Grooms Get Respect in Canada

In the ongoing war* between the U.S. and Canada over which nation is more groom-friendly, Canada has just scored another victory.

*The aforementioned war is "ongoing" only as of this morning, and occurs solely in my mind.

Zosia Bielski at The Globe and Mail has sought to define the term Groomzilla and pose some great questions about groom involvement in the planning process.

Groomzillas fight back: What's wrong with getting involved?

In her article, Bielski makes note of "a new breed of groom-centric bloggers and wedding planners [who are] hoping to redefine the zilla moniker and shift attitudes around male involvement in the pinkest of industries in the process." A number of my colleagues and I contributed thoughts and opinions for the article, so don't be surprised when you see mention of The Man Registry, Groom Groove and Temple of Groom, among others.

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On another note, TGS is in talks with The Knot about bringing some more groom issues to their national and regional magazines with the Ask the Groom column. So if you feel so inclined, tweet @ TheKnot or post a note on their website and tell them you want to see Ask the Groom in their future issues. And if you have a question that I can answer in my snarky and brutally honest fashion, you can always email it to me.

Past ATG posts include:

Ask the Groom: Boudoir Photography

Ask the Groom: Last Minute Groom Gifts

Ask the Groom: "Honey, Where's My Harness?" or The Man-gerie Post

Great weekend!

b

All Men Report to the Sidebar: Breaking into @TheKnot

This past weekend, 2Es and I took a drive over to the Grove shopping center here in LA, an outdoor mall where the fountain dances to Sinatra tunes and Mario Lopez interviews B-celebrities. We made it seem like the primary purpose of our trip was to purchase an iPhone case, but we both know that was bull.

The last time we browsed the magazine rack at Barnes & Noble was two years ago: a young clueless engaged couple looking to steal ideas from the best weddings of 2008. These wedding dates in the upstairs coffee lounge at B&N would span a few hours: 2Es would flip through The Knot or Modern Bride for inspiration, and I would blog about how wedding magazines are completely devoid of male interests.

Not so much this time...

Feeling the groom love with The Man Registry, The Plunge, and  

I Am Staggered.

Granted, it's a sidebar, buried in a sea of full-page wedding gown photos ... but I'll take it. In fact, I'll do more than that. I'll call it the culmination of 2+ years of providing a male voice in the industry. And I won't stop there; I'm going to continue to hound the lovely ladies and occasional gent at The Knot about the "Ask the Groom" column that I've been promoting for over a year now. And we'll see how far we can push this envelope.

So stop by your local wherever (yes, this is the national Winter Issue of The Knot, not the regional issue) and pick up a copy and flip immediately to page 38. Hell, flip all the copies at Barnes & Noble or Rite-Aid or newsstand to page 38. And then hit up The Knot (via Twitter or via their Facebook page) and tell them you want more groom content. Especially from that Groom Says guy. You know he's looking for writing gigs now...

***A special thanks to Amy Eisinger, Associate Editor at The Knot and author of the aforementioned article.

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A personal note: If you're in New York this weekend, please root on my Dad and the other 40,000+ runners competing in the New York City Marathon on Sunday. This is Dad's third marathon this year (Miami being the first, Boston the second), and I couldn't be more proud of him. What an amazing achievement. 

Enjoy the 55 degree weather, runners!