Enter The Man Registry’s Ultimate Groom Giveaway
Enter The Man Registry’s Ultimate Groom Contest by leaving a blog comment below! The winning groom will receive over $1100 worth of prizes.
Grooms – Nominate yourself as The Ultimate Groom. Tell us a unique way you’ve gotten involved with the wedding planning or share a story that shows how you stand out from other grooms.
Brides – Has your man gone above and beyond your expectations when it comes to getting involved in the planning? Tell us why your groom is a step above the rest and deserves this great prize pack.
Nominations can be as long/short as you like.
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You can also enter the contest by fanning us on Facebook and posting a comment on our wall with your nomination OR tweeting your nomination and tagging with #ultimategroom.
Tags: #UltimateGroom, Groom Giveaway, The Man Registry Contest, Ultimate Groom Contest
March 1st, 2010 at 9:24 am
I have been amazed at the involvement of my groom – Andrew. With his parents in Scotland and both of my parents deceased, all of the planning (and paying) has fallen on our shoulders and he has totally stepped up to help me (keep my sanity) make sure this wedding celebration is about us. His work hours are more flexible than mine so he is the one who has called venues and caterers to ask the important questions and set up appointments to meet with them. Yesterday, he called me over to the computer where he had about 20 different videos waiting to play so that we could think not only about the music list, but most importantly our first dance.
Probably the biggest thing in all of this though is how he’s constantly been there for me to talk to when I get sad about the fact that my mom and dad aren’t here – and won’t be there. He’s helped me figure out ideas for walking down the aisle, father/daughter dance and is just always there with a big hug. It would just be wonderful for him to win these special prizes to reward him for being amazing and such a big help in planning the biggest day of our lives (so far!)
March 1st, 2010 at 1:21 pm
I created the master guest list AND a list of alternates. It sounds easy, but I assure you it wasn’t. Oh, and I am writing my own vows.
March 1st, 2010 at 2:21 pm
Although he’s a law student, prepping for a PhD program and trying to have a bit of a social life… my husband-to-be has been incredibly involved in the planning of our upcoming nuptials. He’s developed a variety of excel spread sheets to track EVERYTHING (guests to invite, things to register for, engagement presents we’ve received and thank you cards we have sent – and need to send – out). He accompanied me to Bed Bath and Beyond and helped me navigate the aisles (and the gun) and researched other registry options and items when we got home. He’s listened to countless of bands, helped plan the ever-daunting parents-meeting-the-parents weekend and even sat through an episode of Say Yes to the Dress! But most importantly, he always has a shoulder to lean on, a smile to offer and a hand to hold when I’m feeling overwhelmed. This would be an amazing way to say Thank You for being my best friend!
March 1st, 2010 at 4:32 pm
I’ve actually done a lot of work planning my wedding (coming up, June 20). I do graphic design and photomanipulation, so I have a better eye for design than my lovely fiance. Because of that I meet with our wedding designer and have designed the entire look. I also chose the photographer and the videographer. And I designed the save the dates and invitations myself, have them made, and addressed and sent them out.
I helped her shop for her wedding dress, helped choose the bridal party, found the venue, created the guest list, created a list for our wedding registry, and have been a part of every integral decision in the process.
Also I chose our honeymoon destination (with her help of course), which I am super excited about: Antigua (Caribbean Island).
I probably wouldn’t have done all of this had my fiance been able to do more, but I just graduated college and she’s still in her final semester. So I have more time.
Woohoo for awesome grooms!
March 1st, 2010 at 8:46 pm
While there are sure to many awesome grooms out there, I have the ultimate for sure. My FH is a full-time Law Student (a whole lot of work—he is only a first year). Not to mention his school is 650 miles home.
When we deiced to get married amidst his law studies, I figured I would do it alone. Albeit a daunting task, I was ready to take it one. I have never been more wrong.
Adam has been there every step of the way from picking the venue to hiring the photographers to selecting our first dance to addressing save the dates. Adam is truly a partner in the planning when he could just let me handle the burden.
We sure do make a amazing team, but that is what it is about.
March 1st, 2010 at 10:01 pm
My fiance has really amazed me with how involved he’s been in the wedding planning process. Before we even got engaged, I knew he was going to be a very active groom. He saved and saved for a long time and then hand-picked my engagement ring without any help from anyone, and it’s the most amazing ring. From the moment we got engaged and started talking about our wedding, he’s been very honest and open about his opinions, his vision, and what he wants our special day to be like. First, he helped choose our wedding date. Then, he wanted to look at every inch of our wedding location before we booked it. He was also very involved in selecting each and every item that’s going to be on our wedding menu, and wanted to sample everything from the caterer. To help us save money, he actually designed our Save The Date card from scratch and plans to design our wedding invites and the rest of our wedding stationery as well. When I ask him what he thinks about options for the decor, and the place settings, and the favors, he never just says “whatever you want” or “I don’t care” — he always tells me exactly what he thinks, and when it’s time to make decisions, he wants to get involved in looking at all the different options and making selections. My fiance deserves this prize pack because, even though he doesn’t have a lot of money, he always makes me feel really special, and he is really trying to do everything in his power to make sure our wedding day is perfect.
