The first thing the Best Man normally thinks about is the bachelor party. The bachelor party goes back to ancient Sparta when soldiers would celebrate and feast with the groom and raise money so he could continue to go out and drink with them after his new wife took control of the finances.
Of course there’s the traditional booze and women party. Grab a roll of ones, or if you really want to confuse them and stand out go to the bank and get a bunch of two dollar bills. Often you can get the dancers to come to the party if you feel like spending the extra.
However the reality is that these parties can get old quick. Believe it or not unless you’ve lived a pretty sheltered life chances are paying women to be teases will get boring fast.
One of the biggest pitfalls of the bachelor party is thinking you just need to grab a little cash, hit the steakhouse and let the night unfold. Chances are you’ll fall back on hitting the strip club until you’re all too board or drunk and one by one the men will slip away to the comfort of home.
Plan ahead
Plan around three to five activities for the night, this will let people drop out or drop in throughout the evening. The Best man makes the reservations, buys the tickets, rents the limo, etc. for the party. As the best man you should have a good idea of what the groom will enjoy. You’ll need to let the gang know what the plan is and how much you need everyone to pitch in on the night. Pad your estimate a little so you don’t get stuck paying more than your share and remember to collect before the party, not after.
Who to invite?
The groom should decide who to invite, remember the more people the more difficult it’s going to be to coordinate the party, try to keep it between eight and twenty people if possible, less and it’s just a gathering, more and you’re asking for a headache. Only invite the grooms family members if the groom requests it. you don’t want to offend the father of the bride but if they’re there it means witnesses and if a long night of drinking and debauchery is planned it will get back to the bride sooner or later. Similarly, inviting female friends to the party takes away from the traditional bachelor party but again is up to the groom.
When to invite people?
Shoot to invite everyone around four weeks out from the party. If you invite people too soon they’ll forget by the time the date arrives, wait too long and people will have trouble clearing their schedule.
What the best man should bring:
List of all attendees
attendees’ phone numbers
Taxi company phone numbers
Cell phone
Bottle opener
Mints
Extra cash (for emergencies, gratuities, etc.)
Credit cards (for hotel tooms, bar tabs, bigger emergencies)
The Evenings itinerary
Aspirin