Real Men Help Out

You may still be auditioning for the part

All men who were fortunate enough to have their proposal accepted by that special woman in their lives should be careful because the audition is not over yet. The time a couple spends planning a wedding can give a woman a good idea of the kind of man she’s marrying. If you show her patience, kindness, and attentiveness to her suggestions, then the planning, and the audition, will go smoothly.

Who is this wedding for anyway?!

The hardest thing for a couple to realize is that their wedding is a celebration of their love, and not a showcase for their family and friends. A wedding can become a political affair if you have too many family members contributing their ideas and opinions from every angle. If you invite a several people to a tasting with the caterer, the location can feel a little crowded. Actually, the relationship might feel a little crowded, too.

Keep the decision-making to the two of you, even though you might have parents or others contributing financially to the wedding

If a man has to go through the woman’s mother, sisters, aunts and grandmother to make a simple decision like what kind of wine to serve at the reception, he might withdraw from the process and stop participating altogether. Remember the song "Just the Two of Us"? Keep the decision-making to the two of you, even though you might have parents or others contributing financially to the wedding. It will keep things simple.

Compromise.

Having a wedding processional song that sounds like anything from the Heavy Metal genre may not sound like the best idea to the bride-to-be. But, you might think that it’s the best idea in the world! Your fianceé may get annoyed with some of your crazy ideas, like having the wedding dress match the colors of your alma mater. Or, if you’re really daring, you might suggest that the wedding cake be shaped in the form of anything sports related. Don’t be surprised if she unleashes her fury, and you feel like you’ve started World War III.

Here’s what you can do: Listen to her ideas and offer some of your own. She may be open to matching the bridesmaid’s dresses to the colors of the Chicago Bears, or she may not. You have to keep working on this together. Don’t give up if you feel overwhelmed, because it will make the process that much harder for you both. It’s worth it trust me. If you’re anything like me, you’ll breathe a sigh of relief when you’re standing at the altar next to the woman you love. From that point on, it’ll be smooth sailing for the rest of the day.

Okay, here’s my last thought. Although a woman may have her wedding already planned out before she even meets the man of her dreams, the picture perfect wedding day is best painted by two artists, not one.

Good luck!


Marco Rodriguez is an independent filmmaker and cinematographer based in the Chicagoland area. Over the last few years he has shot of number of commercials, music videos, documentaries and award-winning films around the country. When he is not working on a film project or a new screenplay, he writes a regular column for Wedding Chicago.