The Wedding Day A Grooms Guide

Will you marry me? 4 simple words spoken to the love of your life, words that mean commitment, words that say I love you, words that tell her I want to spend the rest of my life with you, words that most young ladies have been waiting to hear for their entire life time and words that most men promise themselves they will never utter because they love the young free and single life that they have been living to date.

So how the hell did it get this far? Being single is a way of life, no one to answer to, no one nagging at you and certainly no need for explanations when you arrived home a little drunk at 3 am with lipstick on your collar, all over your face and on other body parts that we will not dare to mention.

The happiest days of our lives or so we thought.

Then BOOM!!!! Like a bolt out of the blue you meet her, the girl of your dreams and before you have time to come to your senses you are down on one knee, her hand in your hand ring box in your other hand uttering the words at the top of this page "Will you marry me?"

The thing is that your friends all saw it coming long before you did, they noticed that you were spending more and more time with her and less and less time with them and when you did spend time with them all you spoke about was her, they noticed the fixed grin on your face like the cat that got the cream, they noticed the extra spring in your step and they happy tune you were always humming or whistling, they knew it wouldn't be long before another of their group would soon be lost to them forever as love ran it course and the sound of the church bells beckoning in the distance.

Will you marry me?

It feels like the right time and the location you are in is perfect it's where you met her for the first time, the romantic music is playing and trading your fear of rejection for this moment down on one knee you pop the question hoping beyond hope that your private rehearsals of this moment in the bathroom mirror help you to ask her without any mistakes, blind panic takes over, you take hold of her hand, produce the engagement ring in your other hand and stutter out the words MMMmill you WWWwarry me and that is the moment that you realise why we go down on one knee when we propose marriage to the girl of our dreams, if we were standing up we would fall down through fear, our legs turn to jelly and our heart beats increase to over 200 beats a minute, sweaty palms and sweat running down the back of our neck and to top it all of we suddenly need to go to the toilet as our bladders seem to be screaming at us to empty them and empty it now, it seems that you have been on your knees for a lifetime when she answers "yes" and the relief can be heard by everyone around as it oozes its way around your body, then disbelief and doubt sets in and you ask her over and over again "You did say yes didn't you?".

Little do you know that, that "yes" is just the start of that roller coaster ride that leads up to the big day, people think that being the Groom is easy they just turn up at the wedding go through the wedding ceremony and reception and then fly happily off to a sunnier climate for a honeymoon to remember.

Let me tell you guys it is not that simple, there is more to it than you could ever think of and it will take you to the limit and beyond, there will be a mountain of planning, a truck load of organising, a million disagreements and arguments and no matter what you do it will never be right.

Surviving this period of time between engagement and marriage is a must if you want to start married life on the right footing.

Once you have told everyone about your upcoming nuptials and both sets of family have been informed, and when the engagement celebration party is over the dust barley gets a chance to settle as your bride to be and her mother, your future mother in-law, begin making plans for the big day itself and you sit in between them like a nodding dog ornament agreeing to everything that they say. That small wedding with just a few family members and friends present quickly flies out of the window and becomes a thought that you never had.

This is the bride's big day, the day she has dreamed about for most of her life and you are not going to spoil the happiest day of her life even if it kills you leaves you lying at the side of the road and comes back and kills you again, as if you had a choice in the matter anyway and if you are thinking clearly at the time you won't really care because you will realise that her father,your future father in-law will be footing most of the bill and he will step in if things start to get out of hand.

The best way forward is to let your sweetheart and her mother get on with it, nod and smile occasionally and every now and again just say that sounds like a great idea, because no matter what at this early stage the plans will all change and keep changing for the first few weeks.

Once your parents start to get involved in the discussions, you would be as well taking a chair taking a rocket to the moon and staying there out of the way until the big day itself, especially when they start talking seating arrangements these talks could lead to the outbreak of World War 3.

Your main job is just to be there for your bride to be, to give her a shoulder when she needs it (on an hourly basis), to reassure her that you love her (every minute of every day). to listen to her and try to understand the range of emotions she will display from second to second.

As stated earlier you are just a bit player in the whole scheme of the wedding but the most important part of your job is being strong for your bride no matter what and especially if things don't go to plan. she wants her big day to be special and you want to make it extra special for her.

The Best Man (Groomsman)

You may think that you have the final say in who your Groomsman will be but on the contrary the person that you choose will have to be someone that both sets of parents approve of and more importantly someone your future bride knows and can trust to do a good job, even if John has been your best friend since kindergarten if your bride to be doesn't like him there is no chance in hell that he will be allowed anywhere near your wedding rings.

The Wedding Rehersal and the Big Day

The wedding rehearsal is an important part of your wedding, be sure on threat of death that you turn up and that you turn up on time, you bride, her parents and your parents will all be there and this is when reality will punch you in the face and you will realise that all of the planning and preparations over the past few months is coming to an end you are actually getting married tomorrow. Listen very carefully to all of the instructions and directions and make sure you carry them out to the letter, getting it right at the rehearsal will leave your bride to be feeling confident that her big day is going to be everything that she ever dreamed about and more.

Remember if you are following traditional rules that this is probably the last chance you will get to see your bride before the main event so this is your time to shine and give her all of the reassurance that she so desperately needs. As the big day approaches your bride to be is as fragile as a rose frozen in dry ice and that her emotions are all over the place.

The Big Day (The Grooms Time to Shine)

The big day has finally arrived and this is your chance as the groom to shine and make the day perfect for your wife to be.

Be there on time.

You may be tempted to have a short of whisky or two to calm your nerves, big mistake if your bride smells the faintest hint of alcohol on your breath you will pay for it later.

Remember everything that you learned in the rehearsal the night before.

When you see your bride walking toward you up the aisle your legs will turn to jelly, try to stay focused, look at how beautiful she looks and keep reminding yourself just how lucky you are to be marrying this woman.

Try to enjoy the occasion and try to relax.

After the main event when the pictures have been taken and you and your guests arrive at the reception you will realise that you are now a married man and it feels great, it is all over bar the fat lady singing and you are filled with a huge sense of relief that everything went to plan and you and your new wife can start to get on with the rest of your lives together.

You are on cloud nine, the world is your oyster, well that is until near the end of the night when Aunt Mary whispers in your ear "Will we expect the patter of tiny feet soon?" and that is when you come back down to earth with a bump.