Communication is the Key to a Successful Wedding

More articles on the Weddings topic: Weddings

Getting Married is one of the biggest decisions you will ever make in your life. You will often hear that the key to a successful marriage is communication. Weddings are the same way. Often, grooms have relatively little involvement with wedding planning. This isn't an indicator of failure by any means. Many successful weddings have been planned and run this way. You would be surprised at how helpful even uninterested grooms can be if you are open with them about your planning. One thing that can help get them involved is tasking.

Giving the groom specific tasks to accomplish to help you out is good for them and it is good for you. Many men don't know the first thing about weddings. They know that it is an elaborate event, that it is very important, and they know about bachelor parties. Starting out simple is the way to go. The process of planning a wedding isn't rocket science, but it is something that is very involved and takes a lot of thought. When your fiance realizes that he can be an effective part of the process, and when he realizes how much effort you are putting into it, he will (hopefully) come around.

I don't want to put all men in the same bucket. Obviously I'm generalizing here for the sake of trying to write some generally useful advice. You know your fiance better than I do.

Starting simple is easy early on in the planning stages. Some easy things that will take a load off of your plate are:

• Get a top 10 list of wedding photographers to talk to.


• Find some criteria to help decide on a florist.


• Talk to your family and find out if there are any guests who have special
  dietary requirements.


• Call references for (officiant, wedding coordinator, florist, wedding site,
  wedding chapel, etc.)


• List of songs you do not want to hear at our wedding.


• List of songs you really want to hear at our wedding.


• Learn how to dance. (okay, this one might be a little lofty)

The point is to give him something to work on that has an easily recognizable ending. It makes him feel like he's accomplished something when he's done. It also helps to provide an understanding that these relatively simple sounding tasks can take hours, days, even weeks to accomplish. Realize that if you override decisions early on in the process that chances are he will be turned off to the idea of participating in the process. If there is a chance you won't like his decisions, don't task him with making them - at least early on in the process. If he feels like he can't help because he just doesn't know anything about weddings, he may end up trying to help you by staying out of your way.

Communication is also key with all of the people you will be working with - from hairdressers to florists, djs to ministers. Even professionals need guidance and input. Do not be shy about letting people know what you like and don't like. None of us want to be bridezilla, but then again none of us want to have a subpar wedding either.

If you communicate your needs well, you can expect things to run more smoothly. Nobody wants to disappoint the bride, but it can't be helped if nobody knows what her desires are.

Communication is the Key to a Successful Wedding Commentary

Recent Articles