Best man duties – The bachelor party part one.

I’ve just been asked to be best man at my mates wedding so I’m going to blog the best mans duties as they come. The two most important duties are the bachelor party and the best man speech at the wedding.

Traditionally, it is the best man that organises and pays for the party but these days, all the groomsmen help plan and all the guests chip in. One of the first things to do is to find out how much input the groom wants to have. Some want to help with the planning, some just want to show up on the night. If the groom does not want to be involved in the planning give him a chance to tell you and the other groomsmen anything he does NOT want to occur. Let him set some rules if he feels strongly about anything such as strippers etc.

Decide when the party will be. Can I suggest that it is not the night before the wedding. The bride will be furious if the groom is hung over at the wedding.

Next thing to do would be to get together with the other groomsmen for a brainstorming session. grab a sheet of paper and jot down any ideas for the bachelor party. Don’t dismiss any idea, write them ALL down so you can create a shortlist later. We decided that we wanted to do a fun activity in the afternoon then hit a couple of bars that night.

The activities we brainstormed were go-karting, poker, paint-balling, fishing charter, indoor rock climbing and a few other blokey activities. We ended up settling on the fishing charter as the groom had been on one for a bachelor party before and had a blast. After research, I found that for 25 people, it would cost $48 per person for the 4 hour fishing charter and that included all equipment and bait, tuition, BBQ lunch and softdrinks. We can take our own beer on board which is a bonus.

If you plan to go bar hopping, I suggest that you only pick 1 or 2 bars that are fairly close together otherwise the party will get split up as some will want to stay at one bar and some will want to go to the next bar. Remember that some bars won’t want 20 or 30 guys showing up in a big group (without any women) so it might be an idea to phone ahead and check that you are welcome.

OK, so you have the day planned out. Next thing to do is make a guest list. This should really be done by the groom but you can help him with it. It is then the best mans duty to make the party invitation. Try to make the invitation funny or give the party a title. I have title mine “Franks Catch of the Day”. Put the details of the day/night on the invitation but avoid putting strip clubs on it. It is usually assumed that after the bars, guests would head over to the gentleman’s clubs. Send the invitations out at least 4 weeks before the party and ask for a response within 2 weeks.

The bachelor party is now organised in terms of activities, venues and invitations. Now you just need to make sure you have everything you need for the day. Go and buy any beer/liquor that you will need and any other items such as leopard print briefs and handcuffs for the end of the night

If you are still stuck for ideas then Click Here for the ultimate bachelor party!

Part two of this entry will concentrate on what your best man duties will be on the night of the party so stay tuned.