At last! Your best friend/brother/cousin has finally admitted that you are indeed the best man. Enjoy that feeling for as long as you can. Because while being the best man is a huge honour, it can also come with a few caveats;
• Spending time/money organising and booking the stag weekend.
• Helping with wedding arrangements.
• Attending rehearsals/suit fittings/planning sessions (down the pub).
• And then of course you have that terrifying best man speech to write and deliver.
On the plus side, get it right and you could find yourself drinking free drinks all night and dancing with the single bridesmaid of your choice.
We polled previous best men to get the truth to being the best man.
Simply the best or simply average?
On average the best man spends…
• 8 ¾ hrs planning the stag do
• 6 ½ hrs writing his speech
• £343 on the stag weekend
• £100 on a wedding gift
• £12 on a haircut
• £40 on new shoes
• £125 suit hire
• £25 on a new shirt
• £12 on a new tie
• £50 on transport
Total hours planning 15.15hrs
Total spend – £707
If he was being paid for his time the best man could charge/earn £465.
The average bloke will be best man 1.3 times.
Man planning…
81% of men think the speech is the scariest aspect of their best man role.
But…
On average men spend more time planning the stag do (8 ¾ hrs) than planning their speech (6 ½ hrs).
Wedding speech expert Kye Harman from Speech Builder said, “Glossophopia (fear of public speaking) is one of the most common fears and a best man speech is doubly hard, for once you need to stop taking the **** out of your best friend and be nice about him. In public. There’s also the added pressure of having to make the whole room laugh.
Our No1 tip is to practise saying your speech out loud, the more times you do, the more familiar it will seem and the more confident you’ll become. And never do any jokes about the groom’s rash, what happens in Magaluf…”
How much?!?
What type of things do best men spend money on?
• Wedding gift – 62.4%
• Haircut – 52.2%
• New shoes – 47.1%
• Stag party – 42%
• New suit – 31.2%
• New shirt – 28.7%
• New tie – 26.8%
• Suit hire – 22.3%
• Transport – 18.5%
• Car hire – 5.7%
• Other – 1.9%
Good Job!
If a best man were to charge for his time he could expect to earn
• Writing the speech – 6 ½ hrs
• Organising the stag do – 8 ¾ hrs
• Helping assist at the wedding – 8 hrs
• Total hours – 23 ¼ hrs
• Event organiser fees – £20 per hour
• Potential best man earnings – £465
Doing the Do
On average how long do guys spend planning the big weekend?
• 6 – 10 hrs – 25.5%
• 2 – 5 hrs – 24.2%
• 1 – 2 hrs – 16.5%
• 11 – 15 hrs – 12.7%
• 20+ hrs – 12.7
• 16 – 20 hrs – 8.3%
Our top tip for organising the stag do is always plan ahead. Many couples get married around the same time which means most stag parties happen around the same time so book early to ensure you get the weekend the groom wants. You want to become a stag party legend, not have to explain why the only thing you could find that wasn’t already booked was your aunts caravan in Clacton. Or better yet let someone else take away all the hassle and worry (it’s why 96% of groups say they’d book with us again).
Having a Laugh!
On average how long do guys spend writing their speech?
• 2 – 3 hrs – 36.3%
• 1 – 2 hrs – 26.1%
• 6 – 10 hrs – 21.7%
• 20+ hrs – 7%
• 11 – 15 hrs – 5.7%
• 16 – 20 hrs – 3.2%
Best Man Phobias
According to our poll the scariest thing about being best man is
• Giving a best man speech – 63.1%
• Writing a best man speech – 18.5%
• Planning the stag do – 15.3%
• Keeping the groom sober/in one piece – 12.1%
• Dancing with the bridesmaid – 5.1%
• Other – 0.6%
Leading By Example
Not many guys consider themselves a confident, natural leader of men.
• I consider myself a confident leader – 28.6%
• I’d rather not be in charge – 71.4%
Never Again!
How many times are men best man?
• 1 – 65%
• 2 – 27.4%
• 3 – 4.5%
• 4+ – 3.2%
In their own words…
Best men have their say about the big issues.
What is the best thing about being best man?
Getting it over with.
The fact that someone trusts you enough, and believes in you enough to support their partnership.
Taking the p*** out of the groom.
The bridesmaids.
When the speech is over.
The freedom to inflict your worst.
Not getting married.
What’s the worst thing about being the best man?
Giving the speech.
The expectancy from everyone to be funny.
Not being able to get totally wasted as you have to be in charge of the groom!
Dealing with Bridezillas.
Having to kiss some horrible people.
The sleepless nights and the worry you’ll get it wrong.
Forgetting the rings.
Did you make any mistakes/terrible cock-ups?
Someone mixed up my cue-cards!
The speech was a bit rude (the lads loved it though).
My trousers tore during the big day.
Yep, totally ballsed the speech.
Found out that I can’t say ‘matrimony’.
Ruined the speech! Forgot most of it and didn’t have any notes with me!
The joke about his ex went badly.
I was so nervous I forgot the bride’s name (only for a split second, but it was enough to nearly tip me over the edge!!!).
What’s your top tip for future best men?
Plan the stag do.
When writing the speech think if you would like them to say it at your wedding.
Relax and go with the flow, but make sure the mums are happy.
Have a stiff drink first.
Don’t drink.
Don’t get drunk on the wedding day until after your speech.
Take the time to keep rehearsing your speech.
Make cue cards and know the bridesmaids’ names.
Say no!
Just be yourself, that is why your mate trusts you to do this.
Results based on previous StagWeb best men and other best men who contributed to our poll.
And remember 96% of our groups say they’d book their pre-wedding party with StagWeb again.
99% of grooms regretted picking their best man when he started making jokes about him in the speech.
