Ever wonder what a wedding day is like from the groom’s eyes? We do! So, today, we’re excited to share this beautiful story. Follow along as a Groom dishes about what happens on wedding day so you know what to expect. It’ll no doubt prepare grooms for the big day.
It’s no secret that when you think about weddings most people automatically think about brides, the wedding dress, and um…well probably the food or really the open bar. And while most of the time the bride is the one doing most of the planning and decision making, it’s a big deal for the grooms too. Which got us thinking, what’s a wedding day like for a groom?
We love our brides, but the grooms need a little love too. So, today we have a wonderful wedding experience to share with you…from the Grooms perspective.
Special thank you to Michael from Man’s Best Bands for his inspirational wedding day experience. Enjoy!
What To Expect The Day Of Your Wedding (For Men)
Assuming you’ve had an average length engagement, you’ve probably had a whirlwind of a year full of planning things you never thought you’d find yourself planning. The list of tedious decisions is long, from napkin colors to deciding between bacon-wrapped dates or Caprese skewers (choose bacon-wrapped dates always). And don’t get me started on wedding invitations…
A Grooms Advice
My wife and I had a LONG guest list that we had to widdle down by a large margin due to Covid. Which caused a lot of stress.
But if you’ve made it far enough to be interested in an article about what to expect when you’re expecting….a wedding, then congrats! You’ve done the dirty work, the toughest part. Now you get to let the ridiculously priced wedding coordinator put your plans into action.
Although your wedding day is just as big of a whirlwind as the full year of planning, this is your day to sit back and let it happen. To have fun and enjoy the moment.
Easier said than done!
So, in this article, I’m going to go over all the things you should expect on your big day and any advice I have to make it a great day.
The Night Before
Ok I know I said this is what to expect on the day of. But the wedding really starts the night before at the rehearsal dinner. So let’s quickly cover that!
Pace Yourself
These days it’s becoming very common to have some sort of rehearsal dinner where you don’t actually do much rehearsing and it’s really just a pre-party. We did for our wedding and I would highly recommend it. It’s a great opportunity to invite both of your immediate family to meet in a more casual, non-wedding setting.
It also is a good chance to get in your obligatory hello’s to your relatives so that you don’t have to on your wedding day!
This type of rehearsal dinner may also be your first chance to see any of your closest friends that have come into town. Although your excitement and mood will be very high, I’d suggest keeping the drinking to enough drinks to get a nice buzz, but not enough to be hungover the next day. However, this is up to how well you can handle hangovers! But for me, I wanted to make sure I wasn’t a zombie the next day.
Whether or not you’re having a small party the night before your wedding, I’d recommend relaxing, catching up with friends and family, and appreciating everyone coming to support you!
Wedding Day From The Groom's Perspective
The Morning Of
Chances are, you won’t get an amazing night’s sleep the day before your wedding. Even if you’re not “nervous” about the big day, you’ll have a lot of thoughts on your mind that will do a good job of keeping you from sleeping peacefully.
But don’t worry, the adrenaline from it being your wedding day will make it easy to get up and moving!
Do Something Fun or Relaxing
For men, the morning of is a great opportunity to do something fun. Luckily us boys aren’t burdened with needing the full day and then some to get ready. So for me, I went and got a great breakfast with my dad, brother, and groomsmen. We, of course, had a few mimosas to start the day off right. This is a great time to give your groomsmen their groomsmen gifts too!
And we happened to be in a casino…so hit the casino around 10 am. I spent the morning gambling our honeymoon fund away.
Ok not really..but it was a great way to spend some time with my closest friends and take the morning slow. The nerves may be there slightly off in the distance, but overall you should feel pretty good up to this point!
For others, I’d suggest doing whatever is something that you’ll enjoy. Here are some great ideas:
- Golf (Real or Mini)
- Fishing
- Go to the barber (a real one, not great clips)
- Relax at a beach or pool
The Afternoon
Although most weddings aren’t until around 5pm, the day will FLY! It’s really common to do some sort of “reveal” photos with you and your bride. And for many, you’ll even take some photos at the venue before the wedding. This all takes a while. So even if your wedding is at 5, you’ll probably need to be wedding ready around 2-3 pm at the latest.
