Wedding Planning Ideas For Guys

Guys Just Wanna Have Fun

Let’s face it, weddings pretty much revolve around the ladies. For the most part, I think the fellas are OK with that, BUT, sometimes they want in on the fun too.
So, how do you get your guy involved with things that he’ll actually enjoy? Here are a few ways grooms of the past have liked to do when it comes to wedding planning.
1. His ring. Every couple is different when it comes to picking out their rings. For us, we both picked out the rings we wanted to wear – this way we knew the rings on our fingers were exactly what we wanted to be wearing! I knew exactly what I wanted before we stepped into a jewelry store. Brandon on the other hand spent some serious time searching for the perfect style on numerous wedding ring websites. He looked at all sorts of metals, from platinum to titanium and eventually settled on a tungsten after a few trips to the jewelers.
2. The music. Whether or not your guy likes to cut a rug, chances are he’ll still enjoy picking out music, form the special dance songs to the tunes that will make your guests party until the A.M.
If he needs some help finding the perfect songs, have him check a few of the numerous wedding websites that exist on the fabulous world wide web. Many of them have lists and lists and lists of tried and true wedding music than any guest is sure to love.
3. The bachelor party. Ooooh where to begin. Some guys go all out when it comes to their bachelor parties….and by all out I do NOT mean exotic dancers, excessive drinking, and illegal substances. B, for instance, took a trip to Vegas with the guys and while I wasn’t there, I trust that they behaved themselves. I know he had a great time though, and it’s something he’ll remember forever. And even if your guy and his dudes are more chill and just what to spend a night out, or at a game, or…doing whatever they love to do the most, let him have his fun!
4. The food. Who DOESN’T love to eat?! Picking out reception food has to be one of the most fun wedding planning tasks, ever, and it’s one that the guys can easily get into. It doesn’t matter if you’re having drinks and appetizers or a four course meal, getting to taste test every option you have will give you and your groom happy taste buds and tummies.
Make sure you give him a chance to voice his opinions, and if you disagree, hear him out. In the end, you might find you like what he likes, too.
5. The reception venue. While you might think the reception is all about the centerpieces and favors, it’s so much more! It’s a space that will add to (or take away from) the overall ambiance of the reception and can leave a lasting impression on your guests.
You might be looking for specific things at each venue (like where you’ll make your grand entrance and where the dance floor will be), but your man might have other things he’s looking out for, like where a second bar will go and how easily people will be able to make it to the buffet line. Don’t dismiss what he says!
6. The transportation. Wedding days are crazy ones. Unless you’re having the ceremony, reception, and photo sessions in one location, you’ll be spending some quality time one vehicle or another. And, while you may be a little OCD about who rides with who and who needs to be where, when, he might be a little more into the “sweet ride” said people are riding in, be it limo, stretch hummer, or vintage luxury car.
Give him some of the need-to-know info (like how many people need to be shuttled around and how many hours transportation is needed), then let him go wild.

Let’s talk about choosing wedding colors.
This is one item on the “to do” list that drives brides crazy. Even we tomboy brides who had no nine-year-old concept of the ultimate wedding — somehow, we instinctively know that nothing can be done until we choose. Those. Colors.
And the cake, wedding party attire, flowers — they’re all totally out of the question until we get it straight.
Let’s admit it, most of the advice on choosing wedding colors is awful. How many times can you read that red’s energizing and blue’s soothing without wanting to gouge out your eyes with a toothbrush? And didn’t simply picking your favorite colors lose some of its appeal around the time you stopped eating rubber cement?
Interestingly, there’s a trend afoot to pick the colors that make you look good. For example, if you’re an ash blonde, you’ll probably look fantastic against a backdrop of charcoal or navy blue, and not so great against canary yellow. But maybe you want to save that sort of Machiavellian planning for your first home instead.
Because when it comes to picking colors, you probably want one thing. You don’t necessarily want the colors you’ve loved since Bobby kissed Kimmy in the third grade, assigning Kimmy to your personal hit list forever.
And you probably don’t care about any 17th-century symbolism. You probably don’t need the colors you’d choose from Rorschach blots if Rorschach blots weren’t black. You simply want your colors to be hot. You know, like if Paris Hilton wandered into your reception, that’s what she’d say. Right?

