Once a woman gets engaged, she launches a full scale wedding planning process. There are colors to consider, flowers to choose, cakes to taste, vendors to meet and contracts to sign. This definitely is not a one person project. Help is needed but it doesn’t have to come from the mother of the bride, the bridesmaids or a wedding consultant.

The groom should be a bride’s right hand man when it comes to wedding planning decisions. After all, the groom is the one of two central figures at the wedding, so why shouldn’t he have an opinion on matters from booking a limo to renting a banquet hall?

It used to be that the parents of the bride paid for an elaborate wedding, but in modern times many couples are paying for their own wedding. When a bride and groom foot the bill themselves they want to be as involved as possible to make sure they’re getting their money’s worth on their wedding day.

Since marriage is about partnership, why shouldn’t the wedding planning be a partnership too? Couples need to look at planning for the big day as a chance to take on a large task as a couple. Each partner can be responsible for a few things and together they can make all the decisions about their wedding.

One of the first decisions to make is the date and time for the wedding. The bride and groom should make this decision together. Next up is the budget. If the couple is paying the bill themselves, they have total control over all the costs associated with the wedding. But if family or friends are hosting or co-hosting the big day, then those folks may have a say in how their money is spent. Still, the bride and groom should make the ultimate decision since it’s their special day.

Researching vendors is just one of many key areas where the groom can help plan the wedding. The bride and groom can split the duties of finding vendors. For example, the husband-to-be can study up on tuxedos, photography, transportation and caterers while the soon-to-be-Mrs. Checks out florists, stationers and wedding day attire from a dress to shoes to jewelry.

It’s a good idea for the groom to accompany the bride to local bridal shows where hundreds of vendors and other wedding day resources are on hand to explain their services. Bridal shows offer a chance for the couple to survey lots of vendors at once. It can be a great overview to an otherwise scary and overwhelming process.

Some aspects of wedding planning will be boring to the groom. Tasks like selecting tiaras or choosing wedding day makeup for the bride will not be interesting to the groom. But that’s OK because the groom has a lot of other things he can oversee including honeymoon preparations and reviewing all vendor contracts.

Wedding planning can be overwhelming and it’s easy for a guy’s opinions and feelings to get overlooked. But a bride should check in with her groom from time to time during the planning process to make sure he feels involved in the decisions and that his efforts are appreciated.

Below are a few suggestions to help the groom get involved in wedding planning: