Everyone is familiar with brides who have become obsessed with their wedding, resulting in classic reality television and forcing the likes of David Tutera to the rescue. However, what happens when the bride isn't actually the overzealous half of the soon to be married couple? Yes, some grooms have been dreaming of their wedding day since they were little boys or in many cases, were previously employed as party promoters! Groomzillas are on the rise and brides to be need to be prepared for the worst!
Overall, there is a spike in grooms taking a more active role in wedding planning. According to a recent survey by David's Bridal, two out of three brides say their groom took a very active role in the planning of their wedding. Exchanging nuptials with a groomzilla presents a unique set of challenges before, at and after the wedding for the aspiring couple.
Brides certainly have their own vision board for their wedding day and increasingly so, the groom is tacking on his ideas as well. Like bridezillas, groomzillas can be emotionally tied to their opinions being heard and of course implemented. If his opinions are not crossing over from dreams to reality, he can make the worst bridezilla look like a Sunday sweetheart.
Here are some outrageous demands from a collection of groomzillas:
-A groom's entry song during the ceremony
-Colors of the wedding need to incorporate his fraternity
-Video games at the reception
-TVs at the reception to watch sporting events
-A groom's photo session (similar to the bridal portrait session)
-A whisky fountain at the reception
-The groom's cake that looks like the groom
-Final veto on the bridesmaid's dresses so they do not make his groomsmen look bad
-Changing the bride's theme of the wedding
-Making the wedding more masculine and man friendly
These demands, while amusing, are quite real and can make even the most easy-going bride cringe. In situations where both the bride and groom have strong opinions on the wedding, I recommend the couple delegate responsibilities at the beginning on the wedding planning process. For example, the bride could be in charge of the overall wedding vision, attire and décor while the groom takes on responsibility for music and reception entertainment. Both the bride and groom should be involved in the selection of the venue, caterer and deserts. Further, having the bride and groom each create a list of "must haves" or top priorities will enable the couple to detect similarities and possible points of friction that you can resolve before they manifest.
Creating a list of responsibilities identifies who owns various aspects of the wedding and empowers both the bride and groom to have input into their very special wedding day. Managing a groomzilla can be difficult but resolving disagreements early on in the wedding process will enable the couple to enjoy the process together. Of course we always remember the age old saying, happy wife... happy life!