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Choosing Your Groomsmen
Choosing your groomsmen is not a decision to take lightly. Try to choose people you know you can rely on.
Best man
The duties of the best man are more than just doing a funny best man speech – so think carefully before choosing your best man. Try not to choose someone who is too busy – a best man is there to provide support rather than adding to your pressures.
The best man is usually the groom’s best mate or brother. If you can’t decide who to have as your best man, why not have two best men? They can share the responsibilities and perform a double act during the best man speech. There’s nothing stopping you from having a woman as a best man if your closest friend is a female – just make sure your bride is fine with this.
If you’re not sure whether your best mate is up to the job, speak to him about it. Explain what would be expected of him and give him the choice as to whether he thinks he can do it. If he understands how important the role will be, he’s more likely to think carefully before accepting.
Ushers
If you have other friends or brothers you want to be involved, you could ask them to be ushers. If you have a church ceremony, ushers can help to hand out the order of service and direct guests to their seats. Take a look at the ushers duties to find out how else they can help you on the big day.
There’s no limit to the number of ushers you have - although one usher for every 50 guests is a good suggestion. The more attendants you have, the more it will cost in terms of clothing hire and thank you gifts. So unless you really want to involve someone in your big day, don’t feel you need to ask anyone.
Page boy/Ring bearer
If you have a young relative that you want to involve, you might choose to have them as a page boy or ring bearer. Whilst they can add to the cute factor, you should bear in mind that they could possibly misbehave on the day. A ring bearer usually walks up the aisle with the rings attached to a ring cushion. If you choose to have a ring bearer, trust your best man with the real rings and tie fake rings to the ring cushion.
Once you’ve chosen your groomsmen, make sure they know what is expected of them – don’t just assume they know. The best man and ushers section include everything they need to know.