Best groomsmen gift ideas & wedding add-ons for 2027 and 2028

Every groomsman owns at least one engraved flask he has never used. The wedding party remembers how the day felt, not what came in the box.

That is why more couples and wedding planners are replacing traditional groomsmen gifts with experiences. The most requested one is an on-site barber for the wedding morning: fresh cuts, hot towel shaves and beard work for the whole party, delivered to the suite, the estate or the venue.

This guide covers the wedding add-ons worth paying for in 2027 and 2028, the groomsmen gift ideas guests actually talk about, and how planners across the Northeast and abroad are building grooming into the timeline.

Doorbell Barbers has styled more than 500 groomsmen across 78+ markets since 2015. We have been featured in Vogue and GQ, are rated 5.0 on Zola, and hold a 5.0 rating from more than 100 Google reviews.

Why experiences are replacing wedding favors in 2027

Wedding favors are becoming experiences. The Knot's 2027 Wedding Trends Report says personalization and the guest experience continue to drive how couples plan, and that favors are turning into pop-up experiences guests enjoy in the moment.

The numbers back it up. In The Knot's 2026 Real Weddings Study, guest experience was the top priority for 69% of couples.

Grooming fits that shift naturally. Instead of handing the wedding party another object, couples give them something they experience together, and everyone looks and feels better for the ceremony.

What wedding-morning grooming looks like

Wedding day grooming brings a professional barber team to wherever the wedding party is getting ready. Nobody drives to a shop, nobody misses the photographer, and nobody shows up with a rushed Friday-night cut.

The idea is old. Our founder's grandfather was a Connecticut barber who made house calls for decades. Doorbell Barbers took that tradition and built it for the modern wedding morning.

A typical groomsmen getting-ready timeline

1. 1

   Setup

   The team arrives with an Avalon tilt massage table, hot towel steamers and Truefitt & Hill products. All we need is a 10×10 ft space and one outlet.

2. 2

   The father goes first

   The father of the groom or of the bride gets on the Avalon tilt table first for his hot towel shave and sets the tone.

3. 3

   The groom goes third

   That leaves him time to relax before and after, and keeps him fresh for first-look photos.

4. 4

   The party rotates through

   Cuts, line-ups, beard shaping and hot towel shaves, roughly 45 minutes per person.

5. 5

   Final 30 minutes: styling

   Hair finished, beards touched up, and help with bow ties, ties, cufflinks and boutonnieres. Suits and shirts get steamed.

6. 6

   The Gentleman's Send-Off Toast

   The bourbon gets opened, the photographer gets the shot, and everyone walks out looking sharp.

A curated playlist runs the whole time, and the team coordinates with the photographer so the best candids happen naturally.

The Classic runs a 6-hour window with one master barber, about 45 minutes per person. The Premium runs 4.5 hours with two master barbers. Both cover parties of up to eight. Both include the attire help above. See wedding packages.

Sample timeline: Classic package, party of eight

Here is how a Classic morning runs: one master barber, 45 minutes per person, and a 6-hour service window from 6:00 AM to 12:00 PM, with setup 30 minutes before. Every shave happens on our Avalon tilt massage table, which reclines each man fully for the hot towel and straight razor.

Your planner gets this itinerary, with every name slotted in, before the wedding day. Want a later start? The Premium covers the same eight men in 4.5 hours.

One barber vs. two: how staffing changes the wedding timeline

The number of barbers decides how early the morning starts. That is why most couples choose our Premium package: two master barbers work side by side, so the party gets more done in less time.

• Time saved. Two chairs run at once, so a party of eight finishes in 4.5 hours instead of six.
• A later start. Nobody needs to be awake at 6:00 AM. The first man sits down at 7:30, after the rehearsal-dinner late night.
• Two barbers. Full haircuts for every man, more room in the schedule for the photographer, and a buffer if someone runs late.

Compare all three packages, including the Royal with a full hour of deep tissue massage per person.

Sample send-off toast

Every package ends with the Gentleman's Send-Off Toast. This one is adapted from a toast we gave at a wedding this fall, with names and personal details swapped for placeholders. Fill in the brackets and make it yours.

Gentlemen, glasses up.

Today we're raising an 18-year Knob Creek to [Groom], [Partner], and everything that brought them to this moment.

This bourbon spent 18 years becoming what it is today. It's a fitting reminder that the best things in life are built with time, patience, character, and the people we share them with.

