The favorite moment

I guess there has to be a favorite moment from your daughter's wedding

that sticks in your heart and mind forever.

It was right before this photo.

The ceremony was done,

the reception was over,

the eco-fetti gauntlet had been run

and the new couple was safely loaded in the limo that would elegantly

take them away to start this new and exciting life together.

Then I heard a familiar sweet voice softly call out

the sweetest word in the English language;

"Daddy?"

My daughter wanted a kiss goodbye and she whispered a quiet thank you.

My life is all about being a good Husband and Daddy.

There is no better feeling than when you feel you have gotten it right.

When I am old(er) and feeble(er) this memory will still make me smile,

(and make my caregivers wonder what I am up to.)

Can it really be over?

The wedding day has come and gone,

but the exhaustion lingers....

Yep, its hard to believe.

Months and months of preparations,

Miles of scrolls of "Honey Do" lists,

A tremendously overworked Visa card,

And an incredibly exhausting, exciting, emotion filled long weekend

have come to wind down with a whimper and a wheeze

(That was me on Sunday).

I claim the moniker of "Poor Wedding Dad",

but in truth I am rich beyond measure.

I have watched as family and friends worked tirelessly and generously for months helping to get my daughter and new son the "perfect wedding" they wanted.

I have spent the last hour writing and rewriting this posting trying to remember all of you and all of the contributions of time, talent and love that have been made, but it is a job that simply cannot be done adequately.

Can you count the stars and not miss one?

(And believe me, there are a lot of "stars" out there in my sky.)

Much like the stars in the sky,

I know there are those of you out there that made this day possible,

that I don't even know about!

I cannot in good conscience exclude you.

You all know who you are. You know what you have done, and I hope you know how much you are appreciated and loved.

I started this post with the title, "Can it really be over?"

The truth could not be further from that statement.

The truth is that this journey has just started.

The wedding is simply one hour of one day.

It is a mile marker in several lives, that show the day and time when commitments were defined, when relationships were strengthened, and when we, as a family and community of friends and loved ones came together to pledge our support and love for this fine young couple, and to show them our dedication to making their future a journey of love, commitment and joy.

However, In spite of all of this verbose prose,

I suppose that Visa bill is still going to show up.

Thankfully Yours,

Poor Wedding Dad...

ps: To quote Arnold "I'll be back"

The Father of the Bride (The Host) Reception Speech

Yeesh!

This one could take some thought,

and the clock is ticking...

I thought I had my participation in this wedding down pat.

You know the old

"Her Mother and I"

and keep the Visa card handy routine.

And Now This;

"What are you going to say at the reception?"

I have plenty of BAD examples to go with.

Lets see:

1)A long disertation on the first family road trip that included the groom to be.

2) Inquiring of the couple when we can expect to see some grandbabies popping out!

And my personal favorite:

3) The Father of the Groom shows up at the reception with the cumberbund tied around his head. You don't even want to know what he said!

So, Help Me Out!

Any noble examples of "Father of the Bride" speeches?

Particular things to include?

Particular things to exclude?

Really funny examples of Dad's gone bad?

Themes that really worked well?

I am new at this and I only get one shot.

Well, at least with THIS daughter!

(I have two more in the wings to worry about later.)

It worked just fine!

Five weeks and counting,

But who's counting?

Unless you of course are counting:

RSVP's

(Man, who did I forget to offend?)

Vases for the Aisle,

Vases for the Reception,

Vases just to Have More Vases,

Flower, Flowers and Oh, Good Grief,

More Flowers!

When and where did all of this change?

Thirty One Years ago, I was a groom in what I considered to be the biggest shing ding to ever hit our little town since the McDonalds arrived!

(McDonald's had a marching band and parachuters - We did not)

We packed out our little church and the reception followed,

(in the fellowship hall of course)

complete with a multi-layered cake

(two layers)

Hawaiian Punch, mints and mixed nuts,

(Not to be confused with our wedding party)

And,

the reception hall was decorated with SEVERAL rolls of colorful crepe paper!

What Could Be Better?

Of course my future Mother In-Law did not see the need for all of the extravagance!

Her wedding was held at the church,

immediately following the Sunday morning service.

"Now don't go rushing off, Bob & Bonnie are going to get married!"

I am pretty sure they had punch and cookies,

(courtesy of the Church Ladies)

And I do know for a fact that they left the reception in fine style,

Heading off to their one night honeymoon at the "Brown Hotel" in a Taxi Cab.

