Having trouble sleeping, eating and staying focused? Does your heart feel like it’s about to beat out of your chest or are your feet cold, literally and figuratively? Don’t worry; you’re not dying – at least not yet. If you are weeks, days or just hours away from getting hitched, the overwhelming odds are that you are suffering from pre-wedding jitters. Some might call this condition “cold feet,” anxiety, nerves, doubts, or what-have-you, but when distilled down to the basics, this normal feeling of nervousness is just your body’s way of coping with stress.

Our Marrying Man of the Month (although he actually got hitched last month) is basketball icon Michael Jordan. Considered by many to be the best basketball player of all time, Jordan – often called MJ by his friends, tied the knot with this girlfriend of five years, Yvette Prieto. The wedding, the second for Jordan, took place on April 27, 2013 in a massively huge party tent pitched near his Palm Beach home.

Every groom and his bride can expect the honeymoon to be a memorable trip, wherever the location. Memorable for most honeymoons conjures up images of romance, relaxation and few worries. But, keep in mind that “memorable” can also mean “events have gone disastrously wrong.” Make sure you recall your honeymoon with fondness in the years to come by being aware of issues during travel that could arise and screw things up. And, remember, if the bride’s not happy, you’re not happy!

A wedding is a ceremony where the bride and groom exchange vows to each other before their god, their friends and their family. Not only is a lifetime commitment being made between the couple, marriage also weave together two previously unrelated families forever. Many in the African-American culture choose to include special elements in their wedding ceremony that represent the traditions and customs of their ancestors.

Laws can be very weird. We’ve found some doozies when it comes to getting married. For example, men in Saudi Arabia, despite their exalted status, have to make sure the bride gets her daily grind. Coffee, that is. Apparently, there is a law on the books that says woman in this country may divorce her husband if he does not keep her supplied with coffee. We say, give her a monogrammed coffee mug as a wedding gift to make sure she knows where her bread is buttered, err, where her java is brewed. Some might expect international laws to be strange to the American culture, but here are some very strange-but-true laws from states right in in the USA.

A few years ago, the mere mention of bowling brought up images of beer-gutted, middle-aged guys wearing bad shoes and matching shirts. Let’s just say that it would be a tragically uncool way to spend the groom’s last big hurrah of bachelorhood. But, flash forward to 2013 and all of a sudden bowling has undergone a transformation, making it all the rage with the hipsters. Old school bowling alleys are experience record numbers and new, upscale bowling “lounges” (alley sounds so shabby) are popping up in bigger metropolitan areas.

In the Christian faith, groomsmen have long played an important role in the wedding ceremony. For years, these friends have served as loyal companions, close confidants, and as your moral compass in times when you’ve stepped slightly astray.

Sometimes inviting your “best friend” to be in the wedding means stocking up on jerky treats and squeak toys. No, we’re not talking about your college roommate (even though he has been known to drink out of the toilet bowl), but about that fearless and faithful friend, Fido. Because many guys consider their dog to be part of the family, it only makes logical sense to make them part of your joyous celebration.

With baseball season is in full swing and splatters of spittle are hitting the ground, our minds have momentarily become distracted from all things groomsmen gift and best man gift related. Baseball season got us thinking about how one of the most enduring rituals of this all-American sport came to be. We’re talking about chaw, chew, snu, gator lip, dip, wad, redman, skoal and grit, that big pouch of gross gunk that baseball players like to stick between their lip, cheek and gums.

Times are a changing, we are doing more and more stuff for ourselves. Most people under forty or fifty don’t even know that gas-station attendants used to pump fuel into your car or that elevator attendants were in control of the lift to ensure safe arrival and the desired floor of a high-rise. Help was also required for getting money out of the bank, now we self-serve at ATMs grocery store check outs and a host of other locations. Another sign of the future, the role of the bartender may also be changing . . . . make that vanishing thanks to the integration of new technology in bar and food establishments.

Even though the wedding day is billed as “the bride’s day,” it doesn’t mean that the groom’s role is unimportant. In fact, the groom’s role is very important – he’s one-half of the union that is about to take place. Without the groom, the bride would be marrying an imagined husband – and that’s called crazy-makings in our book. So, if you take the point of view that it is also “the groom’s day” (which you should), you need to be aware of the responsibilities of your role. Brush up on the traditional responsibilities of a bridegroom below. However, if wedding planning appeals to you and want to break with tradition, talk to the bride about other tasks you can take on other than those listed below. Sharing the wedding workload a great way to start your marriage!

What guy wouldn’t want to receive a pocket knife as a thank you for being your groomsman? As far as men go, I don’t think there is a single one of them who wouldn’t get excited about unwrapping a box, lifting the lid and finding a sleek, streamlined pocket knife or fully-loaded multi-function tool waiting within. Even if he already has a pocket knife or two, another is always welcome. It’s like women and shoes; you can never have enough!