While you may think that your duties as a best man only involve planning an outrageous stag party and standing by the groom’s side on his wedding day, there are however quite a few other duties you will need to fulfil in the lead up to the wedding. As best man you will need to assist the groom with a range of duties and below is a list of some of the most common.
Selecting the Bridal Party Outfits
Sourcing suits for the bridal party is something your groom will not want to do alone. So prepare to hit the shops! Your groom will probably have a colour scheme in mind because his bride-to-be will most likely want both the groomsmen and bridesmaids matching.
This will take some of the hassle out of finding your wedding suits or tuxes and their accompanying accessories. The key to finding the ultimate suit is to do your research first and select a tailor or store which you know will have exactly what you’re looking for. Otherwise you might find yourselves aimlessly trawling through tons of stores.
Keep in mind your overall look when selecting suits i.e. ensure the suit colour will match the tie. There are a couple of questions you can ask your groom to streamline the process: how formal is the wedding or what type of suit will fit the wedding theme, what colour shirt and tie will match.
Additionally, don’t forget that shoes will also need to be sourced. The groom will have a lot on his mind so be sure to also remind him about the need for cufflinks. This might be something he requests you organise for him as it is a minor detail in the scheme of things.
Fittings
Once the suits have been selected you will need to help the groom organise all the groomsmen to get together for fittings. If you are selecting suits off the rack your groomsmen will need to provide you with their measurements or come in store to try on and select their suit with you.
Alternatively if you are visiting a tailor it will be easiest to organise a group fitting at a time that suits all of the groomsmen, as this will be the most convenient option. Having your groomsmen visiting the tailor separately can delay the process.
Rehearsal and Rehearsal Dinner
It is highly likely that the soon to be wed couple will be holding a rehearsal dinner for their wedding. You will need to not only be present for the rehearsal but also remain focussed during the proceedings. This is because you will need to help ensure everything runs smoothly on the day and that you also know exactly what you will be required to do during the wedding.
You will most likely also need to deliver a speech or brief toast at the rehearsal dinner although it does depend on how formal the rehearsal dinner is.
Preparing your Speech
In the final weeks before the wedding you should begin preparing your speech. Initially you may just jot down some notes of things you might like to mention as they come to you. Ideally you would want to be doing a run through of your speech in the final week before the wedding so that you are ready to go. However this won’t work for everyone, some people are better speaking off the cusp without notes.
Others will need their speech completely written out word for word and some might just require some dot point notes to keep them on track. Whichever works for you, you should at least be thinking about what stories you might like to share in your speech well ahead of the big day.
