May and June seem to always be filled with weddings. I don’t know whether it’s the green grass or the flowers that are starting to bloom, but it sure seems like there are a lot of them this time of the year. One time-honored tradition is for the bride to be showered with gifts, advice and love from the women in her life. She acquires all sorts of things for her new home that she will be making with her husband. Let’s be honest, this is a good thing because her new husband would probably be content with the one recliner, TV, and single picture of him and his dog on the counter. We men are not known for our incredible homemaking skills.

I don’t know what all goes on at one of those bridal showers, lucky for me I’ve never been invited. What I do know is that there are a lot of gifts that come home from one of those things. It’s truly an outpouring of love for the new bride. She will come away with new kitchen utensils and books filled with old family recipes, handmade curtains and wall décor to turn that empty house into a home. There will be blankets and quilts, throw pillows that her husband will one day learn are not actually meant to be thrown and many other things that a young bride will need. Most importantly, there will be a fellowship of ladies that are there to support her. They will show her she is loved, she is supported, and she has people that she can talk to when she needs them the most. The bridal shower is very important to this young lady. She may not realize it at the moment, but one day she will be thankful for every gift and kind words of advice given on that day.

After a decade of marriage, I have come to the conclusion that a wedding shower needs to be thrown for the groom as well. Now unlike the bridal shower, the showering of the groom will likely not be very neatly organized complete with handmade invitations that are color coordinated to the theme of the wedding. There’s going to be a group text sent out telling all the guys to come over to somebody’s shop for an afternoon of barbecue and cold beverages. The groom’s shower might have a football game or a rodeo on the television in the corner. There will be some gifts, they wont be wrapped and most of them will still have the price tag on them because they were bought on the way to the shower. The guest of honor will have to put up with jabs about losing his freedom and becoming tied down with the old ball and chain. It will all be in good humor, but among the roasting, there will be advice given for the new husband. He’ll be told things like how to fix the leak under the sink, light the pilot light on the furnace when it goes out in the winter, and maybe most importantly how to grow a relationship with his new bride that will stand the test of time.

It is a known fact that marriage is not something that is entered into lightly. It is a lifelong commitment to one another. The groomsmen and bridesmaids that stand up for their friends on the day of their wedding have a responsibility to support them through life’s trials. I joke about having a shower for the groom, but as much as the bride needs the advice and support of other ladies as she begins her journey in marriage, the groom needs to know that he has the support of other men when he encounters challenges.

The next time you get a wedding invitation in the mail, take the time to provide counsel to the couple. Let them know you support them and are happy to help them when the seas of life get a little choppy. That’s all for this time, keep tabs on your side of the barbed wire and God bless.

Meinzer is a fourth-generation rancher raised on the southeastern plains of Colorado. He and his family live and ranch in Oshkosh, Neb.