My friend invited me to be his best man at his wedding. But I do not know what I should do as the best man. Is there anything that should be noted? Do you have any suggestions?
My friend invited me to be his best man at his wedding. But I do not know what I should do as the best man. Is there anything that should be noted? Do you have any suggestions?
What should a best man do? A good start: Don't sleep with his bride to be.
Depends on how hot she is.
j/k.
-t
Listen, photographers. I respect your job and all, but the pictures can come after we've eaten and relaxed a bit. Seriously.
And risk them dirtying their clothes, teeth, etc.? Not a good idea.
Make sure he doesn't have to personally deal with anything. He'll have enough stress.
Plan a bachelor party he'll love and that his soon to be wife will be moderately comfortable with. Make sure all of his friends are included in the bachelor celebration as well.
For everything else, show up on time and prepared. Make sure you personally get the groom everything he needs and get him where he needs to be for the weekend on time.
Here's what my best man and groomsmen did for me that helped make my wedding last year awesome:
Rocking bachelor party. Went to a steakhouse for an amazing dinner and cocktails. Went to a craft beer bar to have some delicious brews, another bar to have some harder drinks. Left there and went to a relatively mild gentleman's club. Had a giant van with a driver take us around all night. Ended at a hotel drinking some rare beers in the parking lot.
The only thing I wished was that they'd done a little better job inviting all of our friends. A couple friends apparently didn't get an invite and I still get crap from them every once in awhile.
It's common for the wife and husband to get each other a wedding gift. Something sentimental. Doesn't have to be extravagant. I completely forgot this.
Best man had the world's best gift idea. He showed up the morning of my wedding slamming on my apartment door and raced me across town to a mall in a rented BMW. I was freaking out because I had forgotten to get her a gift and he remembered at the last minute. He had the genius idea of getting a nice ring holder for her. She loved it and thought it was super thoughtful. She still talks about it to this day. I also got her a nice purse. Wouldn't have happened if it weren't for my best man.
Keep the groomsmen under control. One of them WILL act like an idiot. There's one in every group. You already know who it is. Keep him on a short leash. I had one and my best man took care of it.
Do not let the groom get too drunk at any point. As a general rule of thumb, he should always be a little more sober than the bride. My best man constantly reminded me of this and it paid off.
Handle all the money. The day of his wedding he will have to pay DJ's, caterers, photographers, florists, the priest or whoever officiates the wedding, the wait staff, etc. He can't deal with that and neither can the bride. Have him give you individual envelopes labeled for each person owed money. Keep them all in your jacket pocket and pay each person their dues.
Practice your speech in front of people. Don't make any cliché jokes. Don't tell any stories you wouldn't tell directly to his grandmother. And seriously, if you don't do public speaking everyday, practice your speech.
Know the ins and outs of operating a tuxedo. Seriously, know how to tie a neck tie, a bow tie, properly situate a cumber bun, attach cuff links, etc. There will probably be people who have never had to put on a tuxedo and they won't realize it until they were supposed to be dressed 10 minutes ago.
You're his right hand man. Act like it.
Doesn't matter. It's tradition. Image
Also, as the best man, it's your job to tell your friend it's rude to get married in the summer. Nothing's worse than standing around out in 105 degree weather in a four piece tux while trying your best to look thoughtful and carefree as your underwear rides up your crack cuz it's shrinking from all the sweat while everyone else is inside where it's air conditioned eating all your goddamn food.
My friend invited me to be his best man at his wedding. But I do not know what I should do as the best man. Is there anything that should be noted? Do you have any suggestions?
Make sure he doesn't have to personally deal with anything. He'll have enough stress.
Plan a bachelor party he'll love and that his soon to be wife will be moderately comfortable with. Make sure all of his friends are included in the bachelor celebration as well.
For everything else, show up on time and prepared. Make sure you personally get the groom everything he needs and get him where he needs to be for the weekend on time.
Here's what my best man and groomsmen did for me that helped make my wedding last year awesome:
Rocking bachelor party. Went to a steakhouse for an amazing dinner and cocktails. Went to a craft beer bar to have some delicious brews, another bar to have some harder drinks. Left there and went to a relatively mild gentleman's club. Had a giant van with a driver take us around all night. Ended at a hotel drinking some rare beers in the parking lot.
The only thing I wished was that they'd done a little better job inviting all of our friends. A couple friends apparently didn't get an invite and I still get crap from them every once in awhile.
It's common for the wife and husband to get each other a wedding gift. Something sentimental. Doesn't have to be extravagant. I completely forgot this.
Best man had the world's best gift idea. He showed up the morning of my wedding slamming on my apartment door and raced me across town to a mall in a rented BMW. I was freaking out because I had forgotten to get her a gift and he remembered at the last minute. He had the genius idea of getting a nice ring holder for her. She loved it and thought it was super thoughtful. She still talks about it to this day. I also got her a nice purse. Wouldn't have happened if it weren't for my best man.
Keep the groomsmen under control. One of them WILL act like an idiot. There's one in every group. You already know who it is. Keep him on a short leash. I had one and my best man took care of it.
Do not let the groom get too drunk at any point. As a general rule of thumb, he should always be a little more sober than the bride. My best man constantly reminded me of this and it paid off.
Handle all the money. The day of his wedding he will have to pay DJ's, caterers, photographers, florists, the priest or whoever officiates the wedding, the wait staff, etc. He can't deal with that and neither can the bride. Have him give you individual envelopes labeled for each person owed money. Keep them all in your jacket pocket and pay each person their dues.
Practice your speech in front of people. Don't make any cliché jokes. Don't tell any stories you wouldn't tell directly to his grandmother. And seriously, if you don't do public speaking everyday, practice your speech.
Know the ins and outs of operating a tuxedo. Seriously, know how to tie a neck tie, a bow tie, properly situate a cumber bun, attach cuff links, etc. There will probably be people who have never had to put on a tuxedo and they won't realize it until they were supposed to be dressed 10 minutes ago.
You're his right hand man. Act like it.
Well, all of this is good advice, but the bottom line is, sit down with the groom and ask him exactly what he wants you to do. Be prepared to do more, anything you can do to help him out, in case he forgot anything.
When I was best man, I didn't actually need to do too much prior to the day of the wedding. I live 5 hours away from the couple and his other groomsmen, so someone else planned the bachelor party (paintball followed by dinner and drinks).
On the day of the wedding, I held the rings, delegated responsibility for decorating the "just married" car (I would have done it myself but someone else volunteered to help), and while the other groomsmen were out greeting and ushering, I stayed with the groom in the back room. We joked that it was to keep him from running away. I gave him one last reassuring hug before we all got into position.
Prepare a short speech, even if you were specifically told "we aren't going to have any speeches". Because plans can change at the last minute and you might be pulled aside, seconds before entering the banquet hall, and told that you will be asked to do a speech. Don't ask me how I know this
You may give a short speech and a toast. The bride and groom may also invite the groomsmen and bridesmaids to join them in the first dances.
Congratulations on being given this honour and I hope the wedding goes well!
My friend invited me to be his best man at his wedding. But I do not know what I should do as the best man. Is there anything that should be noted? Do you have any suggestions?