Customer Reviews

The Groom's Survival Manual

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book does a great job of dealing with some difficult subjects (difference in religion, in-laws, etc.) and balances realism with humor. I purchased this book above some other groom manuals because, while funny, it did take marriage seriously and was not just an excuse for a lot of lewd jokes about strippers and bachelor parties. I would reccomend this book as a comic (but very helpful) guide to getting married.

As an older groom, and my first marriage, I was a little uncertain about the "tradition" of marriage. At some point I even lost my perspective of what was important. This book kept me focused from begining to end. It is clear concise and the goal is always apparent - just follow the guide. I am now buying my 24th book to give to a friend. The book walks you through the pain and torture of register to picking china and napkins. Thousand of books are written for brides, this is the one for the groom - At any age or number of time you've married.

Getting married? Get this book. Takes a lighter approach to dealing with planning a wedding and dealing with the associated stress. The author manages to provide some good advice on topics ranging from picking out an engagement ring to dealing with the in-laws to the big event itself while injecting some humour into the whole process. A good read, and with pictures too!

I purchased this for my fiance, because we were having disagreements about some of our wedding plans. He took it on a business trip and when he came back he said he'd read it and it was very funny and it helped him understand a lot of the things I wanted and why, and what he should do to help me with the planning, and also what part he should play in doing some of the planning.

This book is a humerous way to keep the nervous groom occupied. It's take on everything from choosing a ring to planning the big event are laid out in a easy to understand, fun format.

Though this book is informative and fun, a lot of the information is really already known to the saavy groom to be. This book was helpful for an occasional resourece, and to keep me occupied. My wife wouldn't let me do anything that had to do with the planning of the wedding, so at least by reading this book I felt involved.

No one book can tell you everything you'll need to know about being a groom. But, if you're like me and know (knew) nothing this one has a good amount of truly helpful info that you can actually use.

And this book is --thank God-- funny and pretty short (so we men with our short attention spans can actually get through it).

If you want a chatty wedding book with lots of details about flowers, colours, etc., get a book aimed at brides. If you take the view that to a surprisingly large extent grooms are just elaborate wrist decoration for brides on THEIR day, this book gives enough genuinely useful information to make it well worth getting.

If you know nothing about all this wedding stuff, I can assure you this book really helped me and can help you. So, I highly recommend it.

When I got engaged, an unanticipated array of social custom and expectation confronted me. This book helped me navigate the process, and deal with the potential challenges of such details as:

1. Familial expectations (hers and yours) - Who are you going to have in the wedding? Where/when is the wedding? Who is invited? What kind of ceremony, music, decorations, etc? Are there any "family traditions" you ignore at your peril? Where/what is the reception? What kind of food/drinks? Who pays what? How do you manage getting along with your new in-laws?

2. Wedding minutia - invitation stationery, church/reception locations/menus/decorations/catering, logistics, photographer, tuxedo rentals, honeymoon planning and travel arrangements, etc. Who are the "workers" who are going to set it all up at the church, reception hall, etc. If you hire a wedding planner, what will they do/not do for you? What's your backup plan if something falls through at the last minute?

3. Moving from "you and me" to "us" - deciding on living arrangements (whose place, or a new place?), household dishware and furnishings, understanding the social customs of bridal showers, wedding gifts, etc. Also such simple things as getting used to living with a new person's personal habits, etc.

4. Understanding how heavily-charged the whole milieu of the "wedding day" is for most women, and the general reality that grooms take a backseat in the planning of "her" perfect day that she's dreamed about all her life.

The book also has good advice for the distinctly "male" aspects of the process, such as dealing with second thoughts, wisecracking unmarried male friends chastising you about losing your "freedom," the potential minefield of bachelor parties, "old flames", college buddies expecting to be included, etc. The tone is like hearing advice from a good buddy who's already experienced it all and understands what you're going through. It's a quick and easy read, with amusing pictures that help maintain a light-hearted tone.

Above all, the book helps remind you to have a proper perspective about all the superficial details in order to "keep your eyes on the prize," that special lady you love, and the future you're starting together.

Whenever one of my friends gets engaged, I give them this book.

This book does not give advice on how to help the bride, it makes fun of the whole wedding planning experience, and tells the groom what not to do, and this is not helpful. Whoever thinks that this book is written for a groom that wants to help, is kidding themselves.

I (the groom) bought this book because we were having difficulty deciding on a number of things for our wedding. I was immensely disappointed to find the book lacking utterly in anything truly helpful, anything new (you know all this stuff already), and I didn't laugh once. I also found it condescending, like the verbal pat-on-the-head our wedding planner gave me when I expressed an opinion (we fired her.)
Save your money - after you're married you'll need every penny.