Pinterest for Grooms

Guys, have you been on Pinterest.com? You know, that social media site your girlfriend is probably totally into and creating all sorts of wedding boards. If you are a total Pinterest newbie, the idea is that people “pin” images or videos to their “boards” – it’s like a virtual visual scrapbook right on your computer. All the images link back to their original source so you can just click through to get the entire dose of information whenever you want. And, if you’re into being popular on social media (come on, I know you secretly want a million followers), the beauty of all stuff that you pin is that it can be “re-pinned” by others and get you exponential exposure as it gets repined and repined.

Brides-to-be seem to love Pinterest as a way to organize their ideas for a dream wedding, from photos of bridal gowns and hairstyles to examples of cakes and floral arrangements. Believe it or not, if you type in “groom ideas” into the search bar, a lot of really cool pictures come up. Now, some of these photos are pinned by actual men, although many are woman-generated images as in “Honey, this is what you’ll be wearing on the wedding day – hope you like it.” If you weed through the girly stuff, you may actually find some useful ideas that will make your wedding day unique from a groom’s perspective. Here are some ideas for grooms I found on Pinterest that I think are well worth sharing:

A Stitch in Time: Commemorate the day, month and year of your wedding by having the date embroidered onto your wedding day attire. Many brides also do this with their wedding gowns. I’m not talking about embroidered with big letters on the front of your tuxedo, but rather discretely under the back collar of your suit (hidden where it folds down) or on the same spot of your dress shirt. You can be ultra-conservative by using the same thread color as the garment or pay tribute to your bride’s theme by using the official wedding color. And, yes – there will be an official wedding color! If you are looking for great groomsmen gifts and best man gifts, consider purchasing (instead of renting) each man’s dress shirt and doing the same for him!

Not-So-Basic Boutonnieres: The arrival of a wedding day means a lot of accessorizing, more than most males have ever done – personalized cufflinks, tie clips, lapel pins . . . . and that newest accessory, the wedding ring! The majority of guys might not even realize that they will have a flower pinned onto their lapel until the last minute, when it’s too late to have a say so in the matter. I don’t know how many carnations and rose bud boutonnieres there have been in the history of weddings; I’m sure many millions. Why not try something unique, inspired by Pinterest, such as paper origami flower boutonnieres, boutonnieres made from dried pods, bark and other manly outdoor materials, or steampunk-inspired boutonnieres whirly-gigging with brassy gears and gadgets. I’m sure that most of your buddies will appreciate your unique spin on a boutonniere – you could almost consider it a gift for groomsmen.

Man Tags: Everyone knows you and the groomsmen are men – we hope! However, long-lost relatives and random acquaintances may not know who is who in the groom’s party. A “man tag” is a useful way to label the guys as ushers, groomsmen, father-of the bride, groom and so on in an ice-breaker sort of way. It’s kind of like the bachelor party t-shirt idea, but more appropriate for the sanctity of the ceremony. Very discrete lapel pins can be made that spell out the man’s role in the wedding at it can be worn under the boutonniere, on the lapel or shirt pocket. Pair with some engraved cufflinks and you have the perfect groomsmen gifts.