Articles & News About Your Wedding

Wedding Etiquette for the Best Man, Groomsmen, and Ushers

Undoubtedly, the groom will want to choose a few good men—often his brothers, college buddies, and best friends—to carry out all of the responsibilities traditionally assigned to the guys. Once your fiancé has picked his team, he'll have to give them a few pointers on just what their roles and responsibilities are, so here's the lowdown.

A Friend in Deed

Let's start with the best man (the head groomsman) since his role is so crucial. The best man is an all-purpose kind of guy—friend, organizer, coach, confidant—with a lot of responsibilities.

In general, he must make sure that the wedding goes off without a hitch. When the groom feels stressed, he is ready with encouragement and a good sense of humor.

Traditionally, it is the best man who is in charge of organizing the bachelor party and making all travel arrangements for the bride and groom. He makes sure the groom and other groomsmen get fitted for and pick up their formalwear. He is also expected to supervise the other groomsmen and ushers, serve as an official witness to the vows, safeguards the ring and marriage license just before the wedding, and pay the clergyman's fee (which the groom quietly slips to him before the ceremony).

After the ceremony, he makes sure the wedding party lines up properly for the "wedding parade" through town, if one is planned. At the reception, he serves as the master of ceremonies, proposes the first toast, and remains on hand to ensure that all subsequent speeches are both short and sweet. His final duty is to return all the rented tuxes.

INCIDENTAL—In case it should happen that several notable people would like to offer a toast, here is the order of the speakers: best man, groom's dad, bride's dad, groom, bride, maid of honor, groom's mom, bride's mom, other friends and relatives.

And a Few Good Men

Of course, the other groomsmen or ushers are also important members of the wedding party. The are, in effect, the couples hospitality committee. Although groomsmen often do double-duty—serving as ushers before and after the ceremony—in may cases, at large weddings, for example, there are two sets of men: groomsmen and ushers. (The general rule is one usher for every 50 guests.) In these instances, it is the ushers who seat the guests, and it is they who make the first impression on guests as they arrive.

Ushers greet the guests and escort them on the proper side of the church. As tradition would have it, when a female guest arrives (whether she is alone or not), one of the ushers should step forward, extend his right arm, and escort her to her seat, followed by her spouse or date. (I am in favor of the more modern sentiment which suggests that this approach is incompatible with the whole concept of marriage and that the husband should not be relegated to trailing behind this temporary pair.)

Before walking toward the pews, the usher should ask which side of the church she would like to be seated on, the bride's or groom's. Generally, the right side of the church is reserved for the guests of the groom. Her relatives and friends are usually escorted to the right.

In a Jewish ceremony, this seating arrangement is reversed. And if one side appears to be filling up and the other side has noticeably few occupants, then this rule should be abandoned for the sake of appearances.

Incidentally, in keeping with the spirit of the occasion, ushers should not escort guests to their seats in total silence, as if this were a solemn affair.

This is a time for a few casual and friendly, yet dignified and quiet remarks.

Pews are filled from front to back, leaving the first several reserved for family members and close friends of the bride and groom. Just minutes before the ceremony is scheduled to begin, two of the ushers should escort the groom's mother and then the bride's mother to their seats. After the ceremony, they escort these ladies down the aisle.

It is the groomsmen who should be available to assist the bride's mother with any last minute details. Just before the bride makes her entrance, they should unroll the aisle runner. Another important duty of these men of chivalry is to arrange for transportation of the bridesmaids to the wedding site.

After the ceremony, as everyone heads off to the reception, it is their responsibility to ensure that no one is left behind. And, because they are largely responsible for making sure that a good time is had by all, they are expected to introduce guests to each other.

Modern day armor

What the groomsmen wear is largely determined by the formality or informality of the ceremony, and to a lesser extent by considerations such as location and time of day.

These days, most grooms, groomsmen and ushers rent their formalwear. The groom and his men should order their tuxes at least three months before the wedding. If possible, they should select a local shop, just in case last minute alterations are needed.

The groom and his men usually wear the same attire. To set himself apart, the groom may select a different colored tie, vest, pocket square, or boutonniere.

Sometimes the groom will present a memorable gift, such as cufflinks, studs or, if he can afford to splurge, monogrammed shirts, to be worn by these men of honor at the wedding. Given all that they are expected to do, the groom should indeed go out of his way to show his appreciation, even in advance, for a job well done.

About the Author

Jean Bachcroft is a former public relations director, founder of Bachcroft and Aloha Labels, and the publisher and editor-in-chief of Town and Country Shopping Bargains Magazine. For designer wedding, holiday, and year-round mailing and return address labels, visit Bachcroft Mailing and Return Address Labels and Aloha Return Address Labels

For bargains and bargain shopping articles, visit Town and Country Shopping Bargains.

