There’s no denying the fact that what with all the gorgeous dresses, pretty flowers and emotional moments, weddings can be a bit, well… girly. However, your big day is going to be full of men who’ve made your life all the happier for being in it – so make sure you repay the favour and think of them on your wedding! Here are our tops tips on keeping the male contingent happy…
1. Keep them fed
Men tend to get grumpy and restless if they’re peckish and there’s no food about to eat. If you think about it, many of your guests may have got up early to drive quite a way to your wedding so if you have the ceremony at 1pm or so, they won’t have had anything to eat since breakfast and won’t get anything until the reception starts, which might not be until about 3pm or so.
So our top tip here is to offer snacks just as soon as you can, particularly if you’re getting married when the weather is a bit colder. Think substantial canapés – maybe even serve mini sandwiches and offer them the moment your guests hit the reception, don’t keep them hanging about. If you do, you risk the males of the party disappearing off to visit the nearest McDonalds!
“Men always like to be served what they call ‘proper food’,” adds Sandy Moretta from the UK Alliance of Wedding Planners. “I love the looks on their faces when they discover that the main course is bangers and mash or fish and chips!”
2. Give them a beer
In case you hadn’t noticed, men tend to love a beer. So when everyone arrives at your reception, make sure beer is on offer as well as champagne and wine. It’s sure to raise a smile and many of the males will really appreciate it.
3. Catching up with long lost mates and ‘bonding’
Contrary to popular opinion, men can get a bit emotional – they just have a different way of showing it. Your new husband may well have invited friends from his childhood, school and university and it may be a while since they saw one another. They’ll want to talk about all the stuff they did years ago and who’s doing what, so let them! Don’t feel jealous or left out if your other half wants to spend some time at the bar catching up with his mates or talking about people and stuff you don’t know. He decided to marry you and he’s here today with you – you’re now an important part of his life and his future. Get a photo taken of them all together and get it framed for your other half.
4. Flirting
If you’re single, you’re likely to be going to a wedding wondering if there’ll be anyone there you’ll like. Men are no different in this regard – and single men will love having a bit of a flirt and chat with your girlfriends. So think carefully about your table plan – don’t put single people on a table full of married couples with children. Instead try and have a couple of tables just for singles. Even if they don’t hit it off romantically, they should have more fun that way – especially if you try and seat people you know have things in common together.
5. If you can’t stand the heat…
Unless you’re having a really informal wedding, your male guests are going to be strutting their stuff in smart suits or morning coats. And if you get married in a heatwave then they might start feeling uncomfortable and hot. So if that’s the case, make an announcement early on at the reception that men are welcome to remove their jackets and waistcoats if they wish (the groom should probably lead the way on this one). Hot and bothered men aren’t going to be happy men.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_wr5P7thKM
6. Endless speeches. Don’t.
We’ve written quite a bit already about giving a speech at a wedding and we’d like to repeat our advice about not letting the speeches go on too long. Apart from little children getting restless, you’ll find that the men at your wedding start gazing at the ceiling, the floor and you may even find some low murmurs of chat going on at some tables. So don’t let anybody speak for too long and you’ll keep the men at your wedding happy – and everybody else, too!
7. Time off from being a dad
Some of your friends with new babies and young children will have brought them along to your wedding. Whilst it’s lovely to have little kids about, it can be exhausting for the parents. If you can afford it, try and organise some childcare for the kids in another room or a children’s entertainer. New dads will love being able to have an uninterrupted catch-up with their wives and a smoochy dance together.
8. Sporting moments
This is probably going to cause some comment, but we think men will adore it if they can follow the scores of a big match onscreen at your wedding reception. If your big day has clashed with a major football or rugby match, many of the male guests are going to want to check what’s going on. So why not let them? If you have a TV set up in another room or behind a bar, your male guests will appreciate your consideration and enjoy the party afterwards even more (if the right team win that is!) Just make sure the TV screen is turned off after the event finishes.
If your man’s looking for more wedding day tips and tricks, why not check out the Groom’s Advice section of our website? It’ll tell him everything from how to fix his tie to how to wow the guests (and you!) with his wedding speech.
