Lacking on the romance tip?

Lacking on the romance tip? Well, AreYouRomantic.com might just have a solution to get you out of the doghouse. Or maybe a little bit more into the good graces of the friends of your significant other, who are probably hearing the complaints of “he never takes me to xyz” or whatever. Just a thought.

[via The Bridal Wishlist]

Monday Links: July 27, 2008

Here’s a roundup of some great items from around the blogosphere and beyond that are (hopefully) of interest to Groomify readers…

• Gear Patrol points out that you should know more than one way to tie a tie.
• About a week ago, WeddingWire linked to a story about a couple getting married at Waffle House, for reals.
• If you happen to be involved with the whole planning thing, you might want to check out these tips that note some “warning signs” for vendors you and your significant other might be bringing on
• AisleDash’s Wendy Davidson throws out, for your viewing pleasure, the option of flying in via helicopter as your “grand” entrance.
• Also from AisleDash, and this is super helpful if you happen to be the father of the bride, are some tips on what you should be doing that day.

Catching up

Well, apologies for being off the ranch for a few days, Groomify readers. Had some craziness with a new job, a new laptop, and all the fun ins and outs that go with all those sorts of things, but all’s well and back on track. So keep on the lookout for more great Groomify content, and thanks for reading and sticking around!

Yep, that Google

Further proving Google’s ability to be relevant to a whole lotta people for a whole lotta things is this post on the Official Google Blog about a couple that used Google’s batch ‘o’ products to get their wedding on. No really, from Google Docs and Google Maps to Google Calendar and even Blogger, they used it.

Check out the post from the Boyles here.

Friday Links: July 4, 2008

• David, the “other half” of Meg at A Practical Wedding, shared some thoughts on being a part of the planning process
• I’m a little late on the draw here, but Snipped & Ink posted about a awesome contest that might only qualify Michigan-area wedding parties, but it’s for a free video love story to be shot and edited for nada.
• Some of you might find the rundown that Laptop Bride shared on the history of the tuxedo, and some tips on buying one, interesting.
• Maybe this isn’t on point for those of you wearing a tux to your wedding (though probably outside of your wedding event), but check out the tips at Men’s Flair on how to buy the right belt.
• The always-useful Gear Patrol recently shared a good tip on a way for you to stay clean - in the shower, that is.
• Five tips from The Bride’s Guide on how to choose a wedding reception location. This is one of those things that you’re probably going to actually be interested, so suck it up and read something at a bridal site already.
• SmartMoney has great guidelines to follow on buying wedding gifts.
• While you’re staying clean (see link three above this one), you might want to clip your nails, too. People look at those things, you know.
• If your bride-to-be’s maid of honor begins sucking wind, turning said bride-to-be into a crabby person, then you might want to send a heads up about Bride’s Night Out to the aforementioned maid of honor. Or, maybe just to your bride-to-be, and she can do the honors via anonymous email. More here.
• Buying the woman in your life this t-shirt probably won’t get you anywhere, but it’ll be funny. [via The Daily Tee]
• Mighty Goods shares 15 wedding or shower gifts that manage to land under $40. Check it out.

Friday Links: June 27, 2008

• Crystal and Nick share a quick-and-dirty run through of comparisons between platinum, tungsten, and titanium, three popular options for ring shoppers to choose from
• If you’re wondering what it costs, in general, to keep yourself well-suited (and we mean that literally), then check out Will’s roundup at A Suitable Wardrobe of what buys what (short and sweet, but on point) when it comes to a businessman’s wardrobe
• Leslie of Leslie-Manning Events, a wedding planning shop in DC, notes an interesting big of news from a local venue used for weddings, namely their drive towards going “green,” and what that might mean going forward.
• IDoSugar wants to know whether you think the wedding or the honeymoon are more important.

Looking for some wedding planning Websites?

