By Guest Blogger Madman of The Groom Says

TheKnot.com recently unveiled their 11 Wedding Trends for 2011, and #6 on that coveted list, immediately preceding “Pre-Wedding PJ Parties,” is Wedding Man Caves:

“Blackjack tables, brandy bars, PlayStations and stogies. The man cave has officially moved from the home to the wedding, so create your own and don’t be surprised if you see all the male wedding guests in the new “groom’s corner” at the reception.”

Wha–wha–what’s this we hear? Caves? for Men? at Weddings?

A man cave at a wedding? Yea, I'm pretty sure we're all thinking the same thing.

Imagine you and your better half making your way into the reception venue at her little brother’s wedding. While she scurries to the ladies room, you beeline to your happy place (yes, the open bar), behind which — in a space the venue might normally reserve for guest books or coat racks — you behold an odd but alluring glow. You creep closer and suddenly find yourself immersed in the musky radiance of manly sanctuary: brown leather Martini Cigar chairs and ottomans surrounding a Foosball table built for 20, boxes of imported Cubans, a flat screen TV with Blu-ray, the opening credits of Wedding Crashers, and a top-of-the-line golf simulator currently occupied by — yes, I believe that’s Mad Men’s Jon Hamm.

Chances are you probably won’t even enter the sanctuary. Clearly this is one of two things: (a) a cruel mirage or (b) a trap of some kind devised by the women in attendance. What bride would ever agree to a designated corner of man pleasure? Is she asking us to disappear for the remainder of the wedding, to socialize with our fellow XY chromosomes and pay little to no attention to the evening’s events? Good god no. It must be a clever ruse to determine which of us men are strong enough to resist the temptation and actually (gulp) enjoy the wedding.

Ugh! This is hard!!

But fear not, men. Thanks to the ladies at The Knot, 2011 is our year not only to incorporate man caves into our modern wedding vocabulary but also to push the boundaries of what is acceptable. Bring a dartboard to the next wedding you attend, set it up in a vacant corner and invite the men folk to play a few rounds. Call it an emerging wedding trend. Begin a local message board and swap stories of success and disaster, i.e. 3/5/2011 bare knuckle boxing ring FAIL. If any of the women question it, blame The Knot.

For starters, I’ve created a suggested Wedding Man Cave outline for the calendar year — things we can gradually incorporate into the caves on a month-to-month basis:

JANUARY – Kegs
FEBRUARY – Tournament-edition billiard tables
MARCH – Old-school multi-player GoldenEye on N64
APRIL – Astronaut gear
MAY – Throwing knives
JUNE – Laser tag
JULY – Live re-enactment of The Godfather
AUGUST – Bobby Flay working a grill
SEPTEMBER – Mario/Luigi impersonators
OCTOBER – Boa constrictors
NOVEMBER – Straight up bounce house
DECEMBER – Straight up bounce house with boa constrictors

Dream big, men. Dream big.

With love and encouragement,
Madman

—-

Madman is the founder and editor of The Groom Says — a real groom’s blog that details a year of wedding planning from the guy’s perspective. Check it out for inspiration from Brian (aka Madman) as he recounts the planning of his October 2010 wedding. You can also follow The Groom Says on Twitter.

Would you consider having a man cave or groom’s corner at your wedding? Do you think this trend is here to stay? Let us know by posting a comment below.

Sick of the same old wedding bands and DJ’s? Today, our friend Drew Stoga from GigMasters.com drops by with a few options to consider when looking for your wedding entertainment – if you want to opt for something out of the ordinary.

1. Elvis

In 2010, 222 couples booked Elvis Impersonators for their weddings through GigMasters! The King is very much alive and well.

2. Marilyn Monroe

Amazingly, Marilyn is a very popular pick for weddings – both receptions AND ceremonies.

3. Santa

Maybe a little bit cheesy but if you are having a winter wedding, Santa can keep the kids entertained.

4. The Three Waiters

This trio is not (yet) a GigMasters performer, but we love them anyway.

5. Ben Franklin

Yes, we have actually booked Ben Franklin impersonators for weddings…seriously.

—

Would you consider hiring one of these entertainers? Do you have other ideas for out-of-the-ordinary wedding entertainment? Let us know in the comment section below.

I HATE when ninjas ruin weddings!

By Guest Blogger OneWed.com

As a groom, you’re spared a lot of weird wedding news. But over on the bridal side of things we get exposed to all sorts of wacky ideas. For example, I recently heard about women injecting Botox into their underarms to prevent themselves from sweating on their wedding day.

Let’s break that down. There are women so obsessed with having a “perfect wedding day” that they are willing to inject a toxin into their underarms to prevent a perfectly natural bodily function that actually keeps them healthy.

I can almost guarantee you that almost NO ONE starts off their wedding planning thinking it’ll result in a painful injection, but the more you read and plan, the more the idea of “perfect” takes hold. That’s why it’s your job as the groom, as the guy less exposed to this sort of nonsense to keep a close eye on the quest for perfection.

If your bride says something is “perfect,” feel free to agree with her. However, if she starts rejecting things as “not perfect” gently remind her that as long as the two of you get married, it will be perfect. Don’t belittle her quest for a fabulous, wonderful experience, just keep an eye on the “perfect talk.”

Did you hear about the couple that raised $3,800 for their wedding by collecting empty aluminum cans? Spokane, WA residents Peter Geyer and Andrea Parrish needed approximately 400,000 empty cans to meet their goal (which they met with a little help from donations by Alcoa and United Recycling Co.).

Peter Geyer and Amanda Parrish collected $3,800 worth of empty cans to help fund their wedding.

This got us to thinking. How many cans would it take to pay for an elaborate celebrity wedding? If you break down the value of each single can from the Spokane wedding, it comes in at just under a penny (.0095 cents to be exact). We checked ‘The 20 Most Expensive Celebrity Weddings’ and determined how many cans would have been needed to be saved to pay for the top weddings on the list.

Brad Pitt and Jennifer Anniston – $1 Million Wedding – 105,263,158 cans

Madonna & Guy Ritchie –$1.5 Million Wedding – 157,894,736 cans

Tom Cruise & Katie Holmes – $2 Million Wedding – 210,526,315 cans

Paul McCartney & Heather Mills – $3 Million Wedding – 315,789,473 cans

Liza Minnelli & David Gest – $3.5 Million Wedding – 368,421,052 cans

Think that’s a lot cans? That’s nothing! The world’s most expensive wedding ever was held for Vanisha Mittal (daughter of European steel tycoon Laxmi Mittal) and her fiancé Amit Bhatia in 2004. The tab came to approximately $60 Million USD!

That equates to 6,315,789,473 cans! That’s right – over 6 billion cans.
—–
What creative methods are you using to raise money for the wedding? We want to hear from you in the comments below!