How to Be the Best Best Man Ever

Being the best man for a friends wedding can be, how should I put it? Interesting.

The main reason that the best friend is normally selected as the best man at a wedding is because they know the groom and his bride fairly well, and more likely than not, most of the bridal party including the Matron of Honor (your counterpart) is normally the brides best friend. Knowing the attendees for the event, their preferences, who to watch, and who to watch out for, is important for a number of reasons. The wedding is the culminating event but the time leading up to the event is also an important period. Planning is key to the success of any major event so start plotting with your friend from the beginning. Go along with whatever he wants for the wedding plans as long as it is feasible. He will mostly be ruled by what she wants. Your job is to plan the bachelor party! That is what many young men think when they are asked to be someones best man at their wedding. There is a lot more to it than just the bachelor party. The following is a guide for those who want to be the best best man for their friends wedding.

As his best friend you will probably know that he is planning to become engaged well before she does. Unless your buddy is independently wealthy or her family is, money will be an object of concern. Help him with the research. Many men make the mistake of thinking that all of the wedding plans are made by the bride and her family or the bride and groom. This is not the case. The groom to be also has his work cut out for him. When he first mentions that he is thinking about popping the question, this is your cue to start strategizing.

The ring will be the very first order of business. Usually the guy is on his own in this department because he has not yet asked her, and normally they want to make it a surprise so getting her input on a ring is out of the question. Shop around, use the internet to find the best possible ring to fit his budget, his future fiancee', and to fit her. One way to make sure that the ring will fit properly is to have the friend ask her something about a ring for a girl he is seeing who has hands "just about the same size" as hers. Try to be casual so that she is not suspicious. This will only work if she doesn't know the girl in question or if their hands are actually about the same size. You can tweak it a bit to fit the circumstances, tell her the ring is for your mom, for a daughter or niece, for some occasion or upcoming milestone. Be creative, but don't ruin the surprise!

Once you are armed with the ring size it is time to start looking. Looking for the ring online is often a good idea because you can get a better idea of what you want without being influenced by sales people on commission, you can look for a ring that fits within his budget, and you can get some really great deals online. Just because tradition says that an engagement ring "should be" a solitaire doesn't mean that they are right. There have been a lot of adjustments to "tradition". Traditional varies by whom you ask, what book you read (if you even care), or what your parents traditions are. Traditions aren't really your area though dude. Once you get through the ring thing, being the best man is all about the party planning.

It is important when planning the bachelor party to think about the people involved. What they would like and what they would not. There is not just the bachelor party to be concerned with though, there is the rehearsal dinner that takes planning and there are a few toasts which are to made at such a dinner and at least one is required of the best man. Then there is the bachelor party, the wedding itself, and the reception. The best man's job is to not only see that these events run smoothly but that he run's interference for the groom with family, caterers, friends from out of town, and everyone else that is involved in and attending the wedding.

Some people like the traditional "take the groom out get him drunk and take him to a strip club" approach to the bachelor party. There are a lot of people who are fine with that, then there are quite a few who are not. Take the measure of the bride to be and her relationship with the groom and advise him accordingly. There are many fun loving brides-to-be and their friends who would love to combine the bachelor and bachelorette parties and all go to the strip club together, which can often be more fun than going with a bunch of rowdy guys. You as the best man are going to have to scout the location. You don't want a seedy or run down club, lots of pretty dancers, reasonable prices or packages for a bachelor party. I am sure you get the idea. Try to find the nicest club in the general area of where the wedding will be held. It is your job to insure that the groom has fun. It is also your job to keep him out of trouble. Remember the idea is to get him drunk, not to get blotto with him. You want to keep your head, possibly be the designated driver or take a cab. Drunk driving the night before the wedding would not be a good idea, it is never a good idea, but you risk the groom missing his own wedding if you try it the night of the bachelor party, and that would not be good.

The day of the wedding, the best man should be up bright and early to help the groom gather himself and get dressed for his big day. It is not only the bride's special day, it is also his. Whether you guys stayed out all night or got a few hours of sleep before the scheduled nuptials are scheduled to take place, you are going to have to pump some coffee into him, and the rest of the groom's party as well. No oversleeping the day of the wedding, and try to anticipate the needs of your friend. There is a lot of pressure on everyone to make the wedding "perfect" and everyone's nerves will probably be a bit frayed. Handle what you can and keep checking on your groom.

Situations will vary from one wedding to another as they are all planned differently. Just try to be useful and take up the slack wherever you can. Make sure that you and your groom are dressed appropriately with all of the accessories. Check to make sure everything is in order and get the groom to the alter in time, these are the two important tasks of the best man on the wedding day. After the wedding is completed, you will finally be able to relax and enjoy the reception. You only have one job after the wedding is done and the cake is cut and that is to make sure that the bride and groom get off to their honeymoon on time. These are the tasks of the best man when his best friend gets married. If you follow these guidelines you are likely to be remembered by your friend and his family alike as the best best man ever!