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Oh, the dilemma. What the hell do I gift the man who is one part MacGyver, one part mountain man, two parts sentimental mushy man, and a whole lotta amazing? What the hell do I give him on our wedding day to encapsulate how excited I am to marry him, how in awe I am of him every day, and how much I am looking forward to the next sixty years together?!?!
OK, for real.
Mr. Pencils and I have decided to do that tradition of giving each other gifts on our wedding day. My brother of honor will deliver his gift, and his best men will bring his to me at some point prior to our first look. It’s all happy and dandy until I realize I need to actually pick something—soon—and save up for it and buy it!
First up, the classic cufflinks.
’Cept Mama Pencils gifted him some nice ones for college graduation a few years back. Sweet, those are out. We’re not classy enough for these, anyway.
I mentioned that I also considered giving him a day of skydiving. We did this for the first time together during the summer of 2004, and I thought he would like doing something adventurous. I also have mentioned that he doesn’t want to do this—he told me he wants something he can hold and treasure.
Hokay, so.
How about a cool painting to hang in our house? Some websites suggest a rendering of the happy couple. I’d rather not. Why not something other than our mugs, like this abstract art that ROCKS:
For the mountain man/MacGyver in Mr. Pencils, there is one thing I have strongly pondered:
A quality knife made by an amazing company based out of my home state of Idaho. Mr. Pencils always has a pocket knife on him, and I could get it engraved with our wedding date. But, he has so many pocket knives. Would it be significant enough?
Then, Mr. P’s uncle, and our officiant, approached me with a final good idea. I’ve shared that Mr. Pencils’ father passed away ten years ago. His uncle put the seed in my head about doing something with his family tree. Something that I could create, that could be a piece of art that means something. A family tree, sorta like these:
source - originally envelope liners!
Or the now famous idea of fingerprints as leaves, as seen here ’round the ‘bee, but in family tree form:
Is this cheesy? I am pretty sure it may end up looking like a five year old made it, as I have zilcho artistic skills. But I’d get to do some research into our families and make a tree to represent our new family. It’d be semi-DIY but also hopefully sorta nice. Agree/disagree?
What are you gifting your soon-to-be-spouse? If you have any thoughts or good ideas, please share with the hive! I need help!
I have always loved the simple lines of the fan chart from Martha Stewart. As long as you can use a ruler and write, DIY shouldn’t be too hard…
I love the idea of either the family tree or abstract art! Is there someone artistic you know who could paint something to try to capture these things in a cool way? Not a literal painting but one that captures the essence of his parents and your relationship (ok that’s a lot to ask for in a painting but I hope you get the idea!)
I love the idea of the family tree and you might surprise yourself with how amazing your DIY tree turns out!
My Mr’s parents both died about 10 years ago and I’m thinking about gifting him with something that brings back good memories.
Th family have lots of super 8 videos from years ago so I plan on converting them to DVD and presenting them to him the night before the wedding…I would do it the day of but I’m afraid that it might make him sad and I want nothing but happiness on our wedding day.
au contraire pencils–we’ve seen some of your crafting skills and i think you could totally do a fabulous job with the thumbprint family tree!
mr. and i haven’t talked about it yet, but we’ll probably just do cards because we be lazy.
I love the idea of the fingerprint family tree!
I do have a idea. And I know he will LOVE it because it’s His Favorite Sport + Me with him (this sport I hate) + In a beautiful country during our HM + something he will never ask for bc it’s $$$ and he knows I hate this sport but I know HE will love it = best gift E-ver.
Haha. As you can tell it’s a surprise! Even though we said no presents…the weddings enough! Hahah. But it’s an opportunity of a lifetime I can’t let him pass up!!!
Im gifting him an engraved bottleof Johnny Walker Blue. Hes a big fan of the label. There isnt much else that I could get him that he would really use unless it was a Johnny pin, which he already has and uses everyday.
I like the family tree idea - why not commission an Etsy artist to do it for you? If you want to make it more personal, you can have them just paint or illustrate the tree art and you can write in the names yourself. Then take it to a local frame shop and have it framed for your house!
The ideas I have come up with for the wedding day presents are all over the board but I do love the idea of art. For our one year anniversary I gave my FI a framed letterpress card that says You Are My Sunshine he hung it next to our bed and it always makes us smile. Another great thing about something that is framed on the wall you have less of a chance of losing it or saying you are saving it for a special occasion and never using it.
I’m in favor of the knife. I like everyday objects, because every time he uses it, he’ll think of you and the wedding. I’m giving mine a large engraved spoon b/c he likes to eat everything with a large spoon. Also, our wedding theme is ‘Eat, Drink and Be Married’ and our wedding monogram is a fork and spoon.
I will admit to the fact I only read this entire post cause MacGyver was in the intro 
The second family tree is beautiful!!! :] I think it’d be nice and with it framed and on your wall, it’ll be like a dual function art piece? 
I’m not sure what to get him. He’s quite the history buff and aviation nerd, so I’m usually pretty safe with something in those categories.
Hehe, I saw your first picture and thought “Ooooh! Stargate!”
I’m kind of stuck on this idea too. Mr. SB is hard to please and whatever I get him he will probably comment about how we could have saved money or didn’t need it. And I can’t go getting him the complete Star Trek TNG DVD set, because that doesn’t really encompass our love.
I think it is such a cute idea! And those were envelope liners?? I’m dying a little bit because they are so gorgeous!
I like the family tree idea! Maybe you could even do an Etsy alchemy request for something like that.
The family tree is such a cool idea - thanks for adding ours to the roundup! (White tree on Grey)
We have the tree for sale on our Etsy Shop as an etched mirror and makes a great gift. Here’s the link in case anyone is interested!
The family tree is a great idea. I want to get the Mr. a custom beer pong table since he says that he fell in love with me while playing drinking games back in the day lol
Love the idea of the family tree. Not only will it be educational it can be art for your wall. I especially love the white with gray from Inspired Goodness.
What a great idea.
We are not officially doing gifts, but when I found http://www.myheinz.com/ I realized it would be the perfect gift for the FI who puts ketchup on everything. It’s going to say:
M&G
Est. 2001
Inc. 2010
(cause those are the years we started dating/will get married)
it’s also a bit kooky, but I like it.
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Mrs. Pencils, Washington DC/Frederick, MD Age and Occupation: 24, Program Director, Education Non Profit Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Administrative Assistant, Ocean Conservation Non Profit Engagement Date: July 26, 2008 Wedding Date: May 2010 Venue: Morningside Inn About Me: I'm a nerdy Northwestern girl who always knew she was meant to live in the East, harboring a deep love of ice cream, underwear, Diet Coke with a splash of Coca-Cola, pashminas, scrapbooking, stationery, wall calendars and books written for preteens. I think every day should include good thin crust pizza, chocolate, an obscure historical monument, lots of laughter, a dash of wedding planning and, of course, amazing Mr. Pencils! I'm loving the adventure of planning a Maryland wedding and Rocky Mountain reception, and most of all, I just love love!
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