I don’t mean to take anything away from a bride’s moment in the sun, but I don’t believe it’s a stretch to say the wedding industry treats men like second-class citizens.
Case in point: Uchechi & I crashed a Bridal Expo to do some guerrilla marketing (don’t tell). We bought tickets and acted like your garden variety engaged couple, expecting to find something for each of us, but the ridiculousness started at the front door:
- As the Bride, she got a fancy sticker (“I’m the Bride”), I didn’t even get a wrist stamp.
- Worse, she got a goodie bag, and I didn’t!
It’s not like I can’t live without a target on my chest so vendors know I’m a punter. And I can also live without a bag full of ads and craptastic marketing swag. It was the principle of the thing. There are two people getting married here.
I asked the security guy at the gate what gives. He shrugged, and told me to check out the “Men’s Lounge”. So that was my welcome.
Of course I had to see what the “Men’s Lounge” would be. My expectations couldn’t have been lower – and were not exceeded by the forlorn-looking couch behind the single male-oriented display: the local bespoke bowtie company.
Not that their bowties weren’t great – they were.
Anyway, my aggravation with the absence of resources for grooms (The Man Registry being one of the few sites I had any awareness of, kudos to you, mates!) has been building and I finally got off my ass to do something about it:
Please take a look, don’t mind a few categories that haven’t got any tips yet, and weigh in. I’d love to hear from you.
Cheers,
Peter
photo of Soweto’s awesome Smarteez: Chris Saunders