Wedding etiquette assigns many tasks to the best man, but
there’s really only one that matters: getting the groom to the
church–on time. And even better, make sure the groom is sober,
dressed in his tux, and standing at the altar when the bride
makes her big entrance.
Making Your Pledge Grooms usually choose their dads,
brother or closest friends as their best man. If you’re the
lucky person selected for this role, you may first want to make
a pledge to yourself that you won’t enjoy the pre-wedding
festivities quite as much as the groom. You will be in charge of
throwing the bachelor party, but if you aren’t capable of
rousing the groom the next day and sending him on to the church,
you may find yourself on the receiving end of the wrath of
bridezilla.
Bachelor Parties Bachelor parties can take many forms.
You want the groom to have a good time and savor his last
moments of singledom, but you don’t want the partying to put his
future marriage in jeopardy. Keep in mind that you’re
responsible for paying for most of the party and the other
groomsmen will have to pay for any travel expenses. You may find
a throw-down at the local Hooters to be more budget-friendly.
For more great ideas, check out the latest ideas from GroomsMagazine.com,
Help Your Groom Make Good Decisions You’ll need to do
some advance research on tuxes because you don’t want the groom
and his best buddies marching stiffly into the church like a
line of penguins. You can check out tuxedos online on sites such
as DiscountTuxedos.com,
or you can sneak a peak at the ads in bridal magazines. If you
want to score some early points with the bride, you could also
ask her what kind of tuxedo she likes.
Get Everyone to the Tuxedo Shop Once the tuxedos have
been selected, you’re responsible for rounding up the groomsmen
and ushers and getting their measurements to the tuxedo shop.
Get the tux shop’s information and e-mail it to the groomsmen,
telling them specifically what they need to do to get fitted for
the tux. And don’t be nave enough to think that they will all
run to the tuxedo shop. You’ll need to follow-up and make sure
they’re all correctly outfitted for the big day.
Practice, Practice, Practice The night before the
wedding, you’ll need to attend the rehearsal and rehearsal
dinner. Pay close attention to the director at the rehearsal so
you’ll know when the wedding party needs to be at the church,
where you’ll hang out before the wedding, and where to stand
during the ceremony. Just before the wedding, you’ll be the one
waiting with the groom, so you may want to come up with some
helpful advice if he has pre-wedding jitters. Hold off on any
suggestions that the groom get out while he still can–if that’s
how you feel, you may want to let the groom know some time
before the seconds before he goes in the church.
Keep Track of the Ring If you’re lucky, your role in the
wedding ceremony will only involve standing next to the groom,
smiling, and handing him the bride’s wedding ring at the
appropriate time. Make sure you’ve got a foolproof plan for
keeping track of the ring, as failing to produce the ring when
the officiant asks for it could result in a bridal breakdown in
front of all of her friends and family. Your chances of
receiving forgiveness later could be slim.
Give a Great Toast Your moment to shine will come at the
wedding reception. You’ll be called upon to give the first toast
to the bride and groom. Again, this is a time for planning and a
clear mind. A good plan would be to prepare your speech in
advance and keep your notes with you. There’s nothing worse than
looking like a bumbling fool in front of hundreds of people.
Get the Groom Packed Don’t relax yet–you’ve still got
work to do. You’re supposed to make sure the groom has packed
correctly for his honeymoon, so make sure he hasn’t chosen wool
sweaters for a trip to Aruba. You’ll need to load his suitcases
into the getaway car, which may be an excellent time to give the
honeymoon a special touch by stealing all the groom’s underwear
or packing a few extra surprises in his suitcase. You’ll hand
him his itineraries, tickets, and hotel information on his way
out.
Up the Loose Ends Your final task will be to collect all
the groomsmen’s tuxes and return them to the tuxedo shop. Make
sure you’ve got all the pieces, including shoes, cuff links, and
bow ties. As you complete your best man’s duties, you can bask
in the satisfaction of a job well done and another groom
successfully married off.