Best man: Encyclopedia - Best man

Best man

The best man is the name given to the male assistant to the bridegroom at a wedding. Usually the groom gives this honor to someone who is close to him, either a brother or his closest male friend.

In the context of a traditional American/British white wedding, the best man's duties typically include:

• Planning all of the details of the wedding
• Organising a Bachelor party for the groom
• Getting the groom to the wedding on time, generally by sleeping in the groom's bedroom the night before
• Supervising the groomsmen
• Holding the bride's ring at the altar
• Acting as the officiant if the wedding ceremony is paid
• Giving a speech at the wedding, usually at the expense of the bride and groom, and thanking the bridesmaids
• Stocking the men's room at the reception with mints and soap

The groomsmen assist the best man with these functions.

When the groom wishes to give this honor to a woman, she may be termed the "best woman" or "best person." The bride's equivalent of the best man is the maid or matron of honor. A neutral term is "honor attendant".

In Uganda a best man does what is described above but he is also challenged to guide the newlyweds in ways of marriage. This means that ideally a best man must be married, preferably to one wife and should be in position to give sound, tried and tested advice. A best man must be a confidant and be discreet about the details he hears from the new couple.

See also

• Bridegroom
• Groomsman
• Ringbearer
• Bride
• Maid of honor
• Bridesmaid
• Flowergirl

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Best man", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki