The Groom's Guide to Bachelor Parties

Months before you find a tux, groomsmen gifts, or sometimes even before you crown the best man, your groomsmen will start bachelor party planning. Be honest: Does the thought of lap dances and body shots fill you with dread? Or have you been planning a salacious stag night since you turned thirteen? Here's how to get the bachelor party you really want.

Guide your Groomsmen

Despite popular belief, you're not at the complete mercy of your merciless groomsmen. Tell them your expectations and your fiance's code of conduct. Be direct and firm.

Do you want a quiet poker night or a wild shindig where hopping a boat to Mexico is a definite possibility? If you want to break tradition, suggest thrilling alternatives to the sleazy bachelor parties of yore: paint balling, canoing, rock climbing or sky diving. Your gentlemen will be relieved that they don't have to engage in hazing acts better suited for college students.

If you take the laissez-faire approach to bachelor party planning, your last hurrah could mean you get the heave-ho from your fiance.

Who Invited that Guy?

Give your guys some direction when it comes to the guest list. Make a list of undesirables: The guy most likely to pee his pants after drinking too much; your stern boss who, perhaps shouldn't see you make-out with a blow-up doll; your future father-in-law who won't be able to erase morally altered you from his memory....you get the idea. Limit invitations to trustworthy best buds. Avoid trouble makers and whistle blowers.

Bachelor Party Dos and Don'ts:

Do tell your bride-to-be about your bachelor party. This gives her license to unleash her wild inner child. Honesty is a great way to start off a marriage. A covert-ops bachelor party leads to Very Bad Things.

Do celebrate. Even if it's just a small gathering with buddies and beer. As time passes it gets increasingly difficult to spend time with friends. Years later when you're sitting on the couch - paunch, receding hairline and all - you'll regret not celebrating your last night of singledom.

Do break the code. You don't have to give your fiance a play-by-play account of everything that went down. But don't leave out the devilish details or her imagination will run wilder than a frat-boy at homecoming.

Do survive the night. Get crazy. But not so crazy that you'll be jailed or end up on a milk carton. If you make it through stag night, give your guys our survival party badge tees as groomsmen gifts.

Don't have it the night before. Sure, the night before your wedding is truly your last night as a single guy. But unless you want to stagger down the aisle hungover and reeking of booze, throw the party a week before your wedding. You'll need time for last-minute wedding duties, like shopping for groomsmen gifts.

Do thank your best buds for the best bachelor party ever with groomsmen gifts from Groomstand.com!