The Reluctant Groomzilla, otherwise known as Josh, blogs every Wednesday for Washingtonian.com about planning his Washington wedding. Read his blog entries here.
Thanks to everyone who submitted questions, and good luck to you all on your wedding activities.
Remember, being a guy who's involved with your own wedding just means you have good taste and don't let your friends tell you otherwise!
If you have any more questions please submit them in comments since it is a lot easier to answer questions than to be creative and come up with a new post every week!
I am really not into the invitations (I would use evite) and the flowers are really more her thing, but pretty much everything else we are both involved in.
We are not your typical couple so your mileage may seriously vary!
He is a pretty funny guy and is single, so if you REALLY want to…
Here are my thoughts on that… you are spending major cash on this thing but ultimately she is the one that is going to wear it so get her what she likes. not only did we talk about it but she was there when we picked out the band. This was a good thing since I showed her the one I would have bought her if I had done it on my own and she said would not have liked it. Of course, it all depends on your situation. If she is the kind of girl that dreams about a surprise proposal then keep that in mind.
Also, most good jewelry stores will allow you to return a ring and get another one if she doesn't like it. In fact I wouldn't buy a ring from one that didn't.
Hi, Josh! Is your fiancee letting you see her dress? I'm keeping mine a secret and my guy wants to see it and I want him to know that it's not that weird to want to wait until the ceremony.
My fiancee also has two young nieces so they will be filling that role.
Seriously… for me it is a few things…
1. I am definitely a planner and love to entertain. I am the guy who organizes group trips, vacations etc.
2. I work in the hotel industry and spent lots of time around events including weddings etc, so when it comes to working with vendors, hotels, etc it is sort of second nature to me.
3. My fiancee never grew up with a "dream" wedding in mind so she gives me lots of room to have my own ideas.
4. Both my fiancee and I are "A type" personalities but we have learned how to integrate each others ideas so we both get our way.
As for the male population in general, I blame Queer Eye!
Both my fiancee are really into good food (I hate the term foodie, though, since it sounds so pretentious) and we are going to put a lot of time and thought into it.
We have lots of ideas and had a preliminary meeting with the chef, but since the wedding isn't until October the tasting will be in August or thereabouts.
We are doing plated, not buffet, and we are definitely going to try to make it unique. The chef had a really cool idea for a trio appetizer and I think we are going to do a dessert buffet as well as cake. The wedding is close to Halloween and that is both of our favorite holiday so we may do some sort of upscale Halloween candy. I am pushing for a "blood" fountain and carved pumpkins but so far those have been shot down!!
We are also doing the cocktail hour in two separate rooms so we are thinking of doing a different food/drink and decor theme in each of those. I grew up in the Caribbean and she grew up in Israel so we are thinking Caribbean in one and Mediterranean in the other.
We are also going to try to do some fun and creative things with how the dishes are plated and served. In the end it is all about the quality of the food but the venue has some really neat plates and serving pieces that are way cooler than plain white.
Oh she has been dying to do a rebuttal posting and I may let her one of these days!!
I was giving our wedding planner a hard time the other day that since she is making this process so easy I am starting to run out of funny things to write about since the best humor always comes from pain and suffering!
Anyway, I was definitely thinking about having "guest" blogs to help when I am fresh out of ideas.
Free food!
Seriously… every time we have been to meet with the hotel or a vendor they have bought lunch, coffee, whatever! The band invited us to an event they were playing at (a corporate holiday party) and then told us to go get drinks and food!
Really, the fun part has been working with my fiancee on creating an event that both our guests and we will remember forever. We have been to a lot of forgettable weddings, and that is what is driving us. We want to do something that will be unique and special, not just for us but for our guests as well.
I met my fiancee when I was trying to pick up guys!
Actually it was at one of my fraternity's rush events. We decided that the winning strategy to get guys to come to rush events was to get women to come to them, sort of like club promotion. She came with a friend, our eyes met across the room, and baam the rest is history.
As for the proposal, I posted on that a little while back so you can read all about it there!
1. First question you have to ask and answer honestly is adult entertainment. Will you indulge? Will you go to a venue or have them come to you? This can be a significant portion of the cost so I would work this out go from there. Keep in mind that the bachelor party is as much for the friends as it is for the bachelor, but if he is really uncomfortable with something then respect his wishes.
2. the best bachelor parties I have been to have been weekend long affairs that involved activities other than drinking. In Vegas I have done go-kart racing, race car driving school, and The Gun Store (you get to fire fully automatic weapons). Go for something that the majority of the group would be into. If half of the guys hate golf and the bachelor loves it then that is probably not a great idea unless they just want to drive the beer cart! Around DC I can think of paintball, whitewater rafting or tubing depending on the time of year. There is also a driving school but I think it is up in PA somewhere. You could also do something like the Grooming Lounge and all get straight razor shaves or something.
3. Night of the event – don't skimp on transportation. For that size get one or even two vehicles. Trust me, you don't want to deal with cabs and please don't try to drive yourself!
4. Make sure at least one person stays somewhat sober. Herding 14 drunk guys is like herding cats, almost impossible.
5. If possible make sure the group includes a lawyer!