The bride and her family make the bulk of all wedding decisions and purchases. They take care of so many details and complicated planning. One of the few things that the groom must do, and do without a hitch, is select and purchase the groomsmen gifts.



What are groomsmen gifts? I know. You're new to all this wedding stuff. Groomsmen gifts are basically thank you gifts to your best man, groomsmen and ushers, you know, the guys that wear the tuxedos too in your wedding. It's only proper to thank your guys for participating in your wedding with a gift.

Typically a groomsmen gift is an engraved gift. Personalization shows you took a little extra time and put in a bit of thought to make the gift special and meaningful to the recipient. Engraving also can turn a modest gift into a cherished keepsake as it is the thought that counts and not how much money you spend.

It's a smart idea to order groomsmen gifts at least 2 months in advance of your wedding date. You want to give yourself a little wiggle room if the items you want are special order and take a little time to come in from the vendor. Engraving takes about a week usually as well. Shipping via UPS ground can take a week if you are shipping from one coast to the other. Planning ahead and not waiting until the last minute will save you expedite/rush fees and additional shipping expenses.

When you receive your groomsmen gifts (most grooms order these online nowadays to save money), be sure to look them over and make sure the engraving is accurate. Engravers are human and occasionally will make a typo. Best to find out right away instead of the day you're handing out your gifts!

A good time to hand out the groomsmen gifts is the rehearsal dinner. All the guys will be there. This will most likely be the last night you'll see everyone together before the wedding. Perfect time to distribute the groomsmen gifts. This way you won't have to worry about it on your wedding day.

If you are giving out flasks for groomsmen gifts, a better time is right at the start of the bachelor party. The bachelor party is usually before the rehearsal dinner. Only the most foolish of grooms would have the bachelor party the night before the wedding. Think about how awful you'll look in your wedding pictures if you're a mess and all hung over! Again, please plan ahead on this one and use common sense. Get the bachelor party done at least one to two weeks before the wedding so that your sweet bride-to-be does not have to worry about you.