Stag do Organisers - Types, Trials & Tribulations
Everybody knows it's the bestman's duty to organise the stag do. Sure he's got his own life and a few extra duties around the wedding - but he is the groom's best friend after all and accordingly there's a bit of expectation of his capability. However that's not always well founded, not everyone is a reliable organiser ... I've seen groups of all sizes, all budgets and all backgrounds and time after time there is a single principal to a great event - proper organisation.There are loads of personality types but when it comes to the stag weekend there are basically 3 kinds of organisers...
Il Primo - The Premium Bestman
This guy's on the money, he's prepared, focused on getting the ball rolling and dedicated to getting something decent organised ... in advance and on budget. This fellow is the real deal, regardless of the speech (more about that in a future article), he's going to deliver on the stag because he's not only a top bloke but he's also eager for the groom's “last hurrah” to be celebrated in some style, without taking any half measures or unnecessary chances. He'll make good decisions and while one or two of the more relaxed in the group might feel marginally hurried by his efficiency, in the end they'll be glad of it. Sure he’ll be officious and on occasion even over the top – hey you can always wedgie him on the stag do, but you’d want him batting for you at the start because he gets things done, quickly, and everyone knows where they are.
Mr Relaxed
This guy's pretty easy going about a weekend away with the boys, he doesn't put the organisation at the top of his priority list and while he might still do a good job he probably doesn't get the return he might on the stag. It probably means leaving it a few weeks late, not doing any decent research or talking to people in the know, ultimately having everybody settle for a bit less than they might have needed to, paying a bit more and taking a few chances that could have easily avoided with some on-the-ball pre-planning. He probably won't check insurances, financial protection for the groups’ money or cancellation policies; and he’ll more often than not overlook the transfer situation or have any contingency if things get off track, which to be fair not too many think about … until it’s too late. I'm all for relaxed but when a lack of planning means you’ve got to compromise you simply get less, and the stag is a massive lifetime event for the groom - it should be organised fun and therefore, ironically, taken seriously. Don’t get me wrong, Mr Relaxed is usually a great bloke, a pleasure to deal with and usually pulls off a decent weekend with a little help but with just a tad more effort the group would get a lot more stag for their buck!
11th Hour Larry
If you thought Mr Relaxed was challenging, lastminute Larry's a nightmare. Nothing will be organised and what the guys end up doing will be on the "wing and a prayer" end of event management. There's plenty that can go wrong and usually does and that will probably mean overcompensating which is always expensive, often misguided and more frequently both. And unless Lady Luck is feeling generous at the very least the groom and the boys are likely to have to settle for an underwhelming weekend. Provided the groom’s tipped him the wink well in advance, outside of an emergency there's no excuse for this approach. My advice to any groom out there who’s already got plenty on would be that if he feels that the stag's going south at a rate of knots he should appoint another organiser “to help” pretty quickly. And there's one more, very rare but ...
Le Crim
There is a fourth kind and I've only heard of this happening a couple of times. This is the guy who doesn't actually organise anything and runs off with the money! It is criminal - hence Le Crim, but believe it or not it does happen - and to hen parties aswell. So whatever your bestman does or doesn't do he'll be a grade up from Le Crim.
In Summary
As you'll know in full nuptial flow organising any decent event takes a bit of work, your bestman should be pretty reliable and in most cases will likely do a decent job on the stag. However if you've got any concerns either get him some help by way of another of your mates as part of the stag planning team, alternatively put the stag do organising with your most reliable friend. It's a special weekend after all. With all the effort you're putting in to the wedding why let a big part of the celebrations – and a golden chance to get away from the wedding overload - come unstuck?