Seeing’s Believing

To choose hot colors, most of us have to see them. Together. Fortunately, we live in an increasingly design-centric society that makes this dead simple — anyone can go to Target and pick up some sublimely designed stuff for under 30 bucks. Even better for we wired brides, we don’t even have to get out of our butt-cradling chairs.
Start from the top — think like a designer. Go to Pantone’s Trends section, and look over the color picks they’re predicting for this season and next.
For example, Pantone says 2007 shows a softening of the strong, bright colors that have dominated for seasons past, and what’s happening now is “surprising neutrals” with bright accents … really bright. Really high-energy. Tarragon and Cafe Creme for bases. Hollyhock Purple and Green Sheen (think Granny Smith apples on acid) as accents.
Tuck that in your brainpan, because now it’s time to go shopping for all these colors in action. Although what you’ll see in the catalogs are the ghosts of seasons past, it’s true. Because it takes time for colors to materialize into the flesh of draperies, slip covers and wall paint. That doesn’t matter — the colors you’ll find look fresh, and they’ll still look fresh for your wedding even if your big day’s in 2008.
Ready? Let’s go.

“In”-spiration

Highly designed cards and custom stationery are totally fun way to get a bird’s eye view of what’s hot. Designers have fun with cards. They give into whims. They’re not restricted by what people can stand on their couches. Get a quick color infusion by checking out stationary sites like the aptly-named Fabulous Stationery.

“Brown’s the New Black” — Even for 2007

You continue to hear that everywhere. Even in weddings — especially in weddings. Want instant confirmation? Let’s go shopping at the right kind of online home furnishings catalogs. Not the ones that are so out there, they’re selling you pink faux-fur cozies for your screwdrivers, and not the ones that are so generic that the only color scheme you can really pick out is red, white and blue.
You need to check out companies that are stylish but not freaky, like Pottery Barn and Chiasso. You’ll develop your own techniques, but I think the fastest way to see hot color combos in action is to look at the bedding. Comforters and duvets and quilts are huge canvases on which designers get bold, unlike curtains and couches which are usually safe, neutral and conservative. Let’s check out the brown and blue combo which is hot in any scene, most definitely including weddings.

See the similarities? Inhabit shows you a super-mod interpretation of the same scheme Domain has, only Domain is nostalgic and soft about it. Your wedding could lean one way or the other. You could doll up your cake with any one of these patterns. The colors would be similar, but the looks would be wildly different. You could steal those great op-art shapes from Inhabit and weave them into your invites, your plate chargers, your napkins.
Now let’s peek behind the door at some seasonal color swatches.

Pottery Barn shows a lot of bold reds paired with wheats and golds. Oh, and hey, there’s espresso and blue again.
Want something funkier? Let’s check out the fresh, fruity hues of West Elm. Hey! Brown and blue again! But you also see another hot color combo that isn’t quite as obvious: apple green and coral. (Or in West Elm’s playbook, “leek” and “copperplate.” Coral and apple are hot. And they’re hot in weddings, too.

Great. But Could You Just Spell it Out For Me?

Sure. Try this:

But I’m Having a Spring Wedding. What Now?

It’s simple: go for taupe. You want pastel version of the season’s full-strength brights.
Try taupe bridesmaid gowns with chartreuse or baby pink sashes for springtime sophistication. And consider adding some feminine, floral patterns.

Lift Up Those Wings, Little Sparrow

Okay, this could go on and on, but you get the point. So it’s time to set you free with some of our favorite spots to steal inspirations from.
When you’re done, come back here and report what color schemes stole your heart.