(They had to walk home the following day - They only had cab fare for the trip there)

(But I bet it was a pleasant walk)

Their marriage lasted their entire life, as pledged.

Our marriage is in its 31st year, also as pledged.

Sometimes, it seems that we get so busy planning the wedding,

that we forget to plan the marriage.

How sad.

So, amongst the:

Guests

Invitations

Venue choice,

DJ & Band Tryouts,

Multiple Dress Fittings,

Writing of the Vows and Speeches,

Selection and taste tastings of the menu,

Collection and Selection of the Flowers & Vases,

Lets Not Forget:

That we are

building a marriage,

Not a wedding.

(And you got to admit, it makes a pretty cool Christmas tree)

The Mailing List

Who to invite, whom to exclude...

(See, I was paying attention in grammer class!)

"Oh, but we have to invite them!"

Have I even met them?

(And I am talking about OUR side of the guest list.)

Now I did understand the time honored tradition of inviting the "out of state relative" that won't possibly even consider making the trip, but should be good for a gift;

BEFORE I SAW THE PRICE OF INVITATIONS!

(I don't see any gifts arriving with my name on them!)

But when I came across this one....

Oh, for crying out loud!

Can we draw a line somewhere!

Actually, if he would come I would gladly foot the bill, BUT

He is sitting at my table!

I have a few things to discuss!

The Male's Mail

Yep, I know you had to read it twice, but this weekend's mail delivery really opened my eyes to the difference between Female Mail and Male Mail.

Huh?

Well you must understand that since the nearly divine act of completing and mailing of the

"Invitations"

the daily receipt of mail, carrying the all important

"RSVP Cards"

is a daily cause for celebration!

Each day the mail carrier is greeted by my youngest daughter, (middle school age & a bridesmaid), and she quickly separates out the RSVP cards and e-mails her sister, (engaged daughter) with the daily responses.

How exciting!

However, Saturday also brought the first official,

"WEDDING PREPARATIONS VISA BILL !!"

Funny, nobody claimed or celebrated over that.

(Well, I do admit to shedding a few tears!)

I Should Have Seen It Coming

If you follow my blog, you know that I like to lament on my frustrations & confusion over the complexity of this entire wedding thing, not to mention the financial aspect of it all!

Complex wedding invitations, multiple dress fittings, several different types of shoes for different participants for each portion of the proceedings, etc.

However, I must say that in all honesty,

"I did see this coming."

It all started 32 years ago when I asked my beloved a simple question:

"Do you want to get married?"

Before I knew it, the announcement was in the paper, the invitations were being sent out and my first ever "Honey Do List (Scroll)" was being printed.

My daughters have inherited my wife's "I know what I want and how I want it" gene.

By the time of our wedding 31.5 years ago, I had created sixteen wooden candle sconces to hang on the church pews, complete with hurricane globes, (the sconces at the rental place were just not right), and a custom hand crafted kneeling bench since the ones we found available were "just not what she had in mind."

That's without mentioning the countles weekends spent searching shoe stores for the wedding shoes she could "just see in my mind."

(Apparently no shoe designer had shared her vision!)

Now its important to remember that while doing all of this custom wedding implement fabrication, I was also carrying a double load of senior level accounting/auditing classes at an out of town University and interviewing to hopefully start my career with a national accounting firm.

(Part of the plan was to be employed when I got married!)

I was busy!

So, this involved wedding planning process is really no big surprise.

My "to do" list this time around includes:

1) Removing the 93 "Flags of all nations" currently displayed 24' off of the sanctuary floor in the front of the church, (the day before the wedding).

2) Designing and building "boxes" that will cover the 93 flag mounts that will remain on the front wall of the church after the 93 "Flags of all nations" have been removed.

3) Successfully installing said boxes 24' off of the sanctuary floor after flags have been removed, (the day before the wedding).

4) Designing, fabrication and installing (the day before wedding) a new white drop curtain to conceal sanctuary light equipment 28" off of sanctuary floor.

5) Procuring and temporarily installling mini-blinds on glass door of room in church where the bride will be preparing, (a taped up pillow case wouldn't work?)

6) Removing and restoring all sanctuary modifications before church service the next day.

The "real scary" part of all of this is that I know,

"The List Has Just Begun!"

(You know, when we had "We've Only Just Begun" played at our wedding,

I never really appreciated the hidden meaning )

"The Getaway!"

Nope, I am not a big fan of the 1972 movie.

