Best man
Best man is the chief male assistant to the bridegroom at a wedding. In North America and Europe, the groom extends this honour to someone who is close to him, generally either a brother or his closest male friend. When the groom wishes to give this honor 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 gender-neutral term is honor attendant.
Best man is the chief male assistant to the bridegroom at a wedding. In North America and Europe, the groom extends this honour to someone who is close to him, generally either a brother or his closest male friend. When the groom wishes to give this honor 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 gender-neutral term is honor attendant.
While the best man's required duties are only those of a friend, in the context of an American/British
white wedding, the best man will typically:- assist the groom on the wedding day,
- keep the wedding rings safe until needed during the ceremony,
- act as a legal witness to the marriage, and
- make a
toast to the bride and groom at the reception. (Formerly, the best man would read out the telegrams of those who couldn't attend).- keep the wedding rings safe until needed during the ceremony,
- act as a legal witness to the marriage, and
- make a
In the past, the bachelor party was typically scheduled for a convenient evening during the week before the wedding. A type of farewell dinner, it was always hosted, and therefore organized and paid for, by the bridegroom.
Common slang names for this event are bachelor party, stag do or bucks' night in different parts of the world. In many areas, this dinner is now most commonly organized by the best man, and the costs are shared by all of the participants.The best man, or honor attendants in general, are not universal customs. Even in places where a best man is customary, the role may be quite different when compared to other areas or times.
In most modern, English-speaking countries, the best man is simply the groom's closest male friend. Some authors believe that the best man derives from ancient customs of marriage by kidnapping, or from defending the groom from would-be kidnappers.
At Eastern Orthodox weddings in Greece, the best man is often also the koumbaros or religious sponsor, and is traditionally the groom's godfather. The koumbaros (or koumbara, if a woman) is an honored participant who crowns the couple and participates in circling the altar three times. In some areas, this person also pays for all the wedding expenses.
In
Ukraine a best man is responsible for guarding the bride during the wedding festivities. When he or the groom steps away, the bride gets "kidnapped" or has a shoe stolen. Then the groom or the best man must pay a ransom in exchange for returning the bride, usually by paying money (which is given to the bride) or by doing something embarrassing.In Uganda a best man is expected to guide the newlyweds in the 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
Bhutan the best man presents himself at the wedding as a ceremonial guardian to both bride and groom. Thereafter he entertains the guests, sometimes for several hours.Como sabeis, la tradición en España es diferente. Normalmente los participantes en la ceremonia de una boda son El Novio, La Novia, Madrina y Padrino, y lo más habitual es que la madrina sea la madre del novio y el padrino el padre de la novia, cuya función principal es llevar al altar a los novios y ejercer de testigos del matrimonio.
Pero cada pareja es única, con circunstancias diferentes y cada relación es un mundo, hoy en día las bodas no son tanto seguir la tradición a a pies juntillas como celebrar como tu deseas el día más feliz de tu vida, con lo que los cambios en las costumbres no son raros, puedes encontrar novias vestidas de colores huyendo del tradicional blanco o que el padrino y/o madrina no sean padres de los contrayentes, por ejemplo. En este caso hablo de una boda internacional:
Mónica y Sam se casan el próximo marzo, este verano Sam se lo pidió a Moni por sorpresa y rápidamente comenzaron a tomar forma los detalles, día, lugar, vestido...
Sam me había dicho semanas atrás su intención de pedirselo a finales de verano durante una fiesta, pero por lo visto ¡no pudo aguantar!
La ilusión de que dos de mis mejores amigos se casen es indescriptible pero estoy segura de que muchos de vosotros habreis pasado por algo asi. Foros de novias, busqueda de ideas, comienzo de preparación para la despedida de soltera jijiji... nuestra maquinaria se puso en funcionamiento.
Lo que no podía imaginar ni por asomo es que Sam, hace poco mas de un mes, me pidiera la mano (literalmente) y estrechandola entre las suyas me hablara de la figura del Best Man, en cuyo caso necesitaría que fuera alguien que le conociera bien y "bilingüe", me explicó que esa persona suele cuidar de que esté bien afeitadito, se comporte como debe (realmente Sam no necesita alguien que le vigile para eso!), y lea un discurso en el banquete. Y me dijo que tal vez no tenía un amigo así, pero si que tenía una AMIGA así. Asi que me pidió que fuera su Best Man!!
Le pregunté si quería que me vistiera de chico, me comentó que no haría falta, simplemente iremos vestidos de manera conjuntada, pero yo podría ponerme un vestido, ayer fuimos a por su chaleco y corbata, asi que ahora tengo campo libre para ir a comprar el vestido.
Estoy emocionada con mi cargo, que no se si la gente podrá entender, pero hey! es su boda y si ellos deciden tener una BestWoman, y unos "Rice Manager" y "Rice Assistant"... ¡eso es lo que tendrán!