Well groomed

Traditionally, poring over glossy wedding magazines and agonising about everything from seating plans to table settings has been a bride-to-be's prerogative.

About the only thing the groom is expected to do is turn up looking presentable and make a suitably effusive speech.

But in the 21st century men are taking a far greater interest in the fine details of planning the big day - and reflecting the trend, Britain's first wedding magazine for men has been launched.

Stag & Groom looks like a typical lads' mag. But instead of bikini-clad models it features advice on choosing a ring, organising the perfect stag weekend and the pitfalls of the wedding speech.

Some of the advice may seem rather redundant: "Never present a ring you've ever offered to someone else," it warns, but the team behind Stag & Groom believe many men need a step-by-step guide to wedding etiquette.

Publisher Chris Hanage said: "It's aimed at men in their late twenties and thirties who have the money and independence to get married in the way they and their partners want.

"Today's grooms are older and more financially independent than ever before and spend significant amounts of their own cash on the big day."

Hanage, 36, a former sales executive added: "Throw in organising a stag weekend and it's no surprise they want a little help."

The debut issue of the bi-monthly magazine includes such advice as how to navigate the relationship between a man's mother and his bride-to-be.

The March/April issue of Stag & Groom is on sale from 26 February