The best man is the name given to the chief male assistant to the bridegroom at a wedding. Usually the groom extends this honor to someone who is close to him, generally either a brother or his closest male friend. Alternatively, should one of the groom's male friends have been directly responsible for introducing the groom to his bride (or otherwise responsible for bringing them together), the honor of best man might be extended to him in gratitude. A groom nervously waits for his bride. ... Nuptial is the adjective of wedding. It is used for example in zoology to denote plumage, coloration, behavior, etc related to or occurring in the mating season. ...

Duties

In the context of a traditional American/British white wedding, the best man's duties typically include: A Bride in a White Wedding dress A white wedding is a term for a traditional formal or semi-formal wedding in British and American, as well as Commonwealth, traditions. ...

• Organizing a bachelor party (U.S.) / stag night (U.K) / buck's night (Aus.) for the groom
• Possibly helping plan or organize some details of the wedding
• Assisting with wedding-day logistics and unforeseen circumstances that arise
• Assisting the groom on the morning of wedding day
• Getting the groom to the wedding on time
• Supervising the groomsmen or ushers
• Ensuring the rings are brought to the ceremony (usually they will have been given to the best man either earlier in the day or previously) and then passing these to the bride and groom at the appropriate point in the ceremony
• Acting as a legal witness to the marriage
• Giving a speech at the wedding and thanking the bridesmaids (often supposed to be humorous and to (mildly) embarrass the groom)
• Making a Toast to the Bride and Groom at the Reception.
• Dance with the Maid of Honour. Help to ensure that other guests make it to the dance floor and dance.
• Decorating the car of the married couple.

In the US, the groomsmen assist the best man with these functions. A bachelor party (also called a stag party, stag night (UK, Ireland, Canada, and NZ), bulls party (South Africa) or bucks party, bucks night (Australia)) is a party held for a bachelor shortly before he enters marriage, to make the most of his final opportunity to engage in activities a... A bachelor party (also called a stag party, stag night, or bucks party (Australia)) is a party held for a bachelor shortly before he is married, to commemorate his final opportunity to engage in activities a new wife might not approve of. ... A bridesmaid is a girl or young woman who attends to the bride during or after a wedding or marriage ceremony. ... The groomsman is one of the (usually) male attendants to the bridegroom in a wedding ceremony. ...

When the groom wishes to give this honour to a woman, she may be termed the "best woman" or "best person", or may still be referred to as the 'best man'. The bride's equivalent of the best man is the maid or matron of honour. A neutral term is "honour attendant". The Maid of Honor (British English: bridesmaid) attends the bride at a wedding or marriage ceremony. ...

Best man in various cultures

In Anglo-Saxon England, the Best Man would act as a bodyguard for both the groom and the bride. During Anglo-Saxon England weddings the bride would stand to the left of her groom so that his sword arm was free. The Best Man would keep his hand on his sword ready to fend off trouble and protect the couple. Often during these times, the best swordsman in the area was chosen as the Best Man.^[1]

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 shares with the new couple.^{[citation needed]}

In Ukraine a best man is responsible for guarding a bride during the wedding. When he steps away traditionally a shoe gets stolen from the bride. Then the best man has to pay a ransom in exchange for returning the shoe -- usually by either drinking vodka or paying money.^{[citation needed]} Vodka bottling machine, Shatskaya Vodka Shatsk, Russia Vodka is one of the worlds most popular distilled beverages. ... Various denominations of currency, one form of money Money is any good or token that functions as a medium of exchange that is socially and legally accepted in payment for goods and services and in settlement of debts. ...

In Bhutan the best man presents himself at the wedding as a ceremonial guardian to both bride and groom. Thereafter he performs for the guests before commencement of marriage. These performances can last for 5 hours with the exhausted best man returning to his wooden carriage very similar to a dog kennel. He remains there to watch on before joining the other guests to celebrate the special occasion - usually in a drunken stupor.^{[citation needed]}

References

See also

• Bridegroom
• Groomsman
• Ringbearer
• Bride
• Maid of honor
• Bridesmaid
• Flower girl
• Page boy