The wedding that runs smoothly is usually the one where responsibilities are shared and planning is a cooperative effort amongst people who accept their individual responsibilities. If each follows through with assignments, the wedding as a whole becomes, so to speak, the beneficiary. In the hustle of focusing on the bride, all too often the groom's duties are neglected. So, here then is a list of tasks for the well-organized groom.

• Buy an engagement ring
  
• Put together a guest list of your friends and family
  
• Choose a wedding date
  
• Make decisions about who will be paying for what
  
• Select your ushers and best man/men
     for a church wedding figure on one usher per 50 guets
  
• Arrange a get-together between your parents and the bride's
  
• If you and your bride are moving to a new address, make sure all the utilities will be turned on and submit a change of address form(s) to the post office
  
• Meet with your ceremony officiant
  
• Decide what you will be wearing
  
• Visit a formalwear shop to select your and your ushers' attire
  
• Make arrangements with the gentlemen in your party (including out-of-towners) to get measured for formalwear
  Some tux shops have reciprocal arrangements with other shops, out-of-town, to "exchange" measurements.
  
• Prepare a list to mail or discuss with your attendants as to the times and places of wedding events they will attending
  
• Arrange with your best man or someone else to have gifts of cash and/or checks deposited in your account
  
• Choose and buy gifts for your best man and ushers
  
• Select and buy a wedding gift for your bride
  
• Select and purchase wedding rings with your bride
  
• If you are not already living together, decide where you'll be living.
  
• Order home furnishings, as needed.
  
• Check with your parents, her parents and your bride (often) about wedding details and plans as they progress
  
• Meet with the wedding professionals who will work on your wedding
  
• Arrange to pay for your bride's bouquet, her going-away corsage, personal flowers for the moms and close female relatives, as well as boutonnieres for yourself, the gentlemen in your party and close relatives
  
• Plan the honeymoon with your bride and make travel arrangements and reservations
  
• Put down the deposits and then the bills for your part of the budget
  
• Apply for and obtain a marriage license
  
• Check on state requirements for medical tests
  
• Give your best man and ushers their gifts at your bachelor party/dinner or wedding rehearsal
  
• Give your ushers instructions for seating guests at the ceremony, along with any guests requiring special assistance
  
• Pick up your wedding rings. Check for size and inscription.
  
• Give the license and the rings to your best man
  
• Review your personal documents and make changes as needed (e.g., will, living will, health care proxy, life insurance, personal property insurance, trip cancellation insurance, health insurance, household insurance)
  
• Set a time for the wedding rehearsal
  
• Pick up your rental attire and remind your groomsmen to do the same
  
• Arrange for someone to bring the gifts from the reception to your home
• Write a check for the clergy person and give it to your best man
  
• Sign the wedding certificate and store it in a safe place
  
• Get a haircut, shave and manicure
  
• Send thank you notes or telegrams to the bride's (and/or groom's) parents
  

©The right to download and store or output (e.g., print) materials found in Hudson Valley Weddings Web Site is granted for personal use only. Materials may not be reproduced in any edited form. Any other reproduction or editing by any means mechanical or electronic without the express written permission of Hudson Valley Weddings is strictly prohibited. Certain names, logos, and/or phrases on these pages may constitute trademarks or tradenames of Hudson Valley Weddings or its clients.