(Apologies to all of you Steve McQueen/Ali MacGraw fans)

(p.s. If you understand the above references, please click your AARP cards on your dentures as applause)

I am referring to the traditional send off of the Bride & Groom.

You know the whole "form a line and pelt the bride and groom with whatever is environmentally friendly as they dash off to the awaiting get away vehicle" gig.

I have seen the "newly hitched" leave in horse drawn carriages, every sort of limo and I have even heard the idea of using a tandem bicycle immortilized in song.( Yeah...It didn't go over well in the song either!)

A long time ago,

in a galaxy far, far away,

my bride and I opted to leave the wedding

in my current "get me through college" clunker

which just happened to be a 1967 Mustang Coupe!

(If I can find the actual photo from the wedding, I will substitute it, promise!)

So....I was pleased as punch when my friend's son "Alex" asked me to use my current 67 mustang as the getaway vehicle to deliver him and his new bride to their reception.

Some things just never go out of style.

(p.s. "Engaged Daughter" is opting for the Limo)

Getting Fit for the wedding

I know that everyone is concerned about "getting fit" for the wedding, but ladies this is getting ridiculous!
I have also noticed that is much more important for the ladies, especially "The Bride" than it is for the guys, Groom included.
No, I am not talking about going to the gym, watching the diet or long runs on the beach.

I am talking about

"The Fittings"

Every other weekend, my "engaged daughter" travels 150 miles round trip for yet another fitting with her wedding gown seamstress!

Yeesh, how big a deal can this be?

In "Gray's Anatomy" Lizzy just slipped on Meredith's gown and marched off down the aisle.

Looked Okay To Me!

I didn't see 20 trips to the lady that can't talk right because she has pins in her mouth!

In quiet contrast, the men (Groom Included) stop off at "The Men's Warehouse" one time for a 2 minute measurement, pick up the tuxes 12 hours before the big event and "We Are Done."

Shiny shoes and everything!

(see prior blog for my view on the shoes)

To quote Henry Higgins (Mr. Rex Harrison) from the movie "My Fair Lady";

"Why can't a woman be more like a man?"

The "Wedding" Budget

My wife and I, like most loving parents,

(who are terrified that this upcoming wedding will bankrupt them)

sat down with our lovely "engaged daughter" early in this pre-wedding journey to discuss,

"The Budget".

I must admit, that even though I wore my most somber "budgeting dad" expression, that I was very pleased and relieved at the budget number decided upon. I am not totally naive, so I did realize that there would be overruns, (as there is in any budget), and although I had my "budget overrun scowl" already practiced and stored away for certain use, secretly I was in a very good fiscal mood.

What I did not count on, were the "Off Budget Items!"

(I should have got a clue from our current federal government situation)

No, I am not talking about my wife's "mother of the bride dress" or the fact that there is a "mother of the bride" dress for each wedding shower, for the rehearsal and for the wedding, nor am I talking about the fact the there will be shoes, accessories and possibly jewelry to complete the look for each of the aforementioned events.

Nope, I am talking about the

"OFF, OFF, OFF BUDGET ITEMS!"

I was recently sitting in my very nicely decorated, very comfortable family room in my equally pleasant domicile, when my wife brought up the idea of a new sectional for said room. Huh? I thought our couch and loveseat were fine.

I was wrong!

Our furniture was not suitable at all (Silly man)! Okay, I will indulge said nesting mood and help shop for a new sectional.

That is when the flood gates burst!

And I thought the carnage from Katrina was bad! Where oh where is FEMA!

I now realize that not only was our couch and loveseat inadequate but:

Our "comfy" blue chair needed recovering,

The two small family room chairs needed help,

The formal dining room chairs required recovering,

The front room, entry way, dining room, family room, kitchen, breakfast nook, main hallway and second guest room needed paint,

The front porch needed not only a fresh coat of floor paint but an entire replacement of the railing system,

and the entire house had to be re-carpeted!

Oh, and a darling cabinent was found that needs to be stripped and repainted.

(It was a deal!)

Now, what makes this really interesting is the fact that;

No wedding events are happening at our house.

That's right. Nothing, nada, zilch!

No backyard wedding, no picnic reception, not even a shower!

I can't even imagine if..............

And so we enter yet another chapter of:

Poor Wedding Dad

(Have pity)

Invitation Construction - Weekend #2

Yes, you read the title correctly.

We are about to start our second weekend of

"Invitation Construction"!

As a little background, and to give credit where credit is due...

My currently engaged daughter has a reputation for being, shall we say "high maintenance."

