Columnist offers wedding tips

When it comes to a wedding, I say that the woman should plan the entire thing and just let the man know when to show up.

Well, not really, both parties should have equal input in the planning of the wedding. But in reality, I would be too afraid I'd screw something up; I would just leave it to her.

It is because of the amount of weddings I will be traveling to this summer that I write this column. Not only are friends of mine from Purdue taking the big step, but my own grandfather is as well. Through the course of the summer I have received many tips and will offer those to you for when you travel to weddings in the future.

The first tip is when you invite a lot of your own friends to the wedding, intermingle them. You might think it's a bad idea to intermingle friends of both the groom and bride, but do NOT let fraternity guys sit by themselves in the corner. With the added pressure of sitting next to people you don't know, the amount of goofing off would be much less. Trust me, we found out the hard way.

When it comes to alcohol, it is up to the bride and groom. You want your guests to enjoy themselves, but just make sure that you take into account someone will get drunk and create a scene. I remember one guy who went swimming in the pool in his underwear, and then decided to go find his jacket he left in the reception area. We are just thankful that the mother of the groom was nice to the soaking wet man in his underwear.

The presents one gives to the bride and groom should be thoughtful and useful. An easy thing to do is find out what stores they are registered at and buy something off their list. If you decide to go with something that you already own and hand it down, give it the same way that a mother would give her child something. In private. It will mean much more to the couple and to you if you share that moment to yourselves.

There are some little tips that go along with presents. If you give a knife, make sure that you include a penny. The receiver of the knife is supposed to give you back the penny as though they bought it from you. Therefore, it signifies that you aren't trying to break up the marriage by giving them a knife. Don't ask me why, I'm just reporting it.

Another thing is if you ever give a wallet or purse, give some money with it. Of course, I would never suggest giving a wallet or pursue, but it happens.

But enough with the gifts, the main reason one goes to a wedding ceremony is for the reception. Free food and free alcohol will make anyone want to come to a wedding. But something that goes with the reception is the throwing of the garter and bouquet.

Note to self: if I ever get remarried at 77 and have my college age grandson take photos with his camera, I won't make him zoom in on my 70-year-old wife's leg with the garter.

Believe me, it took more than a little sip of wine to get me back to taking pictures.

But if there is anything that I learned this summer with all of the weddings I have attended, it's that everything will not go as planned. Sometimes the priest or pastor will slip up. It took my grandfather a couple of seconds longer to put the ring on her finger. You might have a bridesmaid or groom that has a little too much to drink and say something she/he shouldn't have.

In the "Wedding Singer" Adam Sandler's character went to calm down the bride after she found something out about the groom from the past that she didn't like. Sandler said something to the effect that everyone does something in the past that they want to forget, but on their wedding day the only thing they should be thinking about is each other. I know it sounds touchy-feeley, but it is pretty awesome to see what goes on between the groom and the bride during the ceremony.

I had never been to a wedding, before this summer, for someone I cared about. Sure I had been to a ton of second cousin's and great uncle's weddings that I had never met when I was little, but they didn't mean much to me. The weddings of friends meant much more. To see them wither and to see the true emotion of what was going to happen to the couple made me feel part of the moment. And it felt good.

I don't know when I will get married. It won't be for a long time, but with many of my friends taking their vows in the near future, I am sure I will be in weddings or helping to plan them. Of course, the only thing I would be good at planning would be the bachelor's party.