So your best friend or brother is getting married and he has laid upon you the best man responsibilities. Being the best man for D-day is an honor and can be a lot of fun. Read on to make this memorable event smooth for you and the newlyweds.
The best man’s role is pivotal in ensuring the success of the wedding ceremony. It is the best man’s responsibility to ensure everything runs smoothly and according to plan on the wedding day. The best man responsibilities don’t stop at organizing the various events and taking care of the nitty-gritty, but he should also lend moral support to the groom, who will be extremely nervous on his big day. The best man will have to be integral to pre-wedding duties like attending all the pre-wedding parties, organizing the bachelor’s party, attending rehearsal dinners, best man speeches, and picking up the groom’s formal wear.
Best Man Responsibilities at a Bachelor Party
The bachelor’s party is said to have its origins in the 5th century in ancient Sparta. The idea behind a bachelor’s party is to allow the groom and his male friends the last opportunity to be freewheeling and relive the time when they don’t have to worry about responsibilities. The best man’s responsibilities include careful planning of the bachelor’s party or it can turn out to be a dud, and you don’t want that to happen! The party should celebrate the bachelorhood of the soon-to-be-groom.
To begin with, prepare a list of invitees. One of the responsibilities of the best man is to make sure that people from the groom’s side as well as the bride’s side do not get offended. You would not like to see your best friend in trouble the next day. Organize the party keeping in mind the interests of the groom. The stereotypical image of an unrestrained bachelor party may make up a good movie but the reality can be quite different. The event can be low-key, with a casual gathering of the groom’s close friends. Carefully plan the day of the bachelor’s party and ensure it doesn’t coincide with any other ceremony or pre-wedding event. You can throw the party at a private place or can plan to go club-hopping all night with the guys. The best man doesn’t need to pay for the expenses of the bachelor’s party, as this can be shared with the rest of the groomsmen. You can also make your work smooth by giving the groomsmen some of the duties, but make sure you overlook everything.
Best Man Responsibilities at a Rehearsal Dinner
A rehearsal dinner is an informal meal after the wedding rehearsal, and the intention of the dinner is for both the wedding parties to get acquainted with each other. It is traditionally the area of the groom’s mother to take care of, and the groom’s side pays for it. But the recent trend in weddings is for couples to include this cost in the overall budget of the wedding. The rehearsal dinner is usually a relaxed gathering, with the family toasting for the bride and groom, and it also gives the to-be-wed couple to say thank you to their near and dear ones. As the best man, you can offer to help out with the planning and execution of the rehearsal dinner. You can arrange fun games like pool, poker or other fun indoor games. You also can toast the bride and groom, and give them their gifts. A point to note is that though the best man has to attend all the pre-wedding events, he doesn’t have to give gifts each time.
Best Man Responsibilities at a Wedding
The best man is a person who is supposed to ‘stand up for the groom’ in a wedding. During the ceremony, the best man stands on the right of the groom, and the others like the groomsmen and ushers, stand to the right of the best man. The best man is a close confidant of the groom. He assists the groom in getting dressed for the wedding ceremony. Not only this, but he needs to check on the groomsmen’s attire as well. He is responsible for getting the groom to the venue or the ceremony on time. The best man also carries the wedding ring for the groom until the groom has to exchange rings with the bride. He is also the legal witness to the wedding and delivers the officiant’s fee. Apart from this, he also supervises the ushers. He oversees the wedding reception and takes care that it goes on smoothly. When it is time to give the best man speech, he can lighten the moment by giving funny best man speeches. He should not forget to keep a tab on the wedding photographers, wedding music, catering, and most importantly, ensure the wedding cake arrives on time. If wedding planners are hired, then the best man can work with them. He should keep in mind the wedding theme while making arrangements. After the wedding ceremony, the best man makes sure all men’s formal wear is returned to the rental shop, and in case the groom’s dress is not rented, then it is cleaned and returned to the groom’s house. Lastly, the best man also arranges the tickets, hotel information, itinerary, and anything else needed for the honeymoon.
Best Man Responsibilities Checklist
- Meticulously plan the bachelor’s party
- Assist in planning the rehearsal dinner and take part actively
- Make sure the groom reaches the venue of the wedding ceremony and the reception on time
- Confirm if the marriage license is ready well before the day of the wedding and the officiants are paid
- Make sure ushers do their jobs well, and the seating arrangement is proper
- Prepare a wedding speech
- Collect money from groomsmen for the bachelor’s party, and also if you are planning on buying a joint wedding gift
- Dance with bridesmaid and bride
- Make sure the rented men’s wedding attire is duly returned
- Assist in taking the wedding gifts home from the reception venue
- Confirm that the arrangement for the honeymoon is in place
With the details given above and the handy checklist, I hope you are ready to carry out the best man responsibilities with class and ease.
