When you hear about a typical wedding, it is almost always referred to as the bride’s day. It has become the traditional norm for the wedding to be for the girl. More often than not, it’s what she wants and he is just tagging along for the ride.
Usually the men are quite all right with this set up, too. Less for them to worry about it, they don’t have to spend any time picking out the flowers and other decorations they don’t care about.
However, if your partner wants to have a say, it would be nice to really make your wedding a day for both of you. I mean, it is a day meant to symbolize the love you share for each other, so why not share the details of the day together too? It may just make the day more special for both of you. Below are some tips for how to include your groom in creating the day of both of your dreams.
Include Him in Decisions
Handing him your to-do list and having him do tasks you aren’t excited about is not including him in creating your wedding. Instead of just passing out orders, sit down with your man and discuss a few things.
If your guy is hesitant to take part, start with something all men understand: food. When it comes to weddings, you usually have to create a very specific menu, but you have to include something for everyone. Since half the guests belong to your groom, he will have a general idea of what they may or may not like. Take an afternoon to go out and sample a few caterers and then create your menu together.
The same concept can be applied to the bar. The one thing my fiancé requested is an open bar. He knows his family and knows his friends, so he knows they all like to enjoy a few delicious cocktails.
Once you have him hooked on contributing to the details, start branching out into the specifics. Does he have a color preference to go along with your theme? Are there songs he would kill the DJ for playing?
You absolutely won’t get his opinion on everything, no matter how much he is into the process, at some point he will reach his limit and not care about the cut of the bridesmaid’s dresses or the flowers in your bouquet. Before he gets to that point, make sure you do the seating chart.
You don’t want your wedding turning into a brawl because you put two of his guests at the same table and it turns out they haven’t spoken to each other in 15 years.
Groom’s Cake
A common way to make your man feel special and included on the big day is to get a groom’s cake in addition to the traditional wedding cake. Typically, the wedding cake is so beautiful you never want to eat it, some people even save the top layer in their freezer for ages. The groom’s cake allows you to bring a little more fun to your dessert options.
A groom’s cake depicts things your groom is excited about – and you won’t cringe when you cut it. It also gives your groom something to get excited about. Usually guys don’t care how many flowers or beads adorn your wedding cake, but if the detail on their team’s jersey isn’t perfect on their cake, you will definitely hear about it.
You will also get some extra happiness out of seeing your man excited about the wedding day.
Gift Registry
I used to see it all the time when I worked at Macy’s, the woman going around the store scanning everything she thought she needed while the guy followed her around, nodding sluggishly when asked if he liked something. Instead of picking out all the traditional registry gifts, get a little creative.
Of course you can still add some of those china settings or bedroom decorations to your list, but add some personal touches to the list as well.
Perhaps you want a day at the spa while your husband-to-be needs a few Mustang parts to spruce up his favorite ride. Adding a few things for each of you individually will make the experience of creating a registry much more fun for everyone.
Once you start including your significant other in your wedding plans, you will start to see a preview into how your married life will actually be. Working together to plan your wedding will set the foundation for how you work together in the marriage. Hopefully it will be a fun and enjoyable experience for both of you and will make your wedding day truly special.
By Savannah Marie is a writer and PR consultant. She is the editor of her blog, Mixios, which covers everything from social media to travel. When she isn’t writing, you can find her reading anything she can get her hands on, trying out a new recipe in the kitchen, or walking her yellow lab. Follow her on Twitter!