How my new husband felt being a groom
Josh is not a writer. I write out everything on his behalf, so this post will still be written by me. But just in Josh’s words. Trust me it’s better this way (spelling is not his strong point!!), so here are all the details about how he felt being a groom.
Similar to my last blog post about what it felt like to be a bride, we thought we’d put one together about how Josh felt being a groom. The feeling on your wedding day isn’t something you can plan for. You might be the most organised person in the world. But on the day of stepping up to be a groom, all of your usual control might go out of the window.
Perhaps you usually get quite nervous, or you don’t like being in front of big groups of people. But on the day you might forget about everyone being there, and just feel completely calm. You can’t predict how you feel as a groom on your wedding day. But one thing Josh can tell you, is that no matter how you feel, you will get this rush of excitement you can’t even explain.
So let’s start from the very beginning of the day! Josh stayed in a Walled Garden Room over on the other side of the grounds. He shared it with his best man, just to help calm those nerves, and also to not feel quite so isolated. They woke up at 9am with no alarm, and ordered breakfast on room service. Josh’s family went to join them there too and they spent the morning in the walled garden and hot tub basking in the sunshine. Sounds like a dream morning for a groom if you ask me!
Josh goes by the nickname Haircut - so it only felt fair that he would have his hair done on the morning of the wedding too.
Now this might sound a little bit similar to my blog post, but they started with Hair just after lunchtime. Yes you heard that right – this groom to be had his hair cut and styled on the morning of the wedding. I think this might need a little explaining, because it’s certainly not the norm for a groom to bring a hairdresser.
Josh goes by the nickname ‘Haircut’. It’s not a nickname I gave him, he’s had it for years and years. I met him with a topknot – and somehow still thought he was good looking!! But he’s had every hairstyle David Beckham has sported. And is known for spending hundreds of pounds on his hair. So we both felt that it was only fair that he had his hairdresser to come to the wedding too.
Richard has been Josh’s hairdresser since we moved to Chiswick. He works at Toni and Guy as a director, and with Josh going to get his haircut every three weeks, knows him pretty well. So when we asked Richard if he would come and cut and style Josh and his best mans hair on the wedding, he immediately agreed. He arrived to the venue by 1pm, giving them plenty of time to shower in-between the cut and style.
Of course as a groom to be, you want to look the very best on your wedding day. So the search for the right outfit is almost as longwinded as the search for the bride. Don’t underestimate the time you might need to find the perfect suit.
The Grooms Outfit
We started our journey for finding the suit for Josh on Saville Row. Visiting a couple of places in one day. We did actually come across Cad and The Dandy which we very nearly ordered from. The problem was, that the material Josh was after, was very expensive. And with all places on Saville Row making to order, the suit was ending up in the ££££ thousands.
So we carried on with our search, wondering if we might be able to get what he wanted for a little bit less. And that’s when we ended up in Suit Supply. The suits here are already made, and then you have them tailored to whatever extent you would like. So it was a bit of a win win. Josh still got the suit he wanted, but for a fraction of the price on Saville Row.
The only problem with the suit that Josh chose, was that it was only a two piece suit, and he wanted a three piece. And that’s where my mum comes in. My mum has for a long while been taking sewing lessons, and has made a fair few waistcoats in her time. So she went out and collected a number of samples, and Josh choose the ones he wanted to have his waistcoat made in. He went for a total contrast to his Navy suit with a grey check, and it looked great.
Nothing can prepare you for how you are going to feel as a groom stood at the top of the aisle.
As a guy that lives in skinny jeans, and has only ever worn a suit four times in his life, Josh wanted his suit to be skinny too. So we had the legs tapered to an inch of their life, and it was so much more Josh.
The Groom’s Accessories
But a Grooms outfit wouldn’t be complete without a few accessories too. Shoes, belt and tie are the common additions, and this is just what Josh went for too.
The Shoes – with a navy suit, and a grey check waistcoat, Josh’s outfit was beginning to look pretty cool. So we needed something that would pair with that style, and decided on the Monk Shoe. Josh really wanted a suede pair of shoes, which are quite tricky to find in the tan colour. But we came across these from Loake, and they worked perfectly.
The Belt – For the belt, we just wanted something simple that tied in with the shoes. Loake actually did a matching belt, but unfortunately it was always out of stock. So we found one at Suit Supply that almost matched the shoes. It definitely wasn’t a perfect match, but you couldn’t tell one bit.
The Bow Tie – We knew that this needed to be something special. And that real wow factor. When shopping in a tiny village in Nottingham (where I’m from) we came across this bow tie. And decided to get in touch with Wings Bow Ties. We actually commissioned them to make all of the bow ties, and it was just that perfect addition to finish off a really special outfit.
Onto the gifts…
So with the outfit sorted, it was time to put everything on. And give the gifts that we had got for the boys.. Including a little gift from me too. For the groomsmen we’d got them each a pair of black and white socks from Happy Socks, and had their initials monogrammed onto each sock in small grey text. We *think they all wore them on the day, and it was nice to have something else that connected them all together.
*Josh’s dad and brother didn’t actually get ready with them, so we aren’t too sure if they did actually wear the socks. But at least we know they had them!
For Gareth, our best friend and Josh’s best man, we got him a watch from Skagen. There is a running private joke between the three of us about ‘Let Down Larry’. That’s Gareth cancelling on plans at the very last minute! So the watch was a symbol of no more Let Down Larry. Funnily enough, Gareth got Let Down Larry tokens for Josh that he could cash in when needed!!
And then my gift to Josh. We weren’t really doing gifts, but I just wanted him to have something special for the day. So I got him these cufflinks from Monica Vinader. And had his new name engraved on one, and the date of the wedding engraved on the other.
I woke up naturally and it honestly felt like any other day. Apart from the fact that I woke up next to Gareth, and not you!
Of course, his outfit was finished off perfectly with the buttonhole. Which was just a very simple white rose with a spring of foliage made by our florists. The silver ribbon was from Kate Cullen, and actually ribbon I had left over from a shoot I was working on. I actually commented on how squished it looked in the chapel – and he said it was from hugging people too tightly!
On that note of hugging, one of the first things Josh told me on the day of the wedding, just after the ceremony was that he absolutely loved greeting everyone as they arrived at the chapel. He said seeing all of your family and friends and the people you love, just immediately made him feel more calm and more excited.
So now we’ve told you all of the details of Josh becoming a groom, here is how he actually felt as a groom. And for this I think we have to use Josh’s words.
The morning
“I woke up naturally and it honestly felt like any other morning, despite the fact that I was waking up to Gareth and not you. Obviously I felt excited that I was about to marry the girl of my dreams. But I felt so calm throughout the morning. I tried to just enjoy the venue and company which was easy enough to do.
The most special moment throughout the morning for me, was that my family all came to have breakfast with me. We spent the morning reminiscing stories and I spoke to them all about you. I can’t remember the last time that happened, as I don’t see them all that often, and it was just really nice.
The only time I felt weird was walking up to the Chapel with Gareth and I can’t really explain what my emotion was. Probably nerves”.
At the top of the aisle
“I was stood at the top of the aisle thinking, I’ve been stood here for ages, when is she coming!!! But I was also quite emotional. So many things were going through my head. I hadn’t gone to bed with you that night. I missed you, and all I wanted to do was give you a big kiss.
And I also couldn’t wait to see your dress. For so long your family had been saying it’s amazing. I knew it would be, and I just couldn’t wait to see it.”
Images – All Photographs throughout this post were taken by Benjamin Wheeler. Ben was our wedding photographer and I think you can tell from these photographs just how wonderful he really is.
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