Involving Your Groom in Wedding Planning
Let's face it. You've been dreaming about your wedding day for a long time, and you want it to be perfect, right? So it's not uncommon to immediately begin hashing out the details, either with your bridal party and family or a wedding planner, and making those dreams come true.
But wait.
Have you forgotten about your groom? Have you involved him in the wedding planning?
Chances are, you assumed he didn't care as much about the details as you do. And that may be true, but he may also want to be involved, simply for the fact that it's an opportunity to build a dream with you. This is a special day in both of your lives and it's important for you both to feel as if you're getting the wedding of your dreams.
Remember, your wedding is probably the first major compromise you will have to make with your spouse. You may want different things for your wedding day, and it's important to communicate these ideas and be on the same page, as a team.
Here are just a few tips for handing over the reins for some of your wedding planning projects to your groom:
- Involve him in meetings with your wedding planner. This is one of the easiest and best ways to involve your groom with the wedding planning and make sure his ideas get heard just as much as yours. If both parties express their ideas and dreams for their big day to the wedding planner, your planner will be able to help you design a beautiful wedding that incorporates aspects of what you both want.
- Have bi-weekly progress dates. A couple of times a week (maybe more as the wedding date gets closer), plan a date with your significant other to discuss where the wedding planning process is and make sure both of your ideas are being incorporated. It's a wonderful opportunity to spend the evening enjoying your engagement and going over the details that have already been established!
- Keep a running list. Keep a running list of things you want included in your wedding day. At first, you'll have separate lists, that may be fairly long! Once you've established your initial lists, you can discuss the items that you feel must be factored into the wedding (things like ceremony rituals, involving family, etc.) and things you want to be factored into the wedding. Then combine your lists to make one list - the "musts" being at the top and the "wants" being at the bottom. Make sure your musts are covered before you move onto the wants.
- Split up the responsibilities. If you have several vendors to call within a week, split the list in half and each of you call half the vendors. Even if you've already decided on how the conversation will go with that vendor, you'll both feel more involved with the whole process.
- Remember this is about your life together. If you find yourself taking over more than your fair share of the responsibilities and design of the wedding, take a step back and remember this is about the two of you being together. That alone will remind you to step back and realize that, in the end, this is about your marriage together, and having a beautiful, heartfelt wedding is something both of you want.