Wedding etiquette assigns many tasks to the best man, but there’s really only one that matters: getting the groom to the church–on time. And even better, make sure the groom is sober, dressed in his tux, and standing at the altar when the bride makes her big entrance.

Making Your Pledge Grooms usually choose their dads, brother or closest friends as their best man. If you’re the lucky person selected for this role, you may first want to make a pledge to yourself that you won’t enjoy the pre-wedding festivities quite as much as the groom. You will be in charge of throwing the bachelor party, but if you aren’t capable of rousing the groom the next day and sending him on to the church, you may find yourself on the receiving end of the wrath of bridezilla.

Bachelor Parties Bachelor parties can take many forms. You want the groom to have a good time and savor his last moments of singledom, but you don’t want the partying to put his future marriage in jeopardy. Keep in mind that you’re responsible for paying for most of the party and the other groomsmen will have to pay for any travel expenses. You may find a throw-down at the local Hooters to be more budget-friendly. For more great ideas, check out the latest ideas from GroomsMagazine.com,

Help Your Groom Make Good Decisions You’ll need to do some advance research on tuxes because you don’t want the groom and his best buddies marching stiffly into the church like a line of penguins. You can check out tuxedos online on sites such as DiscountTuxedos.com, or you can sneak a peak at the ads in bridal magazines. If you want to score some early points with the bride, you could also ask her what kind of tuxedo she likes.

Get Everyone to the Tuxedo Shop Once the tuxedos have been selected, you’re responsible for rounding up the groomsmen and ushers and getting their measurements to the tuxedo shop. Get the tux shop’s information and e-mail it to the groomsmen, telling them specifically what they need to do to get fitted for the tux. And don’t be naïve enough to think that they will all run to the tuxedo shop. You’ll need to follow-up and make sure they’re all correctly outfitted for the big day.

Practice, Practice, Practice The night before the wedding, you’ll need to attend the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. Pay close attention to the director at the rehearsal so you’ll know when the wedding party needs to be at the church, where you’ll hang out before the wedding, and where to stand during the ceremony. Just before the wedding, you’ll be the one waiting with the groom, so you may want to come up with some helpful advice if he has pre-wedding jitters. Hold off on any suggestions that the groom get out while he still can–if that’s how you feel, you may want to let the groom know some time before the seconds before he goes in the church.

Keep Track of the Ring If you’re lucky, your role in the wedding ceremony will only involve standing next to the groom, smiling, and handing him the bride’s wedding ring at the appropriate time. Make sure you’ve got a foolproof plan for keeping track of the ring, as failing to produce the ring when the officiant asks for it could result in a bridal breakdown in front of all of her friends and family. Your chances of receiving forgiveness later could be slim.

Give a Great Toast Your moment to shine will come at the wedding reception. You’ll be called upon to give the first toast to the bride and groom. Again, this is a time for planning and a clear mind. A good plan would be to prepare your speech in advance and keep your notes with you. There’s nothing worse than looking like a bumbling fool in front of hundreds of people.

Get the Groom Packed Don’t relax yet–you’ve still got work to do. You’re supposed to make sure the groom has packed correctly for his honeymoon, so make sure he hasn’t chosen wool sweaters for a trip to Aruba. You’ll need to load his suitcases into the getaway car, which may be an excellent time to give the honeymoon a special touch by stealing all the groom’s underwear or packing a few extra surprises in his suitcase. You’ll hand him his itineraries, tickets, and hotel information on his way out.

Up the Loose Ends Your final task will be to collect all the groomsmen’s tuxes and return them to the tuxedo shop. Make sure you’ve got all the pieces, including shoes, cuff links, and bow ties. As you complete your best man’s duties, you can bask in the satisfaction of a job well done and another groom successfully married off.

About the Author
Scott Harris is a Senior Editor at Reinhardt Media, Inc., and writes expert articles on issues facing men and marriage.