This means you’ll want to start getting ready by around 1:55 pm 🙂
Actually, I’d recommend plenty of time to get ready so that you never feel rushed. This all depends on how much you plan to do to get ready. For me, I gave myself an hour. But only took about 20 minutes (Not counting showering which I did beforehand). For the other 40 minutes, I hung out with my groomsman. Which worked out well in order to avoid being rushed and give yourself time to make up for any disasters like missing vows!
Eat Lunch
If I could relive my wedding day over again, there are not many things I’d change. But one is to make sure I ate lunch.
The day flew by, and for me, I was so busy counting my chips at the blackjack table I didn’t really get much of a chance to eat lunch. By the time I got to the wedding, I was starving. It doesn’t have to be anything big. In fact, I’d recommend keeping it somewhat light. But do eat something.
Because what you don’t understand until you have your own wedding is that it’s tough to eat dinner. With all the hellos, family catch-ups, random pictures, guests coming over for chit-chat at your table, you don’t have all that much time to eat.
When you’re a guest at a wedding, it’s perfectly normal, and easy, to stuff yourself at the buffet. But on your own wedding day, things will get in the way. So eat some lunch!
When Things Get Real
Things will get real once you start getting ready. There’s something about putting on your suit and having the photographers taking awkward photos of you that get’s your heart racing a bit.
For me, the getting ready process only lasted probably 20 minutes. I was then picked up by the photographers to be taken to the “reveal photos”. And at that point, I started to get a little nervous. Not that anything was going to go wrong. But just the emotion and build-up of the event will start to hit you.
But keep things light, give your best cheesy smiles, and enjoy the moment! Before you know it, you’ll be at the venue.
Before The Walk Out
Before the wedding starts is an interesting feeling! If you’ve ever played sports, I’d probably compare it to the moments leading to an upbat, or being at the free-throw line. There is no need to be trembling with fear or nerves but you’re going to be nervous – no matter how confident you are.
For me, 20 or so min before walking out, my groomsmen and I went into a private little room, drank a glass of fine whiskey, and hung out. As much as I tried to relax, I was definitely nervous! It’s sort of an anxious, excited, and nervous feeling all in one.
But anything you can do to enjoy the moment with your closest friends will help calm the nerves. Do your final checks, make sure you have your vows, your best man (or whoever) has the wedding bands, and your hair is looking good.
The Wedding
You’ve made it to the big moment! For me, the actual wedding ceremony may have been the one time where things slowed down. As soon as the officiant says his opening remarks, the nerves settled a bit. I’m not one for being the center of attention, but I’ll say it wasn’t as nerve-racking as I imagined.
Nerves are there for most of the ceremony, but our officiant kept it light, and after the opening remarks, you’ll settle in.
Take a few moments to remember your surroundings, and maybe do a few deep breaths to slow yourself down. And unless you’re a well-versed public speaker, I’d recommend reading your vows vs memorizing (if doing vows).
There is enough to think about and be nervous about to where you won’t want to add another! And on the off-chance you forget a line, your wife may never forget!
The Reception
Like the rest of the day, the reception will fly by. It’s another thing that is vastly different when it’s your wedding vs when you’re a guest. When you’re a guest, you do what you want when you want. But when it’s your own wedding, they’ll be one thing after another you’ll be shuttled off to. Here’s how it will go down:
You’ll walk back down the aisle happily married, probably go somewhere to sign your marriage certificate with the officiant, take a celebratory drink with your family and bridal/groomsmen party, then be shuttled to some post-ceremony photos. Then you’ll come back to be introduced at the end of happy hour. Try to get in as many hello’s as possible until it’s time for dinner. You’ll get food, and may have a few minutes to talk with your wife about how everything is going and to say how crazy this all is! Then before you know it, it will be speech time, then first dance time, then you’ll need to be whisked away briefly for some sunset photos of course. But you’ll be back just in time for the mamba #5.
Ok…phew. That was a lot. It’s already 8 pm at this point! And it’s at this point where you, for the most part, have no other wedding to-do’s. And can fully enjoy the rest of the night. So do just that. The last hour or two of your wedding should be the most fun part. It will start to dwindle down to your closest friends, immediate family, and those that are fully taking advantage of the open bar.
Any nerves are now gone, and at this point, it’s just a fun party with your friends!
And after the reception will most likely go either two ways. One, you’ll have a passionate night of love. Or two, you’ll be so drunk and tired that you’ll both pass out shortly after getting to your room…
But either way, you’ll be stoked that you’re married, and will wake up happy in the morning!
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