If you have been asked to be a best man for one of your closest friends or a family member, we know what an honour this is. It’s normal to feel pressure and feel a little overwhelmed with what will be expected from you, but don’t worry; we have put together a guide to ensure that you are an amazing best man and you help to ensure that the wedding goes smoothly!
Luckily the best man doesn’t tend to be involved too much within the wedding planning as this is usually something that the couple do, but you can be there to offer advice with things such as the suits for the groom and groomsmen. There are some big responsibilities that you will have on the day such as the all-important best man speech and looking after the couple’s rings before the ceremony.
Helping choose the suits
There isn’t too much that you will be asked to do before the wedding, however helping to choose the suits for the groom and groomsmen is probably one of the most important roles you will have before the big day. It’s not just the brides who can feel pressured to find the perfect dress, the groom can also feel pressure to make sure that he chooses a stylish suit that will compliment the bride on the day and also fit within their wedding budget.
There are two options you can suggest when it comes to finding the perfect suits, this is to either hire them or purchase them but it’s important to think about how many you will need to buy before you decide. If the couple have chosen to purchase the suits for the groomsmen and best man then you will need to confirm how much budget you have to work with before going ahead and buying anything.
Organising the stag do
Probably the most important role you will have before the wedding day is to organise the stag do! We all know how important this is and it’s an opportunity for you to show how well you know the groom. With all the current restrictions in place it’s not as easy at the moment but it doesn’t mean that you can’t research and plan something amazing for when restrictions are lifted. You will want to think about the budgets of the people who will be going if you are planning something abroad, or perhaps you could have a UK holiday and experience the nightlife of a new town.
Best man speech
This is probably the part of being the best man that most people get the most nervous about especially if you are not a natural public speaker. This can be a really daunting task for anyone but if you are quite a shy person then you will probably have a few sleepless nights worrying about this. The best man speech traditionally takes place at the end of the wedding breakfast and will be after the groom’s speech and the father of the bride.
Many people expect the best man speech to be full of cheeky stories and jokes, but the main thing to remember is to just be yourself and speak from the heart. As well as having to do one of the main speeches you may also be asked to do a reading as part of the ceremony so make sure that you speak to the couple to see if they require this of you, so that you can have time to learn and practice your reading before the day.
Looking after the groom and keeping the rings safe
On the wedding day it will be the responsibility of the best man to look after the groom and be on hand to help him get ready in the morning and help him to keep calm if he is nervous! It is also their responsibility to keep the rings safe before the ceremony takes place. The groom will need to be at the wedding venue around half an hour before the ceremony is due to take place so the best man will need to ensure that he is running on time and that he gets to the venue with plenty of time to spare, you don’t want him running late!
Dance with the maid of honour
Traditionally the best man will dance with the maid of honour at the wedding after the couple have had their first dance. More recently this isn’t something that a lot of people tend to do but if the couple are going for a traditional wedding then this would be a nice touch. Once you have danced with the maid of honour you are free to enjoy the rest of the wedding!
After the wedding
If the bridal party has hired their suits then it will be the role of the best man to ensure that they are all collected the following morning and delivered back to the hire shop. You may also be asked to look after any wedding gifts that the couple received.
