Site Offers Wedding Registry for Dudes

Themanregistry.com gives the groom a little wedding shower love.

ByABC News
June 4, 2008, 5:19 PM

June 5, 2008 — -- Bridal showers are one of the biggest perks of getting married. But while brides often walk away chockful of presents for the kitchen and bedroom, grooms can feel a bit left out.

The creators of a newly launched Web site want to change all that. TheManRegistry.com touts itself as the first wedding gift registry that caters to men. Typical gifts on the site, such as toolkits and the George Foreman grill scream -- or perhaps more appropriately, grunt -- machismo.

Two brothers, Jimmy and Bobby Horner, along with their future brother-in-law, Chris Easter, came up with their idea for the site when they started to notice that many friends and family members who were getting married received gifts geared more toward brides, such as mixing bowls and linens.

"It just wasn't stuff that guys could really get into," Easter said. "We figured there should be a registry for things we would buy our buddies when they get married, like electronics."

Grooms-to-be can not only register on the site and pick out the type of gifts they'd want but also pick up handy tips on how to pick out a tuxedo and numerous pointers on how to saddle up for the big day.

Before visiting the site, 24-year-old Chris Brown, who recently got engaged, admitted to feeling like an "idiot" about weddings. But after registering and surfing the "Groom 101" section, which includes advice columns such as "The Bachelor Party: To Strip or Not to Strip" and "When Bridezilla Attacks," he felt much more confident about how to handle the series of life-changing events that awaited him.

The self-professed "tech geek" was also stoked to learn that tying the knot could also mean scoring an X Box or iPod speakers.

"I figured it would be more things for her, like a lot of home appliances. I was kind of in the dark and felt sort of stupid about a lot of this stuff," Brown said. "But after going on the site and seeing what gifts I could potentially have, it's really opened my eyes."

Beth Montemurro, author of "Something Old, Something Bold: Bridal Showers and Bachelorette Parties," believes that the way weddings have been historically "feminized" creates a stigma that has made it difficult for men to partake in wedding activities.