Rewarding the Groomsmen It is a little backwards when somebody thinks about it. The bride and the groom have a special day, known as their wedding day, in which their friends and family shower them with gifts and love. But ironically, the same people who offer up presents to the happy couple on their special day are also expecting a gift in return; namely, the groomsmen. And why shouldn’t the fellas get a little something for their hard work? After all, the groomsmen usually rent the tux for the groom, throw the groom a party honoring bachelorhood, help set up and take down decorations under the supervision of the bridesmaids, and even have to walk the insanely old great aunt down the aisle. So with all of their hard work put into making sure the wedding is a success, perhaps it is ok for the groom to throw the boys a present on the way out the door.
Groomsman Gifts But that does not mean that bride and groom have to break the bank spending money on groomsmen gifts. Groomsmen gift ideas can be simple, meaningful and inexpensive if the couple wishes or the gifts can be more expensive if the groom so decides. But whatever groomsmen gift ideas the couple comes up with, there are a few guidelines that can help the groom make the right choice, because ultimately it should be the choice of the groom. This is for two reasons, one because the groom will know his groomsmen and what they want, and two because the groomsmen themselves will know if a gift is coming from their buddy or his new bride. While choosing groomsmen gifts, a groom should strive to choose something that will be meaningful to the groomsmen. This should be easy enough as most guys do not get overly sentimental, so anything that can be classified as a guy gift should work. Flasks, perhaps custom engraved, have been a classic groomsmen gift for years. But if this is too overdone in the grooms mind, consider venturing into other paths.
Knowing your groomsmen As previously stated, the groom will know his buddies. Perhaps they all have a favorite sports team in common or, even better, they all have separate favorite sports teams.
In this scenario any trinket or memorabilia from the groomsmen’s favored teams will not only suffice as a groomsmen gift but will be actually wanted by the groomsmen. Whatever the item is, whether it be a shot glass, t-shirt, hat, paper weight or cufflink, if the item has an image or significance for their favorite sports team the groomsmen will not simply discard the gift after opening it. If ideas for groomsmen gifts still are not coming to the groom, one should consider what they would want to receive if the tables were turned. A groom may wish to think about what they have always wanted but could never bring themselves to spend money on, like that camo bathrobe, case of cigars, trash can basketball hoop, or beverage helmet and splurge a bit for the buddies. Photo credit: Sean Molin Photography,