The Clueless Groom's Guide : More Than Any Man Should Ever Know About Getting Married [Paperback]

Peter van Dijk (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 25, 2003

This is not your father's wedding...

From choosing china patterns and invitation designs to color schemes and reception halls, today's grooms are expected to play a much more active role in wedding planning than when their dads walked down the aisle.

The Clueless Groom's Guide offers the 3 million men who get married each year lighthearted commiseration, guidance, and a distinctly male take on the entire process of planning a traditional wedding. Filled with humorous but useful advice and information on wedding issues, this essential guide covers:

• Buying the ring that'll make her say yes
• Dealing with the future in-laws in a way that will preserve the groom's sanity
• Planning the budget without draining anyone's account
• Negotiating a guest list with the bride, her family, and his family
• Navigating the all-important bachelor party
• And much more !

This charmingly illustrated book will not only help guys understand what they're in for--but give them a sorely needed chuckle along the way.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

This is not your father's wedding . . .

Congratulations on your engagement, my clueless friend, and welcome to a world for which you are sadly ill equipped. You have entered a new dimension. A dimension of china patterns, ice swans, and boutonnieres. You're planning a wedding, and your fianceé expects more from you than a diamond ring and a blood test. So, you'd better get up to speed--and fast.

From the best proposal to the coolest honeymoon, The Clueless Groom's Guide offers light-hearted commiseration, guidance, and a distinctly male take on the entire process of planning a traditional wedding. It gives you a sorely needed chuckle and some surprisingly useful advice to help you get through the many decisions your bride-to-be will pretend to want your opinion on, including:

• How and where to pop the question--and when to cue the mariachi band
• Why engagements of over two years are justified only by extended commitments to the armed forces and/or unusually long jail sentences
• How to pick groomsmen gifts and groomsmen who almost deserve them
• Reception sites that offer style and originality . . . and why you should avoid them like the plague.
• And far more than you should ever rightly know about weddings

About the Author

Peter van Dijk has written advertising and marketing communications for such major marketers as American Express, Business Week, CBS Cable, Christian Dior, J.P. Morgan Chase, Merck-Medco, Primestar, and TNN.

His work has won Clio's, Effie's, Addy's and many other advertising industry awards.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (April 25, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071413723
• ISBN-13: 978-0071413725
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #508,546 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very informative and entertaining!, January 21, 2004

By 

seasidebruin "seasidebruin" (San Pedro, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Clueless Groom's Guide : More Than Any Man Should Ever Know About Getting Married (Paperback)

I went to a bookstore with my fiancée and lounged around in the wedding books section. Most of the books that were there were written for/from the female perspective, and therefore did not motivate me to purchase or read the book. The other books for men were more about etiquette and what to expect. Then I ran across this one. I figured... oh no, it's another idiots guide or for dummies books... but then I realized that it wasn't. So I picked it up and read parts of it. Right off, I could tell that from the sense of humor of the author, that at the very least if it didn't offer me new information, since I have never been married before, it would at least keep me entertained.

So I purchased it. And I started reading it instead of a newspaper during some private time. It offered some helpful advice. It told me what to expect. And it made me laugh. What else could I ask for. I highly recommend getting this book because it does help me feel more informed about what to expect, and I don't have to carry around some frilly Martha Stewart-like book. The publisher and author understand that there is a niche for wedding books for men... that guide, offer advice, and entertain at the same time. If you are one of those football loving, bud light beer commercial watching, 20 something, 30 something, and even 40 something men, who has never been married before, then this is the book for you.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You'll learn something in spite of yourself, January 19, 2004

By 

Stephen Williams "steve-o-reno" (Fort Worth, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Clueless Groom's Guide : More Than Any Man Should Ever Know About Getting Married (Paperback)

My fiancée' gave me a copy of this book soon after our engagement. This was a wise choice and one of the reasons I'm marrying her. The book begins with a man's decision to marry a girl, or at least the decision to ask her to marry him, and then the fun really begins. Throughout the book the author keeps a lively pace full of hysterical cynicism, incredible wit and tremendously valuable insight. Like me, if you really don't have any idea of what you're getting yourself into when you propose, then you absolutely must read this book. You will laugh out loud, learn a lot and finally understand what it's all about.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wish I had this book 10 years ago, May 2, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Clueless Groom's Guide : More Than Any Man Should Ever Know About Getting Married (Paperback)

This is a better wedding gift than china. Van Dijk takes his place at the head of the class of the reluctantly mature. A funny... insightful... practical book. And Taylor Lee's spot illustrations are hilarious and on target, too. Every man should have a well-thumbed copy before he walks down the aisle.