[Number] years ago, [Groom] met [Partner] and knew almost immediately there was something different about them. [How they met, and the moment he knew.]

Since then, they've built a life together, celebrating incredible moments and standing beside each other through some of the hardest, including the loss of people they love. Those are the people we carry with us into days like today, and there is no doubt they are part of this moment too.

And today, [Groom] gets the moment he's been waiting for most: seeing [Partner] walk down that aisle.

[Groom], look around this room.

[Best man], a friend for more than [number] years, whose example has taught you a great deal about the man and husband you want to be.

[Groomsman], one of those rare people who naturally brings everyone together, and who has been part of this story from the beginning.

[Partner's brothers], who welcomed you into their family from the start. Today they're not just [Partner]'s brothers. They're your brothers too.

And [father of the bride]. From the beginning, you made [Groom] feel welcome. He sees you as a role model, and having your support means more to him than he could ever put into words.

[Groom], these men standing around you represent decades of friendship, family, lessons, memories and love. They helped shape the man standing here now. But [Partner] is the person you chose to build everything that comes next with.

So here's to [Groom] and [Partner]. To the people who brought you here, to those watching over this day, to the friends and family standing beside you, and to the moment later today when you see [Partner] walking toward you.

And most importantly, to a lifetime of stories worth raising a glass to. Cheers.

Tip: pick one song that means something to the couple and have it playing as the glasses go up. Non-drinkers toast with sparkling water, cold brew or a mocktail. Everyone raises a glass.

The bourbon bar

Every package includes a bourbon bar for the morning and the toast. Our standard pours:

• Knob Creek
• Maker's Mark
• Bulleit
• Woodford Reserve
• Michter's
• Your bottle. Tell us the groom's favorite and we'll source it, up to a $45–$50 budget.

Non-drinkers are always covered with sparkling water, ceremonial matcha, cold brew, fresh-pressed juice or a custom mocktail. Premium cigars are on hand too.

Wedding add-ons couples are booking for 2027 and 2028

The best wedding add-ons improve the hours guests actually spend together, and the getting-ready window is the most overlooked of them. These are the wedding extras worth a line in the budget.

For the getting-ready suites

• On-site barber for the wedding party. Cuts, shaves and beard work in the suite. It doubles as the groomsmen gift.
• Hair and makeup for the other suite. Our sister company, Doorbell Salon, handles hair, makeup and nails, so both sides of the wedding party run on one schedule.
• Chair massage. A licensed massage therapist in the suite takes the edge off nerves before the ceremony.
• Garment steaming and attire help. Wrinkled shirts and crooked bow ties show up in every photo. A team that handles both saves the planner a scramble.
• A getting-ready playlist and toast. Small, inexpensive, and it changes the energy of the whole morning.

For guests and the reception

• Welcome bags with local snacks, water and a recovery kit for out-of-town guests.
• A whiskey, bourbon or cigar lounge during cocktail hour.
• A live event painter or audio guest book as a keepsake.
• A late-night food truck or local favorite for the after-party.
• Same-day touch-ups for the couple before the reception entrance.

If the budget only stretches to one, choose the add-on that serves the people closest to you. That is almost always the getting-ready experience.

Unique groomsmen gifts: why an experience wins

The most memorable groomsmen gift ideas are ones the party shares on the day. A shared experience creates the photos, the stories and the toast, and nobody has to find room for it in a drawer.

Ways to give grooming as the gift

• Cover the whole party. The simplest version: the couple books the team and the groomsmen just show up.
• Pair it with something small. A good bourbon for the send-off toast, or quality grooming products to take home.
• Add a take-home razor. Our Blackbird safety razor upgrade from Blackland Razors is USA-made, engraving-ready and used daily for years.
• Include the fathers and grandfathers. Many of our favorite moments come from the older generation getting a proper shave.
• Make it a pre-wedding event. Some parties book grooming before the rehearsal dinner to free up the wedding morning.

Groomsmen remember being looked after. A gift that makes them look great in the photos they will keep forever does exactly that.

