Who Goes To A Bucks Party?
This is a great question and we can feel the stress coming from you already, but don’t worry, we’re here to help! The simple answer is “Anyone who’s gonna be a good time and who the Buck really likes”, but we’ll go into more detail below.
One of the key responsibilities you have as a best man is to not only throw the best party ever for your best mate, but also curate how many people are coming and who’s on the guest list, no pressure bro you’ve got this. So let’s begin and get into it.
First step is to decide on the size of the party. Now naturally this entire topic can be super streamlined if you’re only inviting like three people and they’re unequivocally the closest people to the Buck, who he trusts entirely, would die for, who would die for him, who would be a great time, etc. But let’s say its not, you’ve got your work cut out for you with a full suite of people from the Buck’s life. You still want to make yourself a limit so you don’t go overboard, but below are some specific attendee topics.
We’ll quickly touch on gender here as it can cause some confusion. So if it’s a buck’s party, traditionally it’s just men, and if it’s a hen’s party it’s just women. However, these are absolutely not hard and fast rules anymore. If you’ve got a girl friend who you think can rock it with the boys then go nuts and invite her, and vice versa. As Best Man it’s all about curating the vibe with all the tools at your disposal, regardless of traditions. Just remember the entire buck’s party event is about making sure the Buck has a good time.
Work Colleagues
Ah yes the people that spend more time with your mate then you or his soon-to-be-wife does, either you’re one of these, jealous of them, or thankful they exist because even best friends can sometimes stress you out in high doses. Regardless, unless you’re one of them you’ll have to either speak to the groom, or maybe the bride, particularly if you’re doing a secret buck’s party. Talk to the groom to see if he has any work best friends he wants to invite, and the bride to see who he talks about the most and see if you can get a bead on if the groom would actually want them there. Otherwise, even if you work in a small company, like a cafe, there’s no need or pressure to invite the whole staff, remember as Best Man, it’s your job to organise this, so the Buck can’t be blamed in the workplace for not inviting anyone because he has you as a shield.
Family
This one is an interesting one as some families can have huge variation in their members. If you haven’t seen the Hangover, there’s a person in there from the extended family that gets unexpectedly, undesirably, invited to a buck’s weekend, which can honestly be awkward for that person and the party as a whole. Now we’re not saying the Hangover is required research material for planning a bucks, but we’re not NOT saying that…Either way, being the good group you are you’ll make everyone feel included. So in the family category, we’re looking for the cool cousins, siblings etc, anyone who either 1) the Groom as specifically asked for, or 2) The Groom has no complaints about and who you, as Best Man, feels would fit the vibe. In some circumstances, yes you can invite parents, but you’ll have to play that one by ear. We’ve seen plenty of mums and dads invited to buck’s and hen’s parties and they’ve been a very welcome addition!
Friends
Friends, opposed to family or work colleagues, are the only people in someone's life that don’t have to follow a code of conduct, whether that be a family one or a workplace policy. This can lead to some of the quietest people having the most unhinged of friends, to enter this category wisely. Again, ask the groom if you can, otherwise the bride, or if you know them, suss them out yourself. Depending on the vibe you want you either want to avoid the above mentioned nutcases, or you wouldn’t dream of throwing a buck’s party without them. So that really depends on what you’re going for, loud clubbing and a night on the town could benefit from a few equally loud and raucous people, just as a quality wine tasting could do without that one guy who still only drinks warm Smirnoff in Solo, and calls it his ‘comfort drink’ (to each their own, but to each their own lane too).
Others
These ‘miscellaneous people’ can be very relevant, especially if you’re throwing a bigger party and need everyone to have a friend. Also you’ll get this type of person if you give everyone a plus one. These are the people neither you or the Groom really know, comments around them would be such as “Oh yeah Linda is nice'', or “Oh yeah, I’ve met Greg, he’s decent”, people that there’s no particular strong feelings about, although we recommend they at least reach the ‘pleasant’ criteria. These people can fill out a big party, and help people gel together, now that they have the confidence of definitely knowing someone there. However be careful as they can also form cliques quickly, especially in larger events. Of course, someone these plus-ones may be fantastic people and by the time the night is through you’ve already made a new friend for life, imagine that, really bonding with a bloke as you’re chomping down a steak, beer in one hand, and fantastic pair of tits in your face.
So there’s a few different types of people you can invite to a buck’s party. It's not an exclusive list, but it’s a good place to start. As we’ve said, the main point of the party is to make sure the Buck is happy, so go to him for guidance, and if you can’t then curate the vibe you think he’ll like the most.