There is never any doubt about "what it is she wants and how things are going to be," so my wife and I entered this wedding planning era of our life with some serious concerns.

Now, I am very proud to say that although our daughter knows exactly "what it is she wants and how things are going to be," she has also shown great frugality and creativity in obtaining her goals.

The most obvious example to date pertains to;

(que up low rumbling music)

THE INVITATIONS!

(insert scream soundtrack here)

To clear up your confusion, I should explain that my daughter found "The Perfect" invitations. Perfect that is except for the price! I think I overheard something along the lines of $15 each, although this was purposely discussed in the other room, safely away from Dad!

(Gotta keep dad's fragile heart in mind).

Enter the frugality I am so proud of.

Engaged daughter knew she wanted these invitations, and knew the price was way out there, so she got hold of "Crafty, Artsy" sister and figured out how to produce these invitaions for a VERY small portion of the price. "Crafty, Artsy" sister got a local printer to print and cut out the multitude of pieces that comprise said invitation, and "engaged daughter" scheduled an "invitation construction weekend" including both sets of parents, siblings, boyfriend of sibling, neighbors, friends and I think a guy we picked up outside Home Depot!

(All I know is that they all stayed for dinner!)

On Saturday morning, I was approached gingerly and told that I would be needed to run a multitude of support errands instead of actually being involved in the cutting, taping, gluing, assembling rinse and repeat.

Imagine my total and complete Joy!

Anyway, after a complete weekend of all of the above operations; progress was made. (Yep, progress). These things are still a long ways from being done.

From what I can figure, these things are some kind of a pop-up origami full scale replica of the Eiffel tower with paper mache doves circling overhead, and somewhere in all of this is something called a "Belly Band." (I thought that was what the Shriners called their parade ensemble).

It goes without saying that I will be up all night tonight praying for a long list of errands for tomorrow morning.

"Dibs"

I am a husband and the father of four beautiful daughters.

As such, I have been dealing with "Dibs" for as long as I can remember.

No, I am not talking about those wonderful ice cream treats that you can pop in your mouth like popcorn (and incidently will puff you up like popcorn!)

I am referring to the calling of "Dibs" for everything from a window seat, to the last piece of pizza.

With the attainment of an "appropriate age of matrimony", the girls have all started to call dibs on everything from flower type to church, reception site, wedding colors, etc. ad nauseum!

I bring this up because I have witnessed an extremely rare event I call,

"The Giving of the Dibs"

My currently engaged daughter and fiance have graciously informed me that since I am spending a king's ransom on this "small intimate ceremony and gathering of friends," that I may choose to wear either a tuxedo or a suit.

That was subsequently modified to:

"You may pick out your own tux."

Now I am not exactly a fashion guru, but I do own every solid color Izod short sleeve polo shirt sold!

So, I do have some expertise in fashion.

That said, I found my tuxedo, or at least a picture of the look I am striving for!

(Hey, it looked great on Alan Arkin and Peter Falk!)

Now, back to the

"Giving of the Dibs."

When I presented my selection to my engaged daughter, she replied, "Dad, I think that is what my sister has always dreamed of. I wouldn't want to take that from her."

It's a Miracle, The Giving of the Dibs!

Sounds like "I" have decided to wear a black tux after all.

Talking To Her Dad!

Now this posting may seem to apply to the grooms and potential grooms, but lets face it;

Grooms don't read this stuff!

And...The reality is, we all know who "Grooms the Groom!" now don't we...

Now you all think this has to do with the big ceremonial, ancient ritual of

"Asking the father for permission to marry the daughter."

but lets not get ahead of ourselves.

I suspect that many of you out there are still a little bit away from THAT scenario, and are still dealing with a potential groom, or still "seeking" said potential groom.

That said, let us start with the basics.

"Meeting the Dad"

If I could pass on THEE most important thing you can advise your groom (potential groom, virtual groom, etc) to do when first meeting the "Dad"; it would be to:

"Look him in the eye and shake his hand!"

Yeesh!

You would think this stuff would be taught in boy's 5th grade gym class, but I can't tell you how terrible it is to have your daughter introduce you to (insert rodent's name here) and have the ingrate look as his shoes, stuff his hands in his pockets and turn away!

Face it, no guy will ever be good enough in a father's eyes, but at least he wants to know the guy is a man!

ps: This protocol also applies to each and every subsequent meeting.

Its easy, its simple, and it keeps the dad from glancing around the room looking for an available baseball bat!

(deep breath, check pulse, regulate blood pressure...)

