Being a Best Man is a Full-Time Job





·         British best men spend on average 38 hours preparing for the big day

·         Organising the stag party is the task that takes up the most time

BRITS who are given the role of best man are spending a full working week preparing for the big day, according to new research.

A survey of 1,194 UK men who have previously undertaken the role of best man, carried out by menswear etailer, jacamo.co.uk, revealed that best men now spend on average 38 hours fulfilling the roles and duties demanded of them.

Based on the national average wage of a professional, such as a wedding planner, best men would earn up to £303.57, if they were being paid to do the job.




Most time-consuming in the list of to-dos’, is organising the stag party (including travel and stag party goings-on) and planning social activities, which takes up on average 18 hours.

This was followed by attending suit fittings, which takes an average of six hours. Preparing the speech (both writing and rehearsing) was the task that consumed the third most time, taking up five hours in total.

In fourth place was providing words of wisdom and reassurance in the run up to the ceremony, which best men spent three hours of their time on (both writing and rehearsing), followed by last-minute organisational jobs, such as running errands and ensuring the ushers know what role they are to play on the big day, which right-hand men devoted 2 hours to.

Despite the hours invested into their role, 89% of best men said they enjoyed playing such a big part in their friend’s special day and 81% would do it all over again given the chance.

What’s more, 64% of best men felt confident they had done a great job when the day was over.

Lee McCoy, Digital Manager at Jacamo said:
“It’s clear to see that being a best man is a full-time job in the run up to the big day, however such a huge proportion of men admitted it was fun and it would not deter them from doing it again.
“Whilst preparing the speech was time-consuming and most certainly one that comes with a lot of pressure, it’s great to see that over half of the best men surveyed admitted to feeling happy with the part they played on the day.
“Therefore, soon-to-be-married British men can rest assured that they will more than likely have a number of very willing and able candidates to choose from when selecting their number one sidekick on their wedding day.”

The tasks best men carry out in preparation for a wedding:

1. Organising the stag party: 18 hours
2. Attending suit fittings: 6 hours
3. Preparing the best man’s speech: 5 hours
4. Providing words of wisdom and reassurance to the groom: 3 hours
5. Last-minute organisational jobs (e.g. ensuring the ushers know what to do on the big day and running errands): 2 hours


We have to admit that all of this sounds very believable. There's a lot more to being a best man or best woman than just getting one of the brides/grooms drunk and wearing a suit.  It is a big investment, but it's good to see that 89% say they'd do it again - it must have been worth it then. 

About Jacamo

With over nine year’s expertise in menswear fit and fashion, Jacamo, part of the N Brown Group, caters for 500,000 customers. They refuse to adopt a ‘one size fits all’ approach, instead focusing on clothes that fit and flatter, making shopping for fashion easy and enjoyable - regardless of size or shape. Jacamo has collections in an extensive size range with clothing from S to 5XL and shoes from three to 16. www.jacamo.co.uk.


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