March 2nd, 2010 at 2:26 am
I nominate myself as the Ultimate Groom. I’ve already raised 90% of the wedding budget. Moved 3 1/2 hours to prepare to live with my bride, and it’s only been two weeks and we’ve gotten a budget breakdown, guest list, and officiant.
March 2nd, 2010 at 11:01 am
Greg started being the perfect fiance with the most outrageous, surprising proposal I could never have thought of! It consisted of getting the ring I’d picked, getting us stranded at an airport in a city I loved, proposing at the airport (a big place for us because traveling was a big part of our courtship), meeting up with the people I loved, and getting my parents from a different state to surprise me at dinner! (You can read more about it here)
We’ve only been engaged a couple of months, but I’ve been going wedding crazy, and the best part about my fiance is that he can handle me and talk me down from the proverbial cliff when I’ve had wedding-related burnouts. We are a team and he’s been good about giving me input about the event, but also knowing how to bring me back to reality, get me away from my wedding blogs/Twitter/vendor sites/dress pictures and help me remember that by having a solid, balanced relationship, we’re planning the marriage, not just the wedding.
March 3rd, 2010 at 3:34 pm
I’d like to nominate my fiancé, Josh. He has done all of the things others have mentioned: proposed with a family ring over 80 years old, looked for a photographer, band, rehearsal dinner venue, and helped with the guest list, stuffing the save the dates and creating our registry. He also didn’t bat an eye when my mother crashed on our couch for almost a week so we could do some planning with her (we live in Massachusetts, she lives in Kansas). None of these things make him stand out though. What makes him stand out is that he is doing all this in his fifth year of graduate school in economics. Furthermore, he researches how US tax policies affect single women, meanwhile he will be taking away a single woman from his data when we get married!
March 6th, 2010 at 11:28 am
“I have the biggest crush on you.”
I stared down at my hands. Half-scared and half-relieved that I got it over with.
“That’s very flattering…”
“But I have a boyfriend,” Alisha reluctantly shared.
Obviously, whoever deemed honesty as the best policy had never experienced the tragic side effects of having the woman of your dreams tell you she’s making someone else’s come true.
“Well… that’s OK. I really do thank you for being honest,” I replied. #FAIL
My hands stared up at me. They held my deflated heart and probably wished I had left well enough alone.
Alisha and I had been friends for almost a year before I marshaled up enough courage to reveal my real intentions. We worked on public relations campaigns together. We attended the same church. I was good friends with her cousin. We knew the same people and went the same places. It was a losing battle.
So what did I do? I went on a love fast.
I didn’t date anyone else. They didn’t matter. Alisha and I stayed good friends and we really began to know and appreciate one another even more. I kept busy at work and spending time with friends and family. You see, once you experience fine cuisine, you can’t go back to TV dinners.
Why am I the ultimate groom? Because I waited for what I wanted and trusted for what I needed. I’m not sure if was due to faith or foolishness, but one year later and Alisha is my fiancé. Sure, I’m helping her look at venues, pick our wedding planner, look at catering options and design the wedding website. But most of all I’m just there when she needs a hug to ease the frustration. I listen when she feels overwhelmed and make her laugh when she feels misunderstood by family.
Now when I look down at my hands, I see another pair right there beside them. As I type this entry, she is at the Unveiled Bridal Show in Dallas with her mom. This evening we will sit down and discuss her ideas for center pieces and floral arrangements. I’m the ultimate groom only because she’s my one and only love.
Check out a video of my surprise proposal here: http://vimeo.com/9791654
March 6th, 2010 at 1:11 pm
Robert, my fiancee, has been the best. I do not work, since I am finishing my doctorate and do not have the time to do anything. We are also paying for our wedding by ourselves. This is why I want to nominate Robert for the Ultimate Groom. He started working two part-time jobs, besides the full-time job he currently holds, to help pay for our wedding. He also attends all meetings with vendors and helps make the best decision. He has always been really supportive with my schooling, but he greatest fiancee accomplishment happened recently. He sold his very first motorcycle so that I could afford the dress of my dreams. He really is the greatest man I could ever ask for, and he is very deserving of this Ultimate Groom Giveaway!
March 8th, 2010 at 2:47 pm
I’d like to nominate myself, egotistical as that may seem, though I give my fiancee credit for informing me of this contest. As a groom who (gasp!) actually cares about planning my wedding, I’ve been pretty involved in the major work we’ve done so far. I’ve gone through the budget-planning with my fiancee and contributed my thoughts on decor, food, music, and registry. And I’ve been willing to compromise and collaborate when we come into conflict. Even putting this much effort into wedding-planning makes me more “involved” than most grooms. But what I think sets me apart are my contributions to my fiancee’s burgeoning wedding blog, “A Los Angeles Love”.
