Engagement photos. Few times will a man test his patience as uniquely as in an engagement photo session. If you’re like me, the act of getting dressed with the sole intent of looking nice for a camera is a pretty foreign concept. Girls are more used to it–they seem to have more “going out” photos on their Facebook accounts. Gross overgeneralization? Yeah, but I’ll take it.
Did TR put on butterfly wings? No. No he didn’t.
I don’t like to get too personal on Electrogent, but I recently took some engagement photos with Maria. One thing that’s great about her is that she never “dolls it up” and turns our home or common areas into the stereotypical pinked up dollhouse. This is partly because she’s more than a stereotypical pink princess type, and partly because she respects our mutual aesthetic.
However, not all guys are so lucky. I’ve seen some absolutely horrendously embarrassing engagement photos where I think to myself, “What was he thinking?” You know, there’s the overly-staged shot involving a fishing pole, the shared scarf, the playful playground antics, the superhero, the “she caught me!”, the rainbow butterfly, and my personal least favorite…the tie pull.
Now, I know that people express love in their own ways, and that’s great. But let’s get real, guys–most of this stuff is just embarrassing. There’s no reason that you should do that to yourself, unless that’s really what you’re into. In which case, you probably won’t like this website too much.
I’m not saying that you need to keep it Stonewall Jackson or anything, and in fact you shouldn’t. You’re getting married–have fun! Laugh, smile, enjoy it. However, don’t let the engagement photos turn into a Legally Blonde set, and don’t try and turn it into a cigar club. There’s a time and a place for both, but your engagement photos entail neither. Work on a compromise–that’s what you’re going to do the rest of your life anyways–and come up with a mixture of both personalities that will result in something you both enjoy participating in and viewing after its over.
If you need some inspiration, here are a few ideas on how Maria and I compromised and kept the manliness level up.
