In contemporary weddings, everyone – the bride, her parents, the groom, and his parents contributes financially to the wedding. And it’s not just the financial part in which the groom and his family have to chip in, but the wedding planning, budgeting, and décor of the wedding in which they have to contribute in some way or another.
So, what are these groom wedding responsibilities in today’s weddings? How can the groom help the bride in planning the wedding? What responsibilities should the parents of the groom handle? Let’s find out.
Groom Wedding Responsibilities
The first thing a groom has to do is to prepare the guest list and give it to the bride at least three to four months before the wedding so that the venue booking and other arrangements can be made accordingly. Besides this, there are several things for which a groom is solely responsible. Below is a complete groom wedding checklist.
- Plan the honeymoon and pay for it. See to it that all the required travel documents are in place. Also, obtain the traveler’s checks needed for the honeymoon.
- Buy the wedding ring, engagement ring, and wedding gift for the bride.
- Help the bride in planning and organizing the wedding ceremony.
- Purchase or rent his wedding attire as well as choose the attire for the female bridal party.
- Some payments that the groom should make for the ceremony are – payment to musicians, and officiant, payment for the bridal bouquet, and payment for wedding flowers such as boutonnieres and corsages at the wedding party.
Bride and Groom Wedding Responsibilities
There are some things on which both the bride and the groom should work together. Planning the wedding budget is one such thing. The parents should also be consulted if they have offered to contribute to the wedding. Besides the budget, planning the wedding, right from the theme, décor, date, timing, wedding catering, kind of reception to the number of guests, and the kind and place of ceremony should be decided jointly by the bride and the groom. The reservations for the venue and other things should be made as soon as possible.
Wedding invitations, gifts for bridesmaids and groomsmen, and gifts for parents should be decided on and purchased by the couple together. Some official works, such as obtaining the marriage license, meeting the wedding officiate or going in for premarital counseling should be done jointly too.
Parents of the Groom Wedding Responsibilities
If the parents have decided to contribute and assist in the wedding, which is good wedding etiquette, then there are a number of things that they can do to help the bride and the groom in planning the wedding ceremony. Both the groom’s father and mother can help compile the guest list. The father can help the groom choose his wedding attire or attire for the male bridal party. The mother of the groom’s responsibilities includes selecting her attire which is similar in color and style to that of the bride’s mother.
The groom’s parents can offer to pay and host the rehearsal dinner, or alternately they can offer to pay for all the beverages at the reception. Reservations in hotels for all out-of-town guests who are invited from the groom’s side, should be done by the groom’s parents. And finally, the parents should arrive at least one hour before the wedding ceremony is scheduled.
As far as the groom’s wedding responsibilities or, for that matter, anybody’s responsibilities in wedding planning are concerned, there is no hard and fast rule that only a particular person should do a specific job. Anybody with the means, capability, and willingness can offer to assist in anything. Still, if the responsibilities are divided in the beginning, and everybody is clear on what he or she has to do, it will help in planning, organizing and conducting the wedding smoothly.