Why brides are adding grooming to the wedding morning

The bride has always had a getting-ready experience. Now the groom does too. More often than not, the person who first reaches out to Doorbell Barbers is the bride. After more than a decade of wedding mornings, her reasons tend to be the same:

• Better photos. Everyone is freshly groomed, instead of fixing hair 15 minutes before portraits.
• The groom gets an experience too. Bridal suites have always had professional hair and makeup. This gives his side a real getting-ready morning.
• One less thing to manage. Attire, timing and grooming are handled by one team that works off your planner's timeline.
• It becomes the groomsmen gift. One booking can replace a separate gift line in the budget.

Read more in What he'll be doing while you're getting glam and 5 reasons brides are booking wedding barbers.

For wedding planners: a wedding-morning vendor that runs itself

The getting-ready suite is where timelines slip. A grooming team that owns that window, on schedule and without supervision, takes one of the morning's biggest risks off your list.

What planners get when they bring us in

• A fixed timeline built with you. We work back from the first look or ceremony time and stick to it.
• Attire handled. Ties, bow ties, cufflinks, boutonnieres and steaming are part of the service, not your coordinator's job.
• Photographer coordination. We sequence the party so the photographer gets the groom, the father and the toast without waiting.
• Minimal venue demands. A 10×10 ft space and one outlet. We bring everything else.
• Fully insured. General liability coverage of $1M per occurrence and $2M aggregate, with certificates available for any venue. NDAs available.
• Dedicated wedding coverage. Your team is scheduled around your wedding alone, with staffing built for your party size, getting-ready window and photography schedule.
• One contact for both suites. Grooming through Doorbell Barbers; hair, makeup and nails through Doorbell Salon.

Credentials planners ask about

We have been featured in Vogue and GQ, hold a top rating on Zola, and are a preferred vendor with JZ Events in Newport. Outside weddings, our teams work backstage for touring artists through our arena partnership with Oak View Group, where timing is unforgiving.

Planners who want to add Doorbell Barbers to a preferred vendor list can reach us at bookings@doorbellbarbers.com or 1-800-887-4524.

Wedding grooming across the Northeast

Doorbell Barbers is based in Shelton, Connecticut, and serves weddings in nine states from Maine to Pennsylvania as standard. These are the top venues we've worked in each market.

Northeast weddings come with their own logistics: Gilded Age mansions with strict vendor rules in Newport, mountain resorts and barns in Vermont and New Hampshire, and hotel suites with tight elevator schedules in Manhattan. Our compact setup and insured team fit all of them.

If you are searching for a wedding barber in Connecticut, Newport, New York City, New Jersey, Boston, Philadelphia, Vermont, New Hampshire or Maine, this is our home turf.

Destination weddings and international travel

We travel with the wedding party. Palm Beach is part of our standard service, including The Breakers. Everywhere else, from the Carolinas to Georgia to overseas, gets a custom travel quote, so the experience is the same whether the wedding is in Newport or abroad.

Destination weddings make a grooming team more valuable, not less. The party is far from their usual barber, schedules are compressed, and humidity, salt air and sun are hard on hair and beards.

What changes for a destination wedding

• Book earlier. Six months or more gives us time to plan travel and coordinate with your venue abroad.
• We bring the kit. Our own tools, products and supplies mean no reliance on local barbers or equipment.
• Add the welcome-night cut. Many destination parties arrive a day or two early. A session after arrival keeps the wedding morning relaxed.
• Coordinate with the local planner. We work directly with destination planners and venue coordinators on access, timing and the suite.

International planners who serve American and British couples are welcome to contact us for destination wedding grooming quotes.

When to book: a planning checklist

Book wedding-morning grooming at least six to eight weeks out. Peak-season Saturdays fill sooner, and some couples reserve two to three years ahead.

• 12+ months outLock in grooming if the wedding falls on a peak-season Saturday or a holiday weekend.
• 6+ months outBook destination or international weddings so travel can be planned.
• 6–8 weeks outFinal recommended window for Northeast weddings.
• 4 weeks outConfirm headcount and complete the Groomsmen Pre-Consultation form so each man's style is planned before the day.
• 1 week outShare the final timeline, suite location and photographer contact.
• Wedding morningShow up. We handle the rest.

Our wedding cancellation policy requires 72 hours' notice.

Frequently asked questions

Keep planning

• Wedding barber packages for grooms and groomsmen
• The complete wedding grooming checklist (free PDF)
• The Doorbell Barbers toast: 5 real examples
• Letters to my groomsmen: the gift that's changing wedding mornings
• Reviews from couples and planners
• Wedding grooming FAQ