The father of the bride is the most ill-equipped participant in the wedding. Women know everything about weddings, the groom just needs to show up a couple of times reasonably sober and shaved, and the best man gets to plan a party ” how hard is that?

The father of the bride on the other hand passes out a boatload of money to pay for almost everything. Therefore, unless he plans on spending all of his money on the wedding, there are a few things that he must know and do.

1. Be part of the planning process. If youre not involved you might as well shouting, Free Money. Dont take charge of the planning, but offer your help and suggestions in the areas that you know about. A wedding reception is nothing more than a large, expensive party with a lot of rules.

2. Insanity will infect all the women involved. Weddings cause women to go wild and crazy. Before the wedding occurs you will be accused of trying to ruin everything multiple times. Be patient and deal with it. Generally, the women in your life just want a place to vent. Only two responses are appropriate in this situation, That bitch, and Those bastards. Repeat frequently.

3. Figure out where your money is going. Generally most weddings spend about half the budget on the reception. So far in 2009, weddings have been averaging $16,000 to $19,000 according to the weddingreport.com. That means that receptions are running about $8,000 to $9,500. Theres a lot of room in there to save some money.

4. Be prepared for your wedding toast. If you dont talk a lot in front of crowds, you need to read up on how to make a toast and practice it. Write out the toast well before you give it and practice it standing up (youll be delivering your toast standing). The actual words are only part of the speech. Keep it personal and make eye contact.

5. If your name aint Fred Astaire, learn how to dance. Your dance with your daughter will be doing one of the first dances that everyone watches. Learn the song she wants played and go to a dance studio to learn how to dance it. Spend the money. Many dance studios offer wedding dance packages. Surprise everyone at how light you are on your feet. Do it right and a lot of the women at the reception will want to dance with you.

After its all over, head out on a vacation for just your wife and yourself. You will both need it.

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