Whoa!! A post for the GROOM?? That’s right! This year I really want to focus on more blogging and one of the people I want to blog more information for are my awesome GROOMS! We have the best grooms in the entire world – I’m sure of it. Our grooms have us laughing all day long (I swear, they are all the funniest!) and I always find something about them that Jose can relate to that makes their experience even better … most of the time they bond over things like baseball, wrestling, craft beer or even Ecto Coolers (if you don’t know, google it! One of our awesome grooms named it!) . But I also find that sometimes, they have the most questions about the wedding day! While Bride’s read wedding blogs and magazines the entire engagement period, the grooms don’t and most of the time the whole process of a wedding day is completely FOREIGN to them. (You have no idea how many of our grooms have NO IDEA what a First Look is, even when it is about to happen!) So here it is… a series of posts dedicated just to our Grooms! Grooms who always say they are super shy and don’t like taking photos and then always knock it out of the park, not just in their engagement photos but in their wedding photos as well!

When I meet with my couples two weeks before their wedding day I go through their timeline in detail with them, explain exactly how the getting ready portion of the day will go and the grooms always are “Okay, awesome. sounds good!”. Then Jose shows up that morning to their getting ready location and they are scatter brained. Of COURSE they are, I don’t blame them! It’s their wedding day, the photographer has just shown up which means this is really happening and he was NOT ready for photos yet! So if I can help in some way to make sure my Grooms are calm, cool and collected the ENTIRE day long than I will do that and it all starts with their getting ready photos! 🙂

1. Do a Dry Run of the morning of your Wedding day!

The best way to make sure the beginning of your wedding day will go smoothly is for you to be prepared! If you’re renting a suit, get it as soon as you can and TRY IT ALL ON. (This goes for not just my Grooms but their Grooms men as well!) We’ve seen where all the guys pick up their suits and don’t try them on and then the morning of the wedding, someone’s jacket doesn’t close or someone’s pants aren’t the right size. Wardrobe malfunctions happen for guys too! Make sure as soon as you get your suit that it, and any other accessories with it, are all what you ordered and wanted!

2. Practice, Practice, Practice!

Certain accessories are trickier than others to put on… these accessories are typically cuff links, pocket squares and ties (ESPECIALLY bow ties!) Our biggest tip is to practice putting all these on as much as possible, especially if you’re not used to wearing them and have never had experience with any of them. This will save you SO much time on your wedding day. It’s also good that you tell all of your groomsmen the same thing because for all you know, 5 out of your 6 groomsmen may have never worn a pocket square before!

3. Don’t be afraid of accessories!

Most of the time, a lot of the attention goes to the Bride and her details but the Groom’s details are just as important! Besides your tie and pocket squares, a lot of guys don’t worry too much about accessories. But, I always say to embrace accessories because they really can make a huge difference in completing an outfit and really let YOUR personality shine on your own wedding day! So instead of wearing the cuff links that come with your suit, get some personalized ones or some fun pop culture ones! An EASY and subtle way to add a fun accessory? Wear fun socks or a tie clip! Even a sleek watch is considered a nice accessory for a wedding day and you have no idea how much you’ll be staring at the time on your wedding day so it’s always good to have. If you’re having a winter wedding, a nice scarf can transform an outfit. Having a summer wedding? Instead of wearing a jacket, a nice shirt and vest is SO sharp looking!

4. Don’t get fully dressed!

I always tell my Grooms that the morning of the wedding, whether they are getting ready at home or in a hotel, they are totally free to put their shirt, pants and socks on. Everything else? WAIT! Jose shows up to the getting ready location and the very first thing he does it capture all of your accessories – including your shoes, cuff links and tie! Make sure you don’t already have those on. Then he’ll instruct you when to get dressed and, one by one, he’ll capture each step organically. You putting on your shoes, your best man helping you put on your jacket, your dad straightening your tie… these are the quintessential getting ready photos for the Groom! The best way to have gorgeous album spreads of that portion of the day is just to wait until Jose tells you it’s time to get ready! 🙂

5. Same goes for the card & gift… Don’t open it!!

When your Bride gives a gift or card for you to open on the morning of your wedding, chances are it’s something special 🙂 and chances are high that she may want us to capture your reaction! This is something I always double-check with my Brides and Grooms that they want us to capture and so if it IS something you’d like photographed, do NOT open either the card or gift until we arrive (and if you have a videographer, make sure they are there for that moment too!)

6. Drink a little liquid courage… but not too much!

Nerves WILL show up on a wedding day. That’s just natural! The best way to calm them down is to a share a drink with your groomsmen. I’m not going to tell you how many, you know your limit lol, but we don’t frown upon it. Just don’t show up drunk to your ceremony or first look 😉 If it will help calm down any nerves then do it 🙂 And most of the time, Jose will always grab a photo of the guys drinking beer or taking shots and it’s always a fun memory to capture! It’s even more fun when the guys have their own personalized beer glasses or an awesome accessory like a ShotSki! If you’re not a big drinker, make sure you have other ways to unwind on hand. Whether it’s playing with a deck of cards, watching a football or baseball game or playing some Playstation (sorry Xbox, we’re Playstation people!) – do it! Whatever calms the nerves 🙂

Be sure to leave a comment below if there are any other topics you’d like me to talk about that are just for the Groom! 😉

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