ALT-2 What to do if your best Man Bails
It is impossible to prevent every possibility of what could go wrong on your wedding day from happening. Most of these possibilities are small set-backs that do nothing to affect the overall magic of your big day. Many of these things you will not even notice or if you do, they might be so insignificant that you can laugh them off. However, there are certain things that are not easy to laugh off on your wedding day, and one of those biggest issues is if a member of your wedding party bails.
We are all aware that men can be irresponsible, absent-minded, or just plain idiotic at times. This is not true for all men, at least, hopefully not the one you are marrying. But it is not such a rare event to be let down by the best man. Anything could get in the way to stop him from performing his role on your big day. It could be something that happens prior to your wedding, such as a falling out, an unexpected event that they cannot get out of or something similar.
Always be prepared for the unexpected, even just prior to your wedding. If something happens where your best man needs to resign his position, be grateful for the advanced warning. It does not hurt to have a back up best man just in case. Yes it does sound insensitive, having a person to replace them if something unexpected happens. It may sound like you are using the other person, but most are happy for the chance to step up and take the place of a best man. Men do not take offence as easily as women do, so while your second choice bridesmaid might decide she is never going to talk to you again now that she knows she was asked only as a replacement, it is unlikely that the back up best man will feel the same. Men rarely have the same closeness with their friends that women do and it often makes it harder for the groom to choose his best man in the first place, because he feels just as close to several other guys. The second choice will be honored to be the second choice and will not see it as being second, but he will see it as a win!
So always have someone else in mind in case the unexpected happens. It is not even a bad thing to let the back up know that if something happens to the best man, you would be more than honored for him to take over the role. This means he is pre-warned and more than prepared to step up if he is needed.
On the day of your wedding, so many other factors could influence your best man not being able to perform his duties. Perhaps he has woken up with the measles and cannot leave the house for fear of contaminating others, or maybe he got arrested for something totally random the night before. You just never know. Even in the middle of the day, something could influence his ability to performing his duty to the best of his ability. Men do tend to drink too much before they realize its too late. So if your best man is passed out in the corner, you need your better man to step up and take over.
So since men will rarely be offended for being the second-best man, always have someone on standby right up to, and on the day of your wedding. This way it does not matter what happens to your best man and you will always be prepared for the worst.
Unless of course Mr. Second-best man is passed out beside the first... then maybe its an idea to have a few people on standby. But you will know how responsible your groom's friends are, so it's up to you to decide how likely this scenario is!
