Alright grooms, let’s have a little heart to heart really quick. You bought the ring. You popped the question. Your job is done. Now all you have to do is show up, right? WRONG! While traditionally, wedding planning is more focused on the bride and “her big day”, it is just as much your big day, too!
Now, I know what you’re thinking: I just want her to be happy so whatever she picks is good with me. Kudos to you for thinking that way, but you’re not getting off that easy! Planning a wedding can be VERY stressful and quite overwhelming at times. It’ll take a huge load off of your future wife if you are involved in the planning process.**
Think about this: in any major city, there are nearly a thousand (if not more) wedding photographers. A quick search on The Knot brings up 919 in Houston; Google brings up 477,000 results for “Houston wedding photographer”. Each has their own style, personality, packages, and price point. Choosing one to take photos that will last a lifetime is not an easy decision. Even if you don’t want to spend hours browsing the internet looking for that perfect photographer, at least give her some input as to what you might like to see. Do you prefer natural light photos? Candid shots versus posed portraits? Would you really like two photographers so that you get different angles of every picture? Anything that will help her narrow down the choices will help immensely!
You can even help with the florist! Maybe you don’t care at all about the flowers. Well, maybe she doesn’t either. Or maybe she wants to make sure you don’t end up with a boutonniere you really don’t like. Do you hate the way a particular flower smells or maybe you’re allergic? Maybe you don’t want flowers in your boutonniere at all. (There are tons of cute non-floral boutonniere ideas [fishing hooks, shotgun shells, etc.] on Pinterest!)
Personally, I am not a flower person. Occasionally I’ll pick up a bouquet at the grocery store if the colors catch my eye, but other than that, I really don’t care about flowers too much. We picked the florist for our wedding because a bouquet they had displayed at a bridal show really caught my husband’s eye. It had a bunch of thin feathers sticking out of it and these “monkey tail” ferns that he thought were so cool. Rather than sticking him with just a bunch of roses, he ended up with a really unique boutonniere because he was involved in the decision.
And then there’s the food and the cake. Can you honestly tell me you don’t want to go eat free food and cake?! This one should be a no-brainer. While you may leave the design of the bride’s cake up to her, if you’re getting a groom’s cake (or other dessert), let your style shine! Most bakers can do almost anything you want with fondant. Want your cake to look like a Yeti cooler filled with Bud Light? Done. How about a fish mounted on a piece of wood? Piece of cake (pun intended).
So grooms, get out there and help plan your wedding!
**In the interest of full disclosure, I will admit my husband was one of those that was very involved in the planning process. And I LOVED it. We chose our cake baker, florist, and photographer from the bridal show we attended together. It was so nice knowing that we chose vendors that we both liked. That being said, not all brides are like me. Some really DO want to do everything themselves. It’s a quick and easy conversation to have and it’ll probably get you some MAJOR brownie points for even offering!