The role and responsibilities of a witness at a wedding

Nowadays, the rules of marriage registration in the registry office are such that in order to obtain a certificate of marriage, witnesses are no longer needed. However, according to established traditions, nevertheless, their presence next to the newlyweds is extremely important and necessary.

Others believe that the wedding "buddy" in the usual sense of the word are persons confirming the legality of the marriage. Their role should be played by those people who truly believe in the love of happy newlyweds and sincerely wish them good luck in their further life together. At a wedding, there are usually 2 witnesses - the groom’s best friend and the bride’s best friend.

The custom of choosing wedding assistants has been known since ancient civilizations. It was from here that the tradition of witnesses to dress as beautifully as the young spouses went. If you literally believe in wedding signs, then dressed witnesses will be able to deceive the evil force and will not allow it to harm a happy married couple during the holiday.

Since ancient times in Russia, the role of the witness of the groom was very honorable for any layman.

The choice of the newlywed most often dwelled on the best friend - on the person who will always be happy to help the new family in any difficult times. It could be a boyar boyfriend or a fellow warrior. Such a person helped in the preparation of the holiday, monitored the correct performance of certain ceremonies, was a real host of the feast.

Previously, only one witness was selected from the side of the future happy husband, and in our time a new tradition was born - to select witnesses from 2 sides at once.In the same period, marriages began to be registered in the registry office, and therefore someone was needed who would witness the legality of the procedure.

In many countries of the world, all traditions related to the wedding day are honored, especially since they have been going on for centuries, which means that their performance has been checked more than once. But it is worth knowing that the role of best man is a huge responsibility, as it implies a lot of responsibilities.

The best man not only has fun at the friend’s wedding, he has a number of certain functions, a lot of trouble will be transferred to his shoulders - from choosing a dress for the groom to preparing a memorable bachelor party.

Some newlyweds nevertheless decide to do without such persons as witnesses when registering their union. But then the bridegroom and his brother-in-law can be deprived of better days before their own wedding, because they will have no one to help in preparing the entire festive event, because whoever the friend and girlfriend will transfer to themselves part of these very burdensome works on preparing the celebration.

Previously, exclusively all newlyweds chose witnesses for themselves, since it was customary to think that the decision to become husband and wife without witnesses could not be serious and legal.

There are quite a long time appeared rules for choosing the best man. To some they seem outdated and stupid, while others fully follow these rules, wanting to do everything that was punished by ancient beliefs. How to choose a best man for a wedding, what significant characteristics should applicants have?

The first friend of the groom can only be a man, most importantly - unmarried. If a married best man is chosen, then, according to a legend, he may lose his own happiness in the family.

According to tradition, two lovers can be admitted as witnesses, however, with such couples you need to be a little alert - if they quarrel before the celebration, you can be left without witnesses. Therefore, it is better to immediately look for single witnesses, ideally those who almost do not know each other.

For the role of best man, you need to choose a person who is very energetic, as active as possible, then the whole wedding celebration will be very fun, and the newlyweds themselves will remember the wedding day for a long time. Since certain responsibilities for preparing contests are often transferred to the best man, he certainly should also be a sociable and very positive person. If the host will be invited to the celebration, then the witness will need to take the most active part in all the proposed games.

It should also be a very responsible man who can always be relied on, because the quality of the wedding event itself can directly depend on him, as well as how interesting the ransom of the young and other wedding ideas will be.

Even the relatives of the bride and groom can act as a best man. But the closest relatives, such as dad, uncle, traditionally can not play this role. It is better to choose a best man from not too close relatives - you can choose a cousin, for example.

Previously, only believers were most often taken as friends of the groom. But with the traditional registration in the registry office, this rule can not be followed. But if the young ones themselves are baptized and, besides the civil painting, also dream of getting married, then it is necessary to observe such an ancient tradition.

Listed below are the responsibilities of the witness on the part of the bride and groom.

