So since day 1 of my engagement I have been diving head first into a ton of wedding planning books. One of them was the Bride's Instruction Manual and I got the Groom's one to give to my fiance.
Well, my fiance finished reading the groom's instruction manual and he didn't like it. Basically, it told him that he pretty much had little say in the wedding and that your fiancee is always right and to put up with her bridezilla behavior and that it is normal. I was shocked at this since the bride's guide was pretty good and it was mostly wedding planning, but I can kind of see what he means.
It does seem to try to normalize behavior that would be a huge red flag like being controlling and screaming and acting aggressive. It just tells grooms to put up with it and that it will go away after they are married. I don't believe this one bit. I also don't like that it pretty much tells the groom he doesn't have much of a voice into wedding planning, especially since I believe my fiance's opinion is very important and he always gets an opinion. There are some grooms out there I am sure that would just show up, but those grooms are grooms that trust their fiancee to do everything and put their faith into her. I am of the opinion that we as a couple should be a team with deciding stuff.
I also noticed there were a lot of sections that I think should be in the bride's guide like planning the honeymoon which I think these days the bride also does a lot of the honeymoon plans too. There is also a section on the bachelor party which I think there should be one for the bachelorette party too and also the wedding night! I am surprised that there isn't something in it for the bride's guide since a lot of brides if they are virgins are worried about pain and stuff and also might need advice on that stuff. Also, there was something for the groom about preparing for the morning of the wedding and I would have liked that for a bride as far as what to expect and how to not have a stressful time getting ready and how to prepare for emergencies. Those are the highlights.
It is from 2008 so it might be a bit dated which is kind of surprising since I remember 2008 like it is yesterday and it makes me feel old, like it said that wedding registries are for boring stuff like china and linens, but a lot of modern registry guides say that board games and stuff are common to register for too. Though there are some things that haven't aged, though it is only stuff here and there.
But yeah, I wouldn't give the groom's guide to any groom. Telling them to put up with bridezilla behavior and telling them that things will always get better after the wedding is not always the best advice since a lot of times certain bridezilla behaviors can very well be red flags.
