GROOMS Drink Matters

Before booking booze, take on board some expert advice on selecting wine for the wedding from Peter Stewart, Glasgow Director of Inverarity One to One.

Research! Taste as many wines as possible in your preferred price range. You are looking for "crowd pleasers", fruity wines that most people will be happy quaffing. Merlot, especially from the New World is a banker.

Keep it simple. You can't possibly please everyone, and it's madness to go down the route of getting in a single bottle of Puligny because it's all that Aunt Millie drinks. Ideally one white and one red, possibly with something special for the top table.

How much is enough? You get 5 decent glasses of fizz to a bottle...so take the number of guests, multiply by two (if you want them to have a glass on arrival and one for the toasts) and divide by five to give you the number of bottles required. I would also round it up a wee bit as a safety net...you don't want to run out and most wine merchants do sale or return. So for 80 guests having two glasses each, you would need 32 bottles, which I would round up to 36. For the table wine, roughly half a bottle per head is a decent estimate.

Champagne or sparkling? There are some excellent sparkling wines on the market, so you don't have to go crazy...although some people prefer to do both, starting with champagne and moving on to fizz. Again, try as many as possible beforehand!

Food matching. Worth thinking about as the right wine with the menu will increase everyone's enjoyment of the day. The dominant flavours in the dish are the important ones, don't worry about the garnishes. Ask your wine merchant what he or she would recommend.

Money. Pick a price range and stick to it, whatever you are happy spending. Remember to factor in any corkage charges.

Photo © Freeman Photographics, iStockphoto

Read more Wedding Planning Tips

Download the WP factsheet on wedding catering

Posted in category: Grooms

Read article or add your comment

GROOMS Shaving Rooms

Getting groomed up and perfectly shaved is not necessarily a run to the local barber, but could be more a case of visiting a spa near you! Why settle for a short back and sides when you could be in for an excecutive manicure or a four palm massage?

Check out the treatments on offer at your local spa and you'll be surprised to see plenty of men-only experiences - just right for getting you perfectly groomed for the day. At The Refinery, a slick spa based in London's Brook Street as well as at ooh-la-la Harrods, you can go for a regular spring clean with Deep Cleansing Back Treatments (£60 for 45 minutes), a Salt Scrub (£45 for 30 minutes) and an Executive Pedicure (£65 for 60 minutes).

Alternatively, you could opt for a Four Palm Massage (£140 for 60 minutes), guaranteed to leave you feeling deeply relaxed and revitalised.

For The Refinery experience in your own home, a range of gunk-free products has been created with essential oils and cutting-edge technology. For squeaky clean skin, use Face Scrub (£18), a purifying Chinese white kaolin clay. And get into a pampered-man shaving routine with Shave Oil (£21) or Shave Foam Gel (£12) both with great skin enhancing ingredients. The products are available by Mail Order (08452 305605) or on the high street at your local Boots.

Their advice to you? Try not to shave the day before the wedding as it gives skin a well-needed rest. On the day, get showered and shaved just before you are ready for the big day finery.

click to read more grooming ideas

Posted in category: Grooms

Read article or add your comment

GROOMS Now Listen!

Indigo Sky Events have the ultimate online guide for grooms, packed with hints and tips on getting it right on the day. Just click the link below to watch the Webinar.

Harassed bridegrooms-to-be can call on web savvy wedding planner, Trisha Dash-O’Toole at Indigo Sky Events, to soothe their pre-nuptial nerves. The screening of a new advisory webinar has been especially designed with grooms in mind - offering helpful hints and tips - so they know what’s expected of them on their big day.

Indigo Sky’s ‘Groom’s Guide’ webinar features helpful advice on how to choose the very best Best Man and highlights what to bear in mind whilst planning and preparing the perfect speech. Other topics include surviving the stag do, choosing and briefing the ushers, selecting witnesses and choosing the ideal outfit – not forgetting the Groom’s own grooming ritual, so he’s looking good, on top form for the special day that lies ahead!

Grooms are reminded that traditionally the planning of the honeymoon is their concern – although nowadays couples tend to plan their honeymoon together – and they’re supplied with a guide on the logistics involved. They’re taken through the dos and don’ts of remembering the rings and choosing an appropriate gift for the bride-to-be to cherish, as a lasting memento of the big day.

As Indigo Sky founder, Trisha Dash-O’Toole observed, the groom has a vital role to play on the big day, but often feels just a little left out as he plays second fiddle to his bride-to-be.

"All-to-often, the groom feels like he’s playing something of a supporting role as the focus of attention is undoubtedly upon the bride-to-be. However, there’s so much for him to remember in order to ensure that he plays his part perfectly and in line with the bigger picture".

“For example, the groom needs to plan his speech, decide on his gift for the bride and he also needs to know that it’s perfectly OK for him to allocate special time for himself and his bride on the big day. However, this won’t happen by accident and he needs to make a special effort to ensure it’s factored in to the day’s itinerary!”

The advisory webinars are proving convenient for time-poor brides and grooms-to-be: ‘’Feedback has been excellent and visitors have really enjoyed the immediacy, accessibility and personalised approach of the webinar format.”

For regularly updated details of future Indigo Sky webinar screening dates, visit indigoskyevents.com

To view the webinar click the YouTube links:

click to read more planning advice...

click to download the WP grooms fact sheet...

Photo © Moss Bros, iStockphoto

Posted in category: Grooms

Read article or add your comment