Well, grooms-to-be, if there’s one thing that Groomify it should be about it’s pointing you in the right direction for cool stuff, and that includes other sites that can be of help to you in the whole wedding process. Thankfully for us, Emily Chang’s fantastic eHub has a great post Wednesday by Kim Lau that rounds up all the wedding-focused sites you could possibly want into a couple of categories (who doesn’t like sorting?). So head on over there and check it out, just try and remember to come back at some point.

If you’re a PR person…

Then yes, we do actually want to hear from you. As a public relations guy myself, I absolutely embrace PRfolk getting their communications on with bloggers, but I do have a few rules to follow:

• If you want to drop a line to Groomify, you can do so either via the contact form or by emailing us at groomify [at] gmail.com.
• Please, please, please don’t put Groomify on your mailing list without asking in the first place.
• Please do ask if we’d like to be added to your mailing list or announcements.
• Definitely give us the heads up if you’ve got a blog that might be of interest to us or our readers.
• At least attempt to make what you’re pitching relevant to Groomify. Keep in mind that we’re truly focused on wedding-related stuff for guys. Does that mean we’ll never write about dresses, wedding cakes, or something else not necessarily focused on guys? Nope. But aren’t focused there, so do your best.

That’s about it for right now. We look forward to hearing about your stuff, but use your head before sending random stuff that’s not going to be of interest. Your clients will thank you, and we won’t have to forward it to our pals at the Bad Pitch Blog.

Now we have something else to shoot for

Aside from providing great content for the grooms of the world looking to have their say in the world of weddings, now we’ve got another goal for Groomify - snagging a slot on Guy Kawasaki’s Alltop Weddings list. So far, only seeing one groom-focused site on the list (for obvious reasons) but let’s try and make it at least two, huh?

We’ve got forums!

Well, we’re still getting started here at Groomify, but I figured it might be worthwhile to set up some space for guys to do the forum / message board thing. So, if you’re so inclined, head on over to Groomify Forums. It’s just starting and I’m working on some browser wonkiness here and there, but ultimately your user account over there should work properly with the user account here, in comments on the blog and such.

We’re giving bbPress, which meshes nicely with WordPress, a whirl, so I’d appreciate any feedback you might have at groomify [at] gmail.com. Props to RFDN for the port of the Revolution Pro Media theme we’d been using.

Go take a survey

You know that you want to head over to Men’s Flair and take their survey about men’s formalwear. Lots of interesting questions about suits, ties, and other such styl-ish things.

Another reason to read Gear Patrol

Because we weren’t sure that Gear Patrol was relevant before, now we’re going to have to pay MORE attention to them with the advent of Gear Patrol Protocol, their new Q&Aish series of commentary and counsel on all things that the males of the world might be interested in. It’s pretty obviously that they’ll drop SOME knowledge that’s going to hit home with Groomify readers, and we’ll make a point to either drop a line their way or keep you apprised if it’s not something you keep an eye on right now.

Kudos, Gear Patrol, and good luck with the new column!

Welcome!

Say hello to Groomify.

Welcome to a new way for the groom to participate in his pre-nuptial experience, without having to deal with all the fluff. Just because you aren’t interested in whether or not your reception will feature satin, damask or lace tablecloths doesn’t mean you don’t have anything to do, right? This site aims to feature the best gear - from tuxedos to shoes - details on the hottest places to head off on your honeymoon and what kind of music you need to be all about for that dance with your mom. Beyond that, though, we’re making it a lot more casual, and talking about things that you could associate with your wedding or related activities, but can look at without wedding pricing, and hopefully give you an idea or two that’s “out of the box” or at least a little less pre-packaged.

This site isn’t meant to be simply an FAQ or a version of About.com for grooms looking for wedding-related info, but a constantly evolving blog and community. Our goals are to keep a close eye on what people are interested in reading, whether it be more focused on ill-fitting tuxedos and how to avoid them or how to keep bridesmaids at bay from your groomsman brother, and make sure we’re providing you with what you want to read.

We hope you’ll stick around, subscribe to our email or RSS feed, and feel free to drop us a line anytime. Thanks for stopping in!