The Groom's Checklist


As your special day approaches, there are many errands, arrangements and plans to be made. Below, you'll find a checklist, in chronological order, of those not-to-be-forgotten tasks.
  • Buy the engagement ring.
  • With the bride, decide on a wedding date.
  • Depending on what kind of wedding affair you and your bride have chosen, decide on the type of formal wear or other less traditional outfits for the wedding party.
  • Make an invitation to your friend or relative to be your best man; select and invite others to be groomsmen and ushers.
  • Put together a wedding guest list and have your family make out theirs. You should note which guests you would like to have seated in the reserved pews of the church or other wedding ceremony site.
  • Select a gift for your best man and the ushers that can be presented at the wedding rehearsal or the bachelor party.
  • Select a gift for your bride. This gift ideally should be something personal, such as a fine piece of jewelry, a watch, a full day at the spa with the works, etc.
  • With your bride, choose wedding rings. If desired, have them engraved with your initials and wedding date on the inside of the rings.
  • With your bride, begin planning the honeymoon, allowing enough time for making reservations, and any changes or additions that could arise.
  • Make arrangements for the purchase of the bride's bouquet, the brides' going-away corsage, corsages for both of the mothers and the closest female relatives on both sides. Don't forget that the boutonnières for all the men in your wedding party need to be selected and paid for.
  • Make sure that you and your bride have made all necessary arrangements for blood tests, birth certificates, baptismal certificates, etc.
  • Apply for the marriage license. The license should be obtained with ample time before the wedding date and given to the best man before the wedding. He will then present it after the wedding ceremony.
  • Change all pertinent paperwork regarding your marital status. This includes life, property, household, medical and fire insurance.
  • If there is to be a prenuptial agreement, the agreement should be drawn, reviewed and signed well before the wedding date.
  • Arrange for and throw a bachelor dinner several days before the wedding. The best man and ushers often will host this.
  • Set a date for the wedding rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. Notify your attendants of the place and time.
  • Provide the best man with the clergyman's fee and information on the logistics of the wedding, the honeymoon and travel plans.
  • Give your best man the Best Man's Checklist, and provide him with any other resources that he'll need.
  • After the wedding ceremony, you and your bride need to sign the wedding certificate and have your best man ensure it is securely stored.
  • The day after the ceremony, send a telegram to the bride's parents thanking them for the wonderful wedding and reception.