Here comes the day and yes, as the man of the hour there are many errands, arrangements, and plans to make. You’ll find below a checklist, in chronologic order below, of those ‘not to be forgotten’ steps.
Buy the engagement ring.
Put together a wedding guest list and have your family make out theirs. You should note which guests you would like to have seated in the reserved pews of the church or of the wedding ceremony site.
Dependent on what kind of wedding affair that you and your bride have chosen; decide on the type of formalwear or nontraditional outfits for you and the men in your wedding party.
Make an invitation to your friend to be your best man and select and invite other friends to be ushers.
Select a gift for your best man and the ushers, that can be presented at the wedding rehearsal or the bachelor party.
Select a gift for your bride. This gift ideally should be something personal such as a fine piece of jewelry, a watch, a full day at the Spa with the works, etc…
With your bride choose wedding rings. Have them engraved with your initials and wedding date on the inside of the rings.
With your bride, begin planning the honeymoon, with time enough for making reservations, changes in the plans, or additions to the plans.
Make arrangements for the purchase of the bride’s bouquet, the bride’s going-away corsage, corsages for both of the mothers and the closest female relatives on both sides. Not to forget, the boutonnieres for all the men in your wedding party, need to be selected and paid for.
Make sure that you and your bride have all necessary arrangements for blood tests, birth certificates, baptismal certificates, etc.
Apply for the marriage license. The license should be obtained with ample time before the wedding date. The license should be given to the best man before the wedding, he will then present after the wedding ceremony.
Change the status on all pertinent paperwork regarding your marital status. This includes insurances on life, property, household, medical and fire.
If there is to be a pre-nuptial agreement, the agreement should be drawn, reviewed and each may want to seek council so that the agreement may be signed.
Arrange for and throw a bachelor dinner several days before the wedding. The best man and ushers often will host this.
Set a date for the wedding rehearsal and notify all your attendants of the place and time.
Provide the best man with the clergyman’s fee and information on the logistics of the wedding, the honeymoon and travel plans.
Print out our Best Man’s Checklist and provide him with a copy and any other resources he’ll need.
After the wedding ceremony, you and your bride need to sign the wedding certificate and have your best man ensure it is safely put away.
The day after the ceremony, send to the bride’s parents a telegram thanking them for the wonderful wedding and reception.