Okay now, onto that "OTHER" Dad and other potential uninvited family member meeting.

I know it is archaic, ancient, demeaning, sexist, etc, etc, etc.

BUT IT IS SO IMPORTANT TO THE DAD!

Try to look at it this way, the Dad is about to lose (in his mind) one of the most important treasures of his life, his little girl, and as a consolation prize, its probably gonna cost him a bundle to do it!

The Dad knows he doesn't have to be asked.

The Dad knows he doesn't have a choice,

(Face it, he probably is or was married at some time in his life. Nuff said)

The Dad knows that once this "wedding" ball gets rolling, nobody is going to ask him anything else.

Do him a favor:

"Ask Him"

It doesn't matter if he is asked "For His Permission" or "For His Blessing".

He can't say "no".

He knows the deal is already done, and at some time he has to face his wife and daughter!

(And grooms think Dad's are scary!)

I have been asked once.

(I should have been asked twice by now, and being asked is much better)

I have to admit that I lectured for at least 90 minutes, but...I knew it was my last shot for a long time.

AND I WAS RIGHT!

So, to sum it up:

1) Look Dad in eye.

2) Shake his hand.

3) Ask him.

4) Shut up and listen.

Remember, some bum may be "asking" you some day!

What Is He Thinking! Does He Have A Clue?

In my original post, I dedicated this site to all of us long suffering dads. However, I have found myself welcomed and embraced by all of you brides!

First of all, thank you.

I really started this blog as a joke to parody what my daughter was doing on http://august15bride.blogspot.com/ (a really good site), not realizing how involved this blogging is and never having any idea how many of you would be interested in what I would have to say!

That has NEVER happened at home!

Anyway, as my title states, As you travel this road we call wedding planning, apparently many of you wonder about your dad, "What Is He Thinking! & Does He Have A Clue?"

Okay, first of all,

YOU DO NOT WANT TO KNOW WHAT HE IS THINKING!

Trust me on this. Its the same thing he has been thinking since his 15th birthday and you don't EVER want to go there. Let me assure you that your parents found you and your siblings in wicker baskets left on their front doors by loving mothers who are complete strangers.

Now on to the second question:

"Does He Have A Clue?"

Answer: "Nope!"

We were clueless as grooms, (as your beloved groom is) and we haven't changed a bit. Most of us think of invitations as something you pick up at Hallmark. "30 cents each? Sounds fair." We definitely don't get this envelope inside an envelope with an envelope deal. So, take it easy on us. Although most of us Dad's may seem to worship tools, (Can we talk about the new matt finish Snap-On combination metric wrenches?) we simply don't have the tools (or have any desire to obtain the tools) to understand all of this.

{ Segue: My daughter has just fallen in love with shoes to wear to the reception? What? Does the 30' she is going to walk in her "Wedding Shoes" exceed the warrantee? This shoe thing has me completely baffled}

BUT, most of us really want to be there to support you .

So...In addition to asking you to give your Dad a break, I am also opening a forum for your questions. If you wonder, "What Is He Thinking?" or " Does He Have A Clue?" I invite you to ask away. If you are "wondering", I am sure there are lots of other brides wondering the same thing.

Or maybe you are just really strange, but either way it may be enlightening or entertaining at the least.

Now, for our first caller on line one......

A Dad's perspective...

In my humble opinion, Hollywood does a really crummy job of capturing the "real" moments of our of normally mundane lives. These "real" moments define who we are, capture the essence of our being and if you will excuse the comparison, "place the bookmarks in the story of our life." (Hey, that's not bad!)

There are notable exceptions.

In an earlier post, I attempted to terrify my daughter and wife by pretending to post photos of the first fitting of her wedding dress. By the way, it worked!



This past weekend my wife presented me with a photograph she had dug out of the family archives. This is the lovely bride to be, with her cousin Emily at "The First Fitting."

(Que up high volume "Awww!!!")

This is one moment Hollywood got right, in what I consider to be the most memorable moment from the remake of the movie " Father of the Bride."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47aPsSbRcTc&feature=PlayList&p=812A6E15D292D6C7&index=11

You want to see things from the Dad's perspective?

That about sums it up.

Love you Sweetie!

Ps. This not my swan song, I have lots more to say!

DGRIN

If The Shoe "Rents"...

Okay, I admit that I am new to this "Father of the Bride" thing, and I had better get a good handle on it pretty soon seeing that I have four beautiful daughters!

However, I am confused about this whole "Tuxedo Shoes" thing.

