Your friend has just given you one of the biggest accolades a man can give another man, by asking you to be his best man. With such a commitment comes challenges, roles and responsibilities are you up to the job?
HELL YES you are, you’re more ready than a fully charged Tesla and the first thing to get sorted is the Stag Do, the weekend of all weekends, the event that will stay in the memory of not just the groom but all his mates, so you have to arrange a bulletproof stag weekend and it must go like clockwork.
1. Time
Give yourself plenty of time, providing this isn’t a shotgun wedding or the groom had trouble choosing his best man and left it to the last minute, you should have more than a year to implement plans.
A good 12 months before the weekend you need to start planning.
2. Communication
With anything, communication is always key, being in the know is one of the most powerful positions you can be in so make sure you know everything about the groom and his friends (in most cases, most of his friends will be yours too).
Start by speaking with the groom, get the invite list from him plus what he wants from the weekend and a rough idea of the budget.
Then speak to the invitees and find out what’s expected from this last weekend of freedom. There’s no point in booking a spa break when everyone is expecting a full-on activity adventure.
One thing is extremely important: agree on a budget. If you book something far too expensive watch your attendee’s list shrink like a puddle on a hot summer’s day. On the flip side, if you book a Bunk House where some attendees will stay in nothing less than a 5-star hotel, people will jump ship and book their own accommodation. You don’t want your stag to spread all over a city, that would be a nightmare to organize!
Once everyone has agreed to come, set up a WhatsApp group and let the banter begin! The group is also a great place to communicate stuff, so everyone is in the know.
3. Use Your Intel
Once you’ve got your intel in, don’t ignore it, use it to your advantage. Remember, you can’t please everyone but from your intel, you can find a good compromise, which should please mostly everyone.
Also, don’t feel this is all down to you, involve the groom’s other close friends and work with them to book the right weekend.
4. The Dollar
Once you have decided on what you’re going to do you’ll need to collect the money and get a deposit down.
Important: This is where you need to look after yourself, don’t pay for anyone you don’t know that well or trust, and get the money out of them before you book their place. Everyone knows your commitment to the groom but it doesn’t stretch to paying and committing to flakey friends who will eventually let you down anyway and you’ll end up out of pocket – you’ll probably find the groom won’t want flaky friends on the weekend anyway, so save your money!
For best results use a stag do company like DesignaVenture which you can trust to book the weekend for you, most stag do companies give you the ability to get the guys to pay direct, saving you the hassle of having to get the money from them and using your bank account as a holding account for the stag does.
5. Go Go Go
So, using your communication channels make sure you pass on all the information to the group, including your itinerary, addresses, phone numbers of your accommodation and events, dress codes, what to wear, etc. Doing this before you go saves you having to ‘Mother’ everyone on the weekend.
Remember, you also have to enjoy this weekend. PLUS, you must protect the groom from his friends and sometimes himself, this is your responsibility of being the best man!
