available. For a minute there, my uncle Mike took my fiancee seriously. I could see the look of horror about BOYS appear on his face for a minute. But then my fiancee mentioned they were in Florida and the look on his face mellowed. If I end up with daughters, at least I know that look, that specific look, runs in the family.

These have been sitting in my RSS reader for a week now and I still haven’t commented about it so I might as well just link it. I need to write up a post about my weekend in Philadelphia with my family where my fiancee met a large chunk of my extended family for the first time. I’ll do that after I go to the gym.

Luna Photography

I agree 100% with Manolo for the Brides that Luna Photography of San Diego takes beautiful pictures. It is photographers like this that inspire me to continue to practice and try to get better at my craft. It’s a little too artsy for my fiancee’s taste but just perfect in my opinion.

Design Whimsy

My fiancee found Design Whimsy on Esty. I blogged about it. She blogged about it. Now everyone keeps blogging about them. They have a backlog throughout the summer. Argh. I hope it doesn’t get too late for my fiancee to place her order for our wedding. People need to stop liking the same high quality things I like until after I am finished with them!