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Determining the perfect number of groomsmen can feel a little bit like high school algebra. You think you understand it, but there’s a decent chance you’re ending up with a “needs improvement” on your end-of-year grade.
For some dudes, this is easy. There’s a set number of bridesmaids, and you need to come up with the requisite number of men to match up. Get one dude you trust to hold onto your shiny new men’s wedding band and fill out the rest of the roster from there. If you don’t have those parameters, you have basically two options.
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Option 1: Go with the Standard
This is a great option if you don’t plan on having your groomsmen do a lot besides standing around and drinking with you. A standard wedding tends to have three to five groomsmen, assuming the wedding isn’t incredibly large. If you’re having a wedding for the ages, you can push that number to around eight or so.
Option 2: The Math One
There’s a vague science to proper groomsmen to guest ratio. Is it actual settled science? Well, no. Obviously. However, on the scale of astrology to astronomy, it’s about halfway between the two. Our semi-pseudoscience dictates approximately three groomsmen per 50 guests. You could go down to two or up to four, but three is a solid number.
This is a great option for guys who want their groomsmen to be more involved in the logistics of the ceremony. For example, if you have your groomsmen as ushers or greeters, you want enough of them to help stragglers and confused old people to their seats in an efficient manner.
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What Do the Groomsmen Do?
Well, anything you can think of (within reason, weirdo). Seriously, though, groomsmen can be super involved or just hang back, depending on what your wedding dictates. Groomsmen's duties have certainly changed over the years, so there isn’t exactly a settled set of duties anymore.
Groomsmen generally have a few tasks. First, show up early and be self-sufficient. This way, the groom isn’t worried about his college friends being homeless for an evening because they forgot to book a hotel room. Second, just hang out with the groom beforehand. Groomsmen exist to talk grooms off ledges and keep their cold feet warm.
Lastly, groomsmen need to be generally useful at the ceremony and after. Groomsmen can help get people to their seats and keep everything running smoothly. Afterwards is the fun part, though. Especially if you’ve gathered hordes of introverts at your wedding, it’s on the groomsmen to be exciting and mingle, dance and generally keep the energy up.
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What If I Have Too Many Friends?
Not every dude can be charged with the task of making sure your sleek black wedding rings stay accounted for. Seriously, in black suit jacket pockets? There’s an art to keeping it together. Either way, you can add your friends in as ushers, readers or greeters or by giving them a spot at the rehearsal dinner. Get as creative as you like and create positions out of thin air if you feel like it.
While there’s no perfect number of groomsmen, most guys are gonna be fine going with the standard three to five, but feel free to consult the algorithm of guests to groomsmen for the perfect number.
