wisp + whim: Wedding Wednesdays : Getting Ready : The Groom

Since I recently got hitched, and have all the photos from the big day, I thought it would be fun to start a weekly series sharing my favorite images and memories, and maybe a few tips and resources along the way. This is the second installment. If you're planning a wedding, make sure to check out "The Credits" at the end. Enjoy!

Most grooms have it pretty easy on the morning of their wedding. The getting-ready process is much quicker, much simpler—there’s no fussing with hair, makeup, accessories—leaving plenty of time to just hang with their boys, drink beer, play games, shoot pool, what have you.

My husband, on the other hand, did not have the luxury of not-much-to-do. GT was busy and running around town the morning of our wedding. He had a lot of stuff to bring to the venue: a truckload of cases of beer and wine, furniture we purchased to decorate the space, homemade goodies for the dessert bar. (Not to mention picking up extra copies of our wedding stationery that I forgot, for the photographer to shoot.) He and his groomsmen were great, hauling all that from our home to the venue. And then, when they got there, GT noticed that the ceremony chairs were set up in the wrong place! Since the rental company had already left, the guys sprung into action, moving and re-setting all the chairs. Lifesavers! He also noticed that our sweetheart table had the wrong (too tall) legs on it, of all things. So he made sure that was fixed, too.

All that before finally returning to the hotel to get ready! Geesh.

Since I shared my getting-ready memories last week, I put on my journalist cap and asked GT to give us the groom perspective. (We talked a little bit about it the day after our wedding, and it was so interesting to hear how things went for him before our first look and walk down the aisle!)

Here’s our interview, with some surprising and insightful comments from my main man:

How were you feeling the morning of the wedding?

I was freaking out.

Why?

Getting ready, trying not to forget things, then going to the site and seeing that things were messed up… All along my guys were helping me out, telling me it was OK… but I was still on edge. By the time we got back to the hotel and all my groomsmen were with me, I felt a little bit more relaxed. We got ready. It was a good feeling. But then it was back to losing my cool because my jacket was not complete; it was missing buttons that I forgot at the house. I wasn’t a nervous wreck about getting married. I was nervous about making myself look nice for my bride.

So you were overwhelmed by all there was to do.

Yeah. I was over-thinking a lot of things and that was making me forget stuff. The feeling of actually getting married, I was excited to get married. A lot of feelings came over me at once and it was hard to feel what I would really want to feel when I was getting married.

That’s similar to how I felt. The stress of getting everything together and ready kind of took over the happy emotions.

Yeah.

Once everything was at the venue and the jacket issue was resolved, how did you feel then?

I felt relieved, like a weight was taken off of me a bit. That overwhelming feeling went away and I was able to enjoy the rest of the time.

How did you feel when you were about to leave to go to the venue for the first look?

Nervous but excited. Getting married is a big deal so I was happy but a little nervous.

How did you feel waiting for the first look, to see me?

I was nervous. Not in a bad way, I just wanted to see you. It was a built-up moment.

What was going through your mind?

I was mostly thinking—you were obviously going to look beautiful no matter what. It was an exciting time, going to get married and realizing it was almost here, just an hour away from us committing our love to each other. So it was exciting and then nervous, knowing that we’d have to stand up in front of everybody at the ceremony.

Are you glad we had a first look?

Yes. I know some people are against it… People are different but I’m glad we did it. It’s a good thing to have.

Why is that?

I think when I saw you a lot of the nerves went away. Because it was like, you know you have true love when you are waiting for someone to be by your side, and you feel more at ease when they’re there. You feel more relaxed when you’re with the person you love.

You are so sweet, baby. I’m glad we had a first look, too! It definitely helped calm my nerves as well and put things in perspective, in terms of what the day is all about.

Now that you’ve gone through it, do you have any advice for other grooms on their wedding day?

I would say try to remain calm. Yeah, a lot of things are happening in one day and you want it to be perfect, but try to just remain calm and take it all in because it goes fast. Just wake up and think: This is the greatest day of your life.

Thanks for sharing, hubs! GT is a man of few words when it comes to expressing his emotions, but once I get him to open up he reveals that soft, sensitive side I fell in love with. I hope you enjoyed hearing his perspective as much as I did!

Now, a few more photos from that morning, if you'd like to see...