I have been hearing wife and daughter chatter about a lot of wedding issues, but I was concerned when I think I heard my wife reassuring my daughter that she need not be concerned about my new "wedding shoes" purchase; that I would be wearing "proper" tuxedo shoes at her wedding!

Now I realize that this wedding is about a whole lot of things, and that I am "not" included in that list, but what is the deal with these shoes!

Tuxedo Shoes?


Are you kidding me?

These things look like plastic 1970's marching band shoes!

Where are the spats?

I remember wearing these things at my wedding in 1978, but I was too young and stupid to wonder why I was wearing shoes that probably were at a high school prom the weekend before!

Now the fine leather "Florsheims" "Wedding Shoes" that I so frugally purchased for $59 at the local Beall's Department store (On sale at 40% off!), are proudly displayed below:

Now that is a fine shoe! Leather uppers and "dance floor smooth" soles.

Quality leather, timeless styling and dare I say, comfort? I realize the word "comfort" and "wedding shoes" may not be used in the same sentence very often in wedding planning, but as Martha would say,

"It is a good thing."

I have no delusions about winning this battle, but hey, at least I had my say!

To paraphrase a popular 60's saying:

"Keep On Blogging"

The thing that keeps me up at night!

I know that brides are supposed to have "pre-wedding jitters"and maybe even a major breakdown (or two, or three, etc. ad nauseum), and that the moms have to fret over finding that perfect dress, (or two or three based on the number of rehearsals, showers, etc.).

I am also aware that a groom or two has been known to develop "cold feet" at some time during the decade long process of wedding planning, even though they have virtually nothing to plan, shop for or even organize!

However, when it comes to the father of the bride, it is assumed that our big worry is remembering our one big line;

"Her Mother And I"

WRONG!!!

Perhaps you have forgotten the most terrorizing part of the entire shower, wedding, reception ordeal,

"The Father Daughter Dance!"

(Que up the Stephen King Scream Audio)

For 50 years I have avoided the idea of standing on a dance floor with one of my beautiful daughters; on her most special day; surrounded by 400 plus expectant eyes (2 per person!), and countless professional and professional wannabe photographers, and knowing full well in my heart that my dance talents consist of two dance moves, specifically "The Wounded Chicken" and the ever famous "White Man Overbite."

I have spent several television seasons carefully examining the dance moves exhibited on "Dancing With The Stars," but I have come to the conclusion that neither the Argentine Tango, the Non-Argentine Tango (?), the Quick Step, The Jive or the ever popular "Passo Doubley (My spelling) are suitable for a Father/Daughter dance.

Now, my lovely daughter has not yet informed me of the music we will be dancing to, (Hint, Hint), so I have decided on a general purpose video instruction program.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tD7Rj8GkBtM

Hmm, maybe this isn't exactly what she has in mind.

Any hints?

The First Fitting

Wow! What a Dad moment. Watching my baby have the first fitting of her wedding dress. These are the moments when dry eyes are just not allowed, but I was just too WOWED to even puddle up a little. What a beautiful bride she will be.
The first fitting actually happened about two weeks ago and I was there, but yesterday I had her Mom's camera and saw the photos for the first time.
Sorry honey, but I just can't wait to share them!

(INSERT HYSTERICAL MANIACAL LAUGHTER HERE !)

Was this a mean trick?

Sorry honey, I would NEVER show your wedding gown photos.

I am only imagining my wife and daughter's blood pressure as they waited for the non-existent photo to load.

I expect to get a phone call or two from this one, and possibly a night on the couch.

This is a very interesting time of my life. I have always been accused of being "cheap", and being that I am the father of four daughters, it is a misrepresentation that I am glad to encourage! My boss (of 29 years) even likes to tell his friends that I am so cheap that I won't let him spend his own money! (His Ferrari, Bentley and ranch in Montana seem to be at odds with that.)
The truth is, I am actually an old softy pushover, and I am really only cheap when it comes to spending money for and on myself.
This is an interesting time, because I am now dealing with the first formal wedding of a daughter. (I will further explain my use of the word "formal" at some other time.)
As the preparations and spending, are gearing up and gaining speed, the illusion of my "cheapness" is starting to wear away!
How can I continue to protect this image that I have spent so many decades perfecting?
I can ponder this, because all ot the actual "wedding ponderings" seem to be off limits to me!

This Blog is dedicated to all of us longsuffering, budget busted, smiling while we watch our retirement dreams disappear, fathers of wedding age daughters!