She started blogging about 6 months ago, and she’s steadily grown a sizable audience of a few thousand readers. In recent months, when she’s been sick, slammed with work, or otherwise unable to devote free time to writing, I have jumped in to keep the content flowing with guest posts, sometimes for a full week at a time. And not just half-assed work, either. Some of my posts have been thousand-word essays on serious topics like tradition & family, or about looking at a wedding from a groom’s perspective. A few posts have sparked great discussions with my fiancee’s readership. I feel great that I’ve been able to add to the conversation and provide a thoughtful, honest man’s point of view in a female-dominated arena. Even better, I’ve gained a lot of insight myself through the process of blogging and commenting on my posts, which has helped make me a better groom and future husband.
While I commend all the entrants above, I think that my serious contributions to the wedding-blog world show that I don’t just care about the trappings of the wedding, but also the bigger-picture issues and ideas associated with marriage and partnership. And that’s why I think I deserve the title of Ultimate Groom. Thanks for your consideration!
March 14th, 2010 at 3:31 pm
My fiance, Trent, is undoubtedly the most amazing fiance in the history of fiances! I can’t even begin to tell the story of how he proposed – let’s just say that he published a 250 page hardcover book of all of our previous email correspondence with a page at the back asking me to marry him. Amazing.
As soon as we got engaged, Trent set up a blog for us so that we could keep our friends and families updated on wedding plans, etc. As far as his contributions to the wedding planning are concerned, Trent was actually a little slow getting involved. He knows how important this day is to me, and he didn’t want to get in the way of what I wanted to see at the wedding. BUT – as soon as I asked him to help, he jumped in there wholeheartedly!
He arranged for the DJ (which isn’t an easy feat seeing as how Trent lives in Alabama and the wedding is in Oklahoma!). Trent was solely responsible for making and sending out our save-the-date magnets – which are beautiful! He has also helped tremendously with the guest list and invitations. And he’s taken over the contact with the crazy caterers…helping me get the cost of the food for the reception down to a bearable amount! And…he’s taken the responsibility of working out how we’re going to get my things moved from NYC to Alabama before the wedding in Oklahoma. That’s quite the feat!
But regardless of the wonderfully helpful physical contributions that Trent has made in terms of wedding planning, he has certainly been a HUGE support for me during this time. I’m in graduate school in New York, and things have been very stressful. Trying to finish school, plan a wedding in a different state, maintain a long-distance relationship, and live in what I find a very difficult city to live in – it’s tough. But Trent has been my rock. He’s kept me sane and grounded. He’s asked some difficult questions and made me really consider what’s truly important in life and in our wedding. He looks past the one-day event to the rest of our lives and has done so much to help us prepare for our future together.
Oh! And just this weekend, Trent arranged a surprise birthday party for me from 1,000 miles away. He flew in town, surprised me at a restaurant, and made sure that all of my friends were waiting back at my apartment for surprise #2! What a WONDERFUL man!
Maybe I’m a little biased, but Trent is the most amazing fiance. I would be THRILLED if he won the title of Ultimate Groom – and I’m sure he would, too! He certainly deserves it! Honestly, he deserves all that the world has to give!! I am so incredibly blessed to get to marry this man, and even if he doesn’t win this contest, Trent will forever be my Ultimate Groom!!
March 14th, 2010 at 9:14 pm
It would be cliché to say that Kyle is amazing. Sure, I think he is but so does every bride responding to this contest. Kyle is a typical guy who watches sports, would rather play online poker than discuss wedding flowers, and literally could care less about the details of the day. What he cares about, besides the aforementioned sports, is that I am happy. I don’t pretend to think that he enjoys going to cake tastings, (well maybe he enjoys that part) or enjoys talking to vendors. What I do know, is that he is willing to do it, not because he cares about the details, but because he cares about me and I’m okay with that. Our wedding is unconventional in that it doubles as a charity event. In addition to planning as normal we have created a blog (http://thecharitywedding.com) to raise awareness for various charities and detail our progress. Kyle has supported the idea 100% since I proposed it to him a little over a month ago. “Simple” wedding planning was transformed into planning events for charity, soliciting donations from vendors, and keeping up with a daily blog. Kyle who is extremely shy, writing included, even agreed to submit a blog post. This may seem like no big feat to you, but if you knew Kyle and you knew it was like pulling teeth to get him to have a conversation with a stranger, you would be impressed. Sure he calls vendors, helps pick colors and appeases me by pretending that tulips are his favorite topic of conversation but more importantly, he doesn’t complain, he does absolutely anything I ask, and he stands by any decision I make. He is a chiropractor working on opening his own practice, we help manage his parent’s restaurant, and we are trying to buy a house. Needless to say he is busy but he makes time and his calm, laid back demeanor helps me from becoming the bridezilla of your nightmares. In fact you’d never even know he isn’t enjoying himself. The process has become important to him because he knows it is important to me, and that I am willing to call amazing.