The father of the bride is the most worst-equipped key character in the wedding. Women, wives and daughters, realize all about weddings, the groom just needs to show up reasonably sober and shaved, and the best man gets to plan a party ” how hard is that?
The father of the bride on the other hand is still expected to shell out a boatload of money to pay for almost everything. Therefore, unless he plans on investing a wheelbarrow of money, there are a few things that he must know and do.
1. Planning participation is critical. If youre not part of the planning process, you should instead get Free Money tattooed to your forehead. Dont take over the planning, but make yourself available for the things you know how to do. Wedding receptions are just large, expensive parties with a lot of rules.
2. Resolve yourself to dealing with crazy women. There is something about weddings that causes all women to go crazy. I am positive that at least five times before the wedding occurs you will be accused of trying to ruin everything. This is one of those times in life that it is generally better (but there are exceptions) to just suck it up. For the most part your wife and daughter will just want to vent about their frustrations. For this you need to learn only two responses, That bitch, and Those bastards. Repeat frequently.
3. Figure out where your money is going. Generally most weddings spend about half the budget on the reception. So far in 2009, weddings have been averaging $16,000 to $19,000 according to the weddingreport.com. That means that receptions are running about $8,000 to $9,500. Theres a lot of room in there to save some money.
4. Prepare for your wedding toast. If youre not used to public speaking then you need to read up on it and practice. The actual words you say only count for a small percentage of how the audience interprets your toast. They will be focusing on your body language and how you say the words. Make eye contact. Write out the toast well before you give it and practice it standing up (youll be delivering your toast standing).
5. Learn how to dance. You will be doing one of the first dances with your daughter while everyone watches. Find out what song she wants played and go to a dance studio to learn how to dance to it. Many dance studios offer wedding dance packages. Surprise everyone with a couple of your patented moves.
After its all over, take a post-wedding vacation with your wife. It is money well spent.
