Editor’s note: We are so excited to be welcoming our friend Evan from The Groom’s Guide to ELD as our resident groom expert! He’ll be popping in from time to time to share insights especially for the men who are such an integral part of the wedding day. He’s starting us off with the basics, and something that every groom should read… a few simple things required of  grooms, aka, how to be an AWESOME groom. 

As many things do, this started as something simple and quite different.  My wife and I run a fantastic wedding photography business that I am proud of.  (Well, if we’re being honest the truth is that I run very little of our business and rely on Caroline to take on the awesomely complicated tasks of building and managing our livelihood while I function mostly in a creative position.) While wanting to take a more active role in our business, I recognized a consistent problem among my grooms- they don’t know how to get dressed.  Most often this is in an expected way, like they don’t know how to pin a boutonniere- but every so often I’ll have a guy that can’t even tie a tie.  I decided that it was time to create some sort of resource, and “The Groom’s Guide” was born.

I initially came up with the idea to create a video series called “How to Wear Clothes” for guys on their wedding day.  This turned into a possible monthly feature on our blog and has since grown intoThe Groom’s Guide: a wedding resource for the guys.  I now post on Instagram several times a week with helpful tips for grooms gearing up for the big day, I’m active on Pinterest and I am posting to our blog every 1 to 2 weeks.

I’m covering the basics before getting into the details.  Where to get your suit and how to do it, what to do for your groomsmen’s gifts, how to pour the perfect pre-wedding drink and more.  Eventually I’ll cover everything from choosing a wedding DJ to planning your bachelor party and even step outside of the wedding world with #notweddingwednesday topics such as home brewing and fantasy sports.

So now that I’ve introduced myself, this leads me to my first official post for grooms here on Every Last Detail- 5 simple things that are required of grooms.

Be involved.

If you haven’t already, please- take a second to realize you want to be involved.  Wedding planning isn’t all flower arrangements and color samples.  There are the obvious fun things like food tastings and the honeymoon but your opinion can matter elsewhere too.  What’s more, you may even really want to have a hand in a few things and not even know it yet.  Take a look at some local DJs and volunteer to be in charge of that, do the same with the photographer and any other areas that may intrigue you.  These things may become something you’re excited to be a part of once you start actually paying attention.

Pick your suit.

One of the biggest regrets you may wind up having is not caring more about your suit.  There is a lot that goes into picking the perfect look and even if you know nothing about men’s fashion you shouldn’t leave it up to your bride.  Do some research. You can start at The Groom’s Guide, but learn your stuff.  Regardless of how much control you’re choosing to have over your wedding, one of your top concerns should definitely be how you look.

Care.

Don’t be that guy who just nods at every sample she shows you or say “she wants to do it alone.”  It may be true that she wants to be running the show but trust me nothing would make her happier than to learn that you have an opinion on what she’s working so hard on.  Do a little research without her around and learn a thing or two about the wedding planning process and all the options.  You’ll be glad to be more involved and you’ll look like a hero to her.

Make the most of it.

The time you spend with your groomsmen is a once in a lifetime event, don’t screw it up.  Make sure you make time for your guys on the morning of, try not to be nursing a hangover the whole time, and don’t let the crazy schedule ruin things.  Plan a lunch or simple activity to keep things interesting.  If you’re drinking while getting ready, take it up a notch and buy your guys a nice bottle of whiskey to share.  You picked this group out of a lifetime of friends you’ve had, make sure they know they’re the best.

Don’t forget why you’re doing this to begin with.

You love your fiance.  You love her so much you’ve decided to give her all you have and spend your life with her.  It’s easy to get lost in the planning and forget what caused all of this to begin with.  Take a moment every now and then to realize that the reason the both of you are going out of your minds putting all this together is that the best most creative most kick ass wedding is the only way to celebrate what you two have.  You’re doing it for each other.

More on The Groom’s Guide…

The Groom’s Guide is awesome and helpful, plus there’s a huge amount of content on Instagram and Pinterest.  @GroomsGuide is posting several times a week with helpful tips, but I’m just one of dozens of amazing men’s interest resources posting on Instagram.  Not all men feel inclined to try IG and Pinterest out, but it’s worth the leap of faith and I hope I can help introduce more men to the better, cleaner and more targeted social media platform.

In the end, I just want to help guys look good both leading up to the wedding and on the big day itself.  I also want to help men execute this day in a way that makes them even impress themselves and really make the best of it.  There is an insane amount of research that must be done in order to do all the things that make a wedding day perfect for guys (99% of which are things that guys would never even think to look up in the first place). Let me do the research for them and I’ll break it down into simple fragments of information that is easy, and hopefully fun, to read. That’s what The Groom’s Guide is all about.

Here’s what is most important about The Groom’s Guide: it’s not your only resource out there but it’s the only one for regular guys.  One thing that has driven me to make this bigger and better is that the resources already available like GQ and Esquire make it seem as though men’s fashion costs no less than $1,000 per outfit.  There are other great bloggers out there like The Well Groomed Groom and they have great content but they specifically target the refined gentleman.  My guys don’t own their own tux and only know 1 or 2 tie knots.  I want to show guys that they can look better, feel better, be more involved and be more passionate about their wedding planning and do it all without breaking the bank.  This shouldn’t suggest that The Groom’s Guide is a bargain hunter, I just want to show how to spend wisely in the right places and a $700 watch is not the right place for most of us.