A Groom's Survival Guide

Face it, the wedding is for the bride. After all in Armenian word for wedding, “Harsanik”, has the word Hars (bride) in it! But this doesn’t mean you, the groom, can’t enjoy the wedding or the process. After years of running Harsanik.com and now having had my own Harsanik, here are some tips I’d like to share with fellow grooms:

Tip #1: Prioritize

Define the scope of your wedding and stick to the main goals. Essentially have an MVP and keep things simple. The more elements you add to the wedding, the more things can go wrong.

Tip #2: Hire Professionals

Think of your wedding vendors as your teammates. And if you treat the wedding planning as a work-related project, things will go smoother.

There are 3 critical roles on the day of the wedding that should be chosen carefully:

1. A great wedding coordinator is an often undervalued team member. For us, Annie from This Magic Moment Events seamlessly got involved with the process and not only made sure the planned items got executed, but also handled all last minute unexpected issues and unplanned requests.

2. A professional DJ also doubles as a second coordinator. They’re intimately tied to your wedding’s timeline and from the planning stages can provide you valuable tips. DJs tend to be one of the first people at the wedding hall setting up and last one to leave. We were fortunate to have DJ Sevag and made sure to leverage his experience and advice.

3. Make sure the wedding venue provides you with POC person for the day of the wedding. This is the person that interfaces all aspects of the hall (ie: lighting, sound, kitchen, guest flow, etc) with your coordinator, DJ, and you. In our case, Amin from NOOR was a total ninja.

Tip #3: Invest in a Custom Suit

Forget renting a tux. Why pay all that money to rent for one day when you can put it towards a bespoke suit that you can wear for years. No two bodies are alike, so when you rent, you get an outfit that’s closest to your dimension and never a perfect fit. Also, you have no idea how many times they have been worn and what type of cleaning products are used on them after each rental. Deciding to wear my bespoke suit by JB Clothiers was a no-brainer. The fit and finish are impeccable and it looks incredible. Being a product of the 90’s, I am accustomed to baggy and comfortable clothes. So I was slightly worried that wearing a tightly fitted suit the whole day would be an issue. Boy, I was wrong. I didn’t take off my jacket the whole day.

Bonus tip:

You’re going to sweat since you’ll be moving around all day, especially if the weather is warm or hot. So get two shirts and bring the spare with you. Halfway through the day, plan a short break where you can switch your shirt. It’s a very refreshing feeling and re-energizes you for the rest of the day.

Tip #4: Add Meaningful Details

Make the wedding unique to you and your bride. Forget following trends and hoarding likes on social media… Subtle details like a personalized playlist of songs, cufflinks, hidden messages, and symbols, all of which only have significant meaning to you two and no one else. This is what makes it unique and memorable to YOU.

Special thanks to Garen, co-founder of Harsanik, for contributing this article. We always love hearing from the groom's perspective. Plus we were fortunate to have Garen's wife Diana share her wedding planning adventures in Diana's Story Bridal Blog Series. 

What was your special touch to your wedding? Share it with us by commenting below, on Instagram, or Facebook. We love hearing from our avid blog readers.