How to be a Great Best Man
You’ve been asked to be the Best Man. That’s quite an honor, but do you know how to be a great Best Man? What exactly does a Best Man do? There are many duties relegated to the Best Man, before, during and after the wedding. There are duties that begin well before the wedding, but for the purposes of this article, we’ll limit our discussion to what happens in the role of the Best Man on the day of the wedding. One of your biggest jobs will be to keep the groom cool, organized, and on time. Here are 10 tips on how to be a great Best Man:
10 Steps on how to be a great Best Man!
- Get a copy of the wedding day timeline so you know the flow of the day. Keep the groomsmen in the loop, so they know where to be at all times. Make sure everyone is prompt!!
Be the groom’s “wingman”. Help him with any last minute chores to keep the day running smoothly. Assist the groom in getting dressed; cufflinks, ties, vests, cummerbunds, and shirt studs can always use a helping hand.- Keep the wedding bands in a safe place, pants pocket or vest pocket, whichever is easiest access. And speaking of rings, please don’t pretend you forgot them, when the time comes for the ring ceremony, it’s too cliche.
- Make sure the groom has something to eat. Feeling lightheaded during the vows could result in fainting or stumbling just when it’s least apropos.
- This is important! Stay sober! Yes, it’s a life changing event and time for a celebration, but you have to be in charge of the groom and groomsmen before and during the ceremony. There’s time for the liquid celebration later on.
- If the groomsmen are wearing boutonnieres, attach them properly to their lapels, on their left-hand side. Here’s a video on how to affix a boutonniere.Similarly, if there are pocket squares, figure out in advance how you’re going to fold them. Here’s a great tutorial for 9 ways to fold a pocket square.
- Stand with the groom. Self explanatory, but keep an eye on him, and offer support when he needs it.
- Take charge of the marriage license, and sign as a witness with the maid of honor after the ceremony.
- Have a toast prepared to give during dinner. A brief yet classy toast will make you everyone’s friend for the entire evening, so keep it short. Like under 4 minutes. Practice it beforehand to work the bugs out and get it down.
- Plan the exit strategy, helping the couple with a great getaway; getting a car, carrying luggage, taking charge of gifts and cards to hold until the couple returns home, or, at a minimum, ensuring that these details are fully in control with trusted parties.
There you have it gentlemen, ten simple steps on how to be a great Best Man!
Let us know, in the comments, if you think we’ve missed anything!
Russell! Thanks for featuring my advice on your site, mate!
As you can tell, I’m a little behind on my correspondence, so shame on me. But, many many thanks for sharing that video.
If those best men out there want to be the best even outside of a wedding context, tell them to come on over to https://youtube.com/yourcharismacoach and check out more free resources or come to my website and get more great tutorials like this that I don’t share anywhere else online.