Other Article Sites

findabook.com  moneycd.info  a-mortgage.info   about-lemon-laws.info  aboutstudentloans.info
all-about-publishing.info  auctions-articles.info  bestcollege-university.com  bestispconnection.com
biblefolder.com  blogger-website.com  books-used.info  brokers-guide.info  buywindows.info  cable-dsl.info
career-miner.com  carpel-tunnel.info  cashinaflash.info  cashloanreviews.info  casinobell.com  chat-house.info
clearmycredit.info  collegeloantips.info  crones.info  depression-articles.info   dirnic.net  dishguides.info
divers-below.com  expodog.info   financewizz.com  fire-insurance.info  getgood.info  handleit.net   it-idea.info
health-supplies.info  hosting-right.com  insidealert.com  insurance-facts.info  jobs-employment.info
justgood.info  lookgold.net   lowcost-travel.info  money-source.info  myhostzone.info  numisblog.com
peoplesearchfinder.info  pr-articles.info  realeas.com   refinancing-guides.info  spyware-remove.info
telelot.info  the-law.info   toppaid.info  travel-deals.info  travelcorrect.com  wedding-guide-site.com
your-blog.info  your-credit.info

Wedding Anniversary Party - Who Else Wants Organizing a 50th Wedding Anniversary Event
Many people who are married are always looking forward to this very day in their entire lives. Especially for couples reaching the age of 50 years old, they are always looking forward to their wedding anniversary. If you are one of them and are thinking organizing a 50th wedding anniversary event for your parents, relatives or even close friends, then there are a few matters you have to consider.

WeddingParty.com Offers New Type of Wedding Planning Service for Brides and Grooms
WeddingParty.com is a new wedding planning site that is the most user-friendly wedding planning website one will find. The website is simply designed and easy to navigate. The mission is to help engaged couples find the best wedding professionals for their big day (while making it a fun and stress-free in the process). WeddingParty.com contains some of the best wedding professionals like photographers in the industry.

Sweeten Your Wedding Day
Everyone wants to make their wedding day totally unique and special assuring it will be memorable not only to the couples, also to the parents, to the groomsmen, to the bridesmaid, to the guests and to everyone that will be present on the event. Today, its your time to make this happen make your wedding the best among the rest!

A New and Extensive Wedding Photography Tips Section Has Been Added to All-Things-Photography.com
All Things Photography have just added a complete and free tips section on Wedding Photography to their site. It includes everything you need to get started in wedding photography including a 50 image gallery complete with exif data and comments. It has been written by a working professional wedding photographer with over 20 years experience and all images were taken by the author.

My Wedding Accents Launches New Online Wedding Supplies Superstore Offering Wedding Favors & Accessories at Discount Prices
My Wedding Accents new website offers convenient one-stop secure shopping for all the wedding essentials a couple needs to make their wedding day complete at discount prices.

Unique Centerpieces For Your Wedding
A couple wishing to really make a statement at their wedding may want to invest in truly unique centerpieces. Typically reception halls do not allow for a great deal of creativity in the decorations as they utilize standard table linens and place settings. However, utilizing unique centerpieces is one way that the bride and groom can make their reception truly memorable.

A Dilemma About Wedding Invitations
You will want to make your wedding really special In fact, you need to make everything in your wedding perfect and unique to this end

Meaningful Wedding Gift Ideas
A wedding is one of the most special days planned in a life. Everything must be perfect, thought of and taken care of so that the wedding day turns out as beautiful as a dream.

Wedding Speeches: To Speak Or Not To Speak
Wedding is one of those appropriate canicule of your activity you are never activity to forget. You'd love, appetite and bethink aggregate about your wedding. And so what about bells speech? Do you absolutely anticipate they are necessary? Do you absolutely appetite it in your bells or you absitively on accepting them aloof because its consistently been there in a wedding? Finally if you accept to accept a bells accent in your wedding, for whatever reasons, there are some things you should anticipate first.

Wedding Gifts for Second Marriages
Second marriages can be a tricky situation for a variety of reasons. There may be problems with step kids, ex spouses or even some religious stumbling blocks for the marriage taking place.

Do-It-Yourself Wedding Flowers Help Save Time and Money
With rising wedding costs, many brides-to-be are turning to the do-it-yourself field for wedding planning. Wedding Flowers-DIY works to help busy brides maximize their efforts and minimize their stress.

The West Side's Newest Bridal Event Launches Next Sunday in Cincinnati: Aspen Grove Banquet Center in Harrison to host Wedding Expo
The Aspen Grove Banquet Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, will host the first annual Aspen Grove Wedding Expo on Sunday, January 14 from 12 noon to 5 p.m. The cost is $5 per person and the admission fee includes hors d'Oeuvres.

Wedding Shower Favors
Wedding shower favors are a way to extend gratitude from the bride-to-be and her maid of honor, to the guests of the wedding shower, for providing wedding gifts to the bride before the wedding day. Wedding shower favors can be elegant trinkets or small humorous gifts.

Wedding Professionals Combine their Efforts to Combat the Rising Cost of Online Advertising
Alabama wedding professionals have combined their efforts to combat the rising cost of online advertising and provide brides-to-be with a list of highly experienced companies and individuals. With online advertising costs rising into the hundreds and thousands of dollars per month, many have said there has to be a better way. "...with this new website, we will be able to introduce ourself to new clients while providing our current clients with the best recommendations. The greatest part is that we can do this without breaking the bank." -Amber Ford Photography