• To assist in the preparation of the bachelor party.
• His responsibilities also include escorting the groom to the bride’s home and comprehensive assistance in her redemption. Therefore, the best man should come to her house with money, various sweets and a bottle of champagne.
• In the registry office, the best man must put his signature on the certificate of marriage.
• It is he who must make sure that guests and the bride and groom have something to drink and something to eat during the walk, the best man must also open the bottles of champagne and pour it into the glasses.

• It is he who thinks out in advance the route of the walk and photo shoot of the young and finds suitable transport for these purposes.
• The witness is required to help the witness entertain the guests.
• Best man keeps order at a wedding party. Fights can take place at many wedding banquets, so the chafer will have to monitor the behavior of too violent guests and relatives.
• In addition, he should help the groom to completely put his appearance in order before the long-awaited meeting with the bride.
• The best man should check before leaving if they and his fiancé forgot his passport and rings, the bride’s bouquet, additional details and trifles.

The best man should help accept gifts for the newlyweds from their guests and take care of the integrity and safety of everything presented.

The best man should not sit at the banquet with his hands clasped; he actively entertains young people and guests. Usually the witness adjusts to the toastmaster: he will dance if necessary, and even sing, and play along in any rally at the right time.

In addition, the witness should always be close to the bridesmaid - she becomes his companion for the whole wedding. It will not be easy for both of them: everyone will drink, walk, have fun, and they will need to puff for all.

This list of witness duties can be expanded depending on the theme of the wedding. If this is a thematic wedding, then the function of the witness in this case will also include the obligation to help with the selection of the necessary props and costumes for the newlyweds, the design of the venue for the celebration of the thematic banquet. The role of the witness is quite serious today and requires special responsibility.

The witness should also look at the wedding celebration in an appropriate way, so that the newlyweds would not be ashamed of him. The appearance of the best man must be appropriate to the chosen style of the wedding celebration, but still, The outfit is chosen according to his own taste.

• It may well be a black classic suit with a snow-white shirt and a properly selected tie.
• A white suit will look festive, and a butterfly tie can become a very original accessory.
• Given the fact that the chafer at the wedding banquet will have to participate in many competitions and various kinds of entertainment, it is best to choose a suit of dark colors, and shoes will be chosen to suit the color of the costume itself.
• The outfit should be elegant, make a good impression, because the best man is the second person at the banquet after the groom. And the presence of a stylishly dressed witness next to him will make him look perfect.

The witness must behave decently - be sober until the end of the celebration, because his help may be needed at any time. Also, the witness should know that his behavior can most directly overlap with the atmosphere of the whole holiday.

Newlyweds should take as friends those people whose social status will not contradict the general atmosphere of celebration. Witnesses are also selected based on the specifics of the relationship of the young with these people. What candidates may be inappropriate for the responsible role of best man?

• You cannot be a witness to a widowed person. If you believe the ancient signs, this kind of wedding helpers can attract young trouble.
• People who are too boring, overly shy and, in their own way, inactive in life will not be very suitable for such an important role, since they are unlikely to be able to fully fulfill the duties assigned to the best man.
• Also, do not choose those who will not share the joy of the newlyweds regarding their long-awaited marriage. Envious people and gossips have no place in the close circle of young people.
• Usually a bad omen is to invite the namesake of the groom to the role of best man.

• When the invitees start shouting “Bitterly!”, The witnesses, in turn, should not forget to shout “Sweet!” In response.
• A stranger should not cross the road for the newlyweds, because the best man and the witness go, slightly ahead of the happy newlyweds.
• Under the threshold of the groom’s home, the best man puts a padlock open. After the groom transfers his young wife through the threshold of the house, the best man must close the lock with a key, transfer the lock to the newlyweds, and throw the key away.
• Witnesses have another important mission. One of them must always carry a white thread with him throughout the wedding, in case one of the wedding rings accidentally falls. In this case, the victim drops the ring through the thread, then the best man burns the thread that has absorbed negative energy.
• The witness and witness must kiss at the very end of the festive banquet. So they insure the young and take away the possible negativity of one of those present.

Some of the responsibilities of wedding witnesses are listed in the following video.