The celebration of a wedding is normally a family event. Thus, it is not surprising to find that most of the attendees in any wedding consist of relatives from both sides of the bride and the groom. It is even more traditional that people who are part of the wedding entourage are either the brother, sister, cousin, niece or nephew of the couple to be wed.

For the ladies, the most coveted position is to be chosen as the maid of honor since the person picked is one whom the bride considers to be her closest or best friend. Then there are also the bridesmaids and flower girls to complete the ensemble. On the men’s side, the equivalent position of the maid of honor is the best man. The other members of the wedding entourage are the page boys and the ring bearer.

Generally, it is the groom who will decide who he wants to be his best man. It is very rare that the best man is chosen by another person. The groom’s final choice for best man will usually be one of his male best friends. Given that a wedding is a reunion of family and friends, it is natural that the groom would want his best friend to share in his joy at the occasion. Aside from his closest male friend, the groom may also pick his brother to fill the role of the best man. Sometimes, the groom may choose a person who is neither his best friend nor his brother, but someone who is responsible for introducing him to his bride-to-be. In rare cases, the groom may even decide to have a female “best person”.

Traditionally, the best man should be single since he will also be actively participating in the wedding preparation, hence this can be time-consuming. This is not to say that single people have time on their hands! However, it is now acceptable that a married person become the best man. In this case, the groom as well as bride can benefit from the wisdom that will be imparted by a married best man as regards starting and building a family.