Your best friend just got engaged and picked you as his ‘best man’. This hints at just how much he trusts you, believes you look good in a suit, are affable and have a funny bone. However, once the thrill of being asked to be the best man wears off, the stress of planning the wedding, throwing an awesome stag party and helping the groom through it all begins.
Weddings are undeniably stressful. As a best man, it is your duty to be dependable and help ease the stress off of the groom. It isn’t all about getting drunk and throwing a stag in a UK pub. There is so much more you have to do to be the best ‘best man’.
1. Know your duties
If you’ve been a best man before, you know the drill. But for newbies, it is essential to understand and know your duties.
Have an honest chat with your lad and gauge what he expects from you in your role as a best man. This will clear any doubts you have so you can go ahead and plan the wedding and play your part really well.
2. Suit Up
If the groom has requested you to help him pick his tux, be there to help him make a decision. Since weddings are overwhelming, the groom may have a trouble rounding off on a tux all by himself. It is important you help him calm down and make the right choice.
Make sure you also help pick out or rent the suits for the groomsmen and ensure each one has one, altered to fit him well.
3. Throw an Awesome Stag Party
While the wedding tux has been picked out and the arrangements are going seamlessly so far, it’s time to throw the groom-to-be a wild stag party before he sobers up a little for his marital life. Loop in the groomsmen set a budget and have yourselves a great night.
To avoid any stag do nightmare, it is advisable to know what the groom expects and seeks on his bachelor party. You may not want to go all out with renting extreme costumes and getting strippers for the groom, who all but expected a fun time with his lads engaging in adventure sports and chugging some drinks.
Don’t run the whole plan through him if you want an element of surprise, just ask him if he expects something wild or mellow.
4. Prepare the Best Man Speech
After the bride and groom are wed in a holy alliance, the best man speech remains the highlight of the wedding party. It is a daunting task to stand up in a mixed crowd and raise a toast to your lad while also evoking laughs, tears, and cheers from the crowd.
To nail your best man speech, it is important you prepare well, jot down notes and make some cue cards. It helps you maintain your fluency and also ensures you don’t digress and go on forever.
Long speeches are a big no! No one wants to hear you go on and on about the most trivial stories of you and the groom. Keep it short, funny and heartwarming. Also, don’t forget to include the bride in your speech.
5. Be the Life of the Party
The wedding day can be overwhelming for the best man. There are wedding guests and groom’s relatives rushing in, DJ being late, wrong flowers arriving etc. It is up to you to remain cool and resolve each crisis that shows up at the wedding without letting the bride or the groom worry. They are tense enough already.
Loop in the groomsmen and the bridesmaids and take charge of averting any wedding disaster. If the DJ or the wedding band is late, take up the stage and show your funny side. If the bride’s uncles have had too much to drink, offer them some food and smartly keep them away from the bar.
And after all is resolved and under control, take over the dance floor. Make sure to dance with the maid-of-honor, the bride, and the groom’s mother. It shows your chivalry, and chivalry goes a long way.
Reel in the groom’s grandma and aunts to the dance floor and be the life of the party. It is your best friend’s wedding after all!
Conclusion
Being chosen as a best man is one of the most exciting, yet, overwhelming feelings. While there is an obvious delight of knowing the groom considers you dependable, it is also daunting to prove you are.
Keep your cool and be the support system to the groom. Help him decide and finalize on very little detail if he seeks your opinion, without pushing your opinion. Throw him a memorable stag weekend and ensure his wedding ceremony goes on seamlessly. By the end of the night, you will have charmed everyone at the wedding who would remark you have been the best ‘best man’.