Top Tips for Being a Groom

Kevin Meyers Photography

As the groom, sometimes it is hard to know what your role is.  Many times the bride's role is clear as she is the one who does most of the planning and decision-making.  But grooms play a large role too! The Knot has a great article with its top tips for grooms, but I decided to do a little research of my own and ask some men who have already been through the groom process what their top pieces of advice would be for grooms-to-be.  This is what they said:

1. Sit down before the wedding planning even starts and write a list of what things are truly important to you about the wedding and rehearsal logistics. Whichever things you pick, cut them in half. If you're a smart groom, you'll have no more than one or two things you want (for instance, I wanted to write my own music for the wedding, and I wanted no alcohol at the reception). After you determine those things, only get involved when your fiance asks for help beyond those one or two things.

2. Remember that while we may have thought a lot about being married throughout single life, we've thought about the ceremony for about 5 minutes compared to your fiances' dreaming about it her entire life. Let her have the spotlight!

3. Remember that the wedding is one day, it's a wonderful celebration but put as much thought into your marriage as your wedding day

4. Listen to your bride-to-be.  You may not have an opinion but it's important to her that you care and at least listen to her wedding plans.

5. Don't let family or friends dictate what you and your bride envision your wedding being.  Take their advice, but at the end of the day it's your wedding so you and your bride make the decisions.

6. Be clear with your best man; hand off responsibilities.

7. If you don't care about a wedding plan, say "I have no preference" instead of "I don't care."

8. Get your wife a wedding day gift.

9. Organize beforehand your transportation plan for the wedding

10. Give your cell phone to your best man on the wedding day and have him field all the calls

11. Be supportive and do whatever the bride says to do. Really, it's her day anyways.

12. Make sure all the logistics for your lives together are in order to reduce stress while planning and after the wedding.

Real People, Real Wedding Planners: Courtney & Taylor

Elon University seniors Courtney Corr and Taylor Hughes are planning for their big day on June 17, 2011.  I wanted to get an inside scoop from two young people in school who are planning for their day so here is an inside look at their wedding planning process.

Q: Tell me a little bit about the wedding.

 

Q: Has is been hard planning a wedding while in school?

Q: What are you most looking forward to for the wedding?

What about the groom?

As the bride, it is very easy to get wrapped up in all the planning for a wedding and to get excited about all the small details.  But as a groom, it can be hard to know your place, what you should do, or what you can do to help.  The Knot has a great article that is a groom's 12-month plan for what to do to get ready for the wedding.  Get ready to do everything from choosing registry items to planning the honeymoon to writing sweet "I love you" notes to your bride-to-be.

Thank You Notes Galore

We've all been there for one occasion or another whether it was thank you notes for birthday gifts, graduation gifts, or for help with planning an event of sorts.  You want to show your appreciation for the gifts given or effort contributed, but life starts to get busy and things start to pile up until writing thank you notes just becomes that pesky thing that needs to be done.  And the further from the event it is, the more urgency with which these need to be written.  This article from The Nest outlines some fantastic points for how to make thank you note writing efficient and quickly getting the task done rather than having them be that one thing that stays on your to-do list for months.

Another personal favorite idea of mine for avoiding what becomes the hassle of thank you notes is to choose thank you notes that you love.  Just because thank you note writing can be dull doesn't mean that the notes themselves have to! Choose colors and patterns that reflect your likes and personality, even unique blank cards that can be turned into thank you cards.  Or you can use a service like Shutterfly or Wedding Paper Divas to put pictures of you and your husband on fun themed cards.  Then you will want to show off your taste and you will be more motivated to write these cards and get them sent out! Not only will you be happier looking at cards you love, but those who receive your cards will feel like you put even more time and effort into choosing cards and writing them showing even more of your appreciation!

Wedding Tents Transformed

When having an outdoor wedding reception, one of the most important elements can be a tent.  Tents come in all shapes and sizes, depending on how many people you are having at the reception.  A fun way to dress up your tent is by using decorations (gossamer, chandeliers, paper lanterns, lamps, etc.) to make the ceiling fancier than just your average tent ceiling.  This is also a great way to create light inside the tent where it can get dark, especially on an overcast day or during the night.  Just because you're inside a tent doesn't mean you can't act like you are having your reception in a fancy venue.  These are some of my favorite ideas for transforming your tent into something unique for your wedding day.

Royal Wedding Invitations

The royal wedding invitations have been sent out and are very simple and elegant, perhaps even old-fashioned.  The editors at Brides.com weren't thrilled with the invites either so they asked some of the top stationery designers from around the nation to submit their own ideas of designs for the royal affair.  Check out what these designers came up with!

Wedding Shoes Galore

Because your wedding is a special occasion that means, you guessed it, a reason to buy new shoes!  And what girl doesn't like an excuse to buy new shoes?  The greatest thing about buying shoes for your wedding is that they can be anything you want.  I have seen brides wear everything from customized Chuck Taylors to sparkly gold flats to orange stilettos.  Whatever your style is, this is your time to shine!