Gift Guide #6: For Your Husband Who Loves Whisky (And Drag Queens)

Linkwood Twelve year old—Flora and Fauna ($86.30) AND ABERLOUR A’BUNADH ($66.99)

I’ve always been terrible at describing my husband, David, in print. I get it so wrong that when Maddie met David, she told me she was half expecting one of the yuppie kids from Pretty In Pink to show up (he does appreciate well-made clothing). Thankfully, she couldn’t have been further from the truth, and he’s now one of her favorite people in the world—somewhere well after our sass-pot of a child. It’s sort of embarrassing, as a writer, to not be able to get your husband down on paper, but maybe it’s better that way. He prefers to be an enigma, and he really prefers to be nothing but a two-dimensional character on APW. Fair enough, I guess. However, today I’m going to try to do him justice in the form of a gift roundup.

This is for my husband, who loves jokes so over the line they make me gasp, expensive whisky, cheap dive bars, drag queens (I can’t explain this; it’s possibly a professional theatre kid thing), fancy electronics, serious cooking, and, most recently, being a dad.

TOP PHOTO Whisky, because that’s an every-time present. Aberlour A’Bunadh, aged in sherry casks, happens to be a household favorite ($66.99), and Linkwood Twelve Year Old—Flora and Fauna, because we bought it on our honeymoon in Scotland, and our bottle is now empty. ($86.30)

ONE An iPhone case Hemingway would love. Last year, when money was really tight, I scrimped and saved to get David this. It was the hit of the year. (€54.00, worth shipping from The Netherlands)

TWO Shun Classic Asian Chef’s Knife, because after me and the baby, he’d probably grab his knives next, in case of a fire. ($134.95)

THREE Zadie Smith’s Changing My Mind because she’s his favorite author, and her writing is like music. ($15.30)

FOUR Hedwig and the Angry Inch tickets, on Broadway with Neal Patrick Harris. Because it’s his favorite musical of all time, and he’s devastated that we probably won’t see it. (Starts at $47)

FIVE Some slim fit shirts from Charles Tyrwhitt, and while we’re at it, some ties (a mix of bright color and classic, obvs). If you’ve ever been to London, you will have noticed that the men dress better. It’s not magic, it’s clothes that effing fit. These English shirts make him look like a banker in The City (in a hot way). ($69)

SIX Google Chromecast for streaming all the wonder of the internet onto the TV. ($35)

Seven A family session with an APW sponsor (I’m not going to lie, we’ve indulged in SEVERAL this year, they usually give you a few hours of time and a ton of breathtaking images for something like $300, and it feels criminal), and then a photo of him and the baby in a frame for his desk at work.

EIGHT Tickets to London, because it’s his favorite place, and that’s all he ever wants.

Nine NYC Taxi Drivers Calendar. Your move, David. ($14.99)

And date night. Always date night.

Photo of London: From a 1939 schoolbook, reproduced under Creative Commons 2.0

April & Scott

April, Policy Analyst (Environment and Natural Resources) & Scott, Test Developer (Music)

Photographer: Stacy Bauer

One sentence sum-up of the wedding vibe: Casually elegant, a little silly, and a lot of fun

Soundtrack for reading: “Our Hearts” by Firehorse
April & Scott's Gorgeous Catholic Church Wedding | A Practical Wedding (2)

April & Scott's Gorgeous Catholic Church Wedding | A Practical Wedding (3)

April & Scott's Gorgeous Catholic Church Wedding | A Practical Wedding (4)

April & Scott's Gorgeous Catholic Church Wedding | A Practical Wedding (5)

April & Scott's Gorgeous Catholic Church Wedding | A Practical Wedding (6)

April & Scott's Gorgeous Catholic Church Wedding | A Practical Wedding (7)

April & Scott's Gorgeous Catholic Church Wedding | A Practical Wedding (8)

April & Scott's Gorgeous Catholic Church Wedding | A Practical Wedding (9)

April & Scott's Gorgeous Catholic Church Wedding | A Practical Wedding (10)

April & Scott's Gorgeous Catholic Church Wedding | A Practical Wedding (11)

April & Scott's Gorgeous Catholic Church Wedding | A Practical Wedding (12)

April & Scott's Gorgeous Catholic Church Wedding | A Practical Wedding (13)

April & Scott's Gorgeous Catholic Church Wedding | A Practical Wedding (14)

April & Scott's Gorgeous Catholic Church Wedding | A Practical Wedding (15)

April & Scott's Gorgeous Catholic Church Wedding | A Practical Wedding (16)

April & Scott's Gorgeous Catholic Church Wedding | A Practical Wedding (17)

April & Scott's Gorgeous Catholic Church Wedding | A Practical Wedding (18)

April & Scott's Gorgeous Catholic Church Wedding | A Practical Wedding (19)

April & Scott's Gorgeous Catholic Church Wedding | A Practical Wedding (20)

April & Scott's Gorgeous Catholic Church Wedding | A Practical Wedding (21)

April & Scott's Gorgeous Catholic Church Wedding | A Practical Wedding (22)

April & Scott's Gorgeous Catholic Church Wedding | A Practical Wedding (23)

April & Scott's Gorgeous Catholic Church Wedding | A Practical Wedding (24)

April & Scott's Gorgeous Catholic Church Wedding | A Practical Wedding (25)

April & Scott's Gorgeous Catholic Church Wedding | A Practical Wedding (26)

April & Scott's Gorgeous Catholic Church Wedding | A Practical Wedding (27)

April & Scott's Gorgeous Catholic Church Wedding | A Practical Wedding (28)

April & Scott's Gorgeous Catholic Church Wedding | A Practical Wedding (29)

Other Cool Stuff we should know about

We had about a five-hour break (the dreaded “Catholic gap”) between our midday church ceremony and our evening cocktail and dinner reception. It was the part of our wedding day I was most worried about. Wouldn’t our guests get bored? Wouldn’t everyone resent us for not entertaining them? But the period between the ceremony and reception wound up being one of my favorite parts of the day. We got the chance to linger with our guest in front of the church without having to worry about hurrying off to dinner. We got to chill in the hotel and drink some champagne with our wedding party. We were even able to go out to the reception site early to help set up and take some pictures before the guests arrived. I really appreciated having some down time between the ceremony and the reception, and—from what I heard—so did our guests!

Some other memorable details

My bridesmaids refusing to let me drive myself to the wedding (one of them drove instead); kissing Scott about ten minutes before I was supposed to during the ceremony; the awesome and ridiculous photos our guests took with the Fuji Instax camera we left out with our guest book; the invitations Scott’s brother designed for us, which we also used for our pie topper; the necklaces Scott’s mom made for my bridesmaids; the flowers my aunt and her friends arranged for us; and so so so many more.

Favorite Thing about the wedding

This is going to sound weird, but my favorite thing may have been the speeches. My cousin (maid of honor) gave a really sweet and moving speech, and Scott’s best man had me doubled over laughing during his.