Realtors make the best Best Men

Hey Paul...my daughter is getting married in Mesa in ELEVEN days (but who's counting?)....cute post!

Paul - Not surprisingly, I LOVED this post.  Hilarious and accurate stuff, buddy!  I was best man once for a friend of mine, and the most worrisome part for me was having to toast the bride and groom.  I literally didn't sleep the night before.  I think it was compounded by the fact that it was a double wedding, and the other guy's best man was his brother, so I had to make it good.  It went really well.  When I was a restaurant manager in the early 90's, I had hired both the bride and groom to work for me.  They both told me of their interest in one another, so I just nudged them in the right direction.  Now they have twin boys!  By the way, nice suit.

Mary, Get her fiance on the phone now!  He needs my services!  The wrong choice in Best Man is a recipe for lawsuits, unsightly man-crying, meteor showers and other assorted bedlam.  I don't recommend going the discount route.  Sure, you might find someone willing to perform Best Man duties for a Leatherman multi-tool, but is this who you really want looking after your best interests on the biggest day of your life?

Cool story, Jason.  Thanks for dropping in to comment.  I've been so tied up with this wedding and the various associated functions, that I have not had much time to blog the last few days.  I still managed to successfully negotiate a deal via text messaging, though.  Ah, technology!  I was actually on the hook for 2 speeches.  I did not even know one was expected of me at the rehearsal dinner until the groom's father handed me the mic!  Fortunately, I killed both speeches.  All the more reason for Scottsdale grooms to enlist my services - grace under fire! 

Paul - I hope you pick up some new business on the side as a best man for hire.  I posted my latest blog about two minutes before this one.  Check it out - I think you will appreciate the sentiment there.  Talk to you soon -

I've got my wife working, now I'm moonlighting as a professional Best Man ... oh what a slow market will do to a guy ;)  I'll go check out your latest.  I'm sure it's aces, as always, Jason.

Wonderful story and analogy! Good for you!

Oh Crap Paul! Your comments are at least as hilarious as this post! 'unsightly man-crying'??? You're a genius! YOU write the book and I'll write the prologue!!!

Be my maid of honor??? Pretty please???????

Weddings are really alot of fun.  Lets hope they beat all the odds anymore and stay married for many years.  Wish them the BEST!

PAUL:  Great job.  Funny and true.  I never thought about what it takes to be a Best Man, because it was many years ago for me.  There were some major headaches that I had to deal with during that time.  Any groom would be lucky to have your professional Best Man services for their wedding.  At the very least, you can help them buy their first home.

Nice post Paul. I like the analogy. My best man was an attorney....

Good way to start off my week, with a smile. Thanks Paul!

Paul, great post!!  I was the best man for my best friend from college about 9 years ago and I can definitely relate to everything you wrote here.  I remember writing the toast speech months in advance and then rehearsing it several times before the wedding.  What was great was that at the wedding, several of his friends and family who I didn't even know said that this was the best speech they had ever heard and that I had captured the essence of my friend in that speech.  The bachelor party went off without a hitch as well (no pictures available).  Several years later he returned the favor and was an excellent best man for my wedding and planned a fantastic three-day long bachelor party in Vegas.  Next weekend, we're visiting him and his wife in New Jersey and looking forward to it!

Great analogy!  What do you charge for professional best man services? 

Thank you, Nathan.  Glad you enjoyed it.

I've done my job if I made you smile, Jennifer.  Tell you what, you write my prologue and I'll write yours.  Done!

Absolutely, Gary.  Thanks for commenting.

Thanks, Adam.  You are right about the headaches.  These were two attorneys getting hitched!  In hindsight, I should have doubled my fee for the added exposure.

Decent choice, Joe, but why hire a dealkiller over a dealmaker? ;)  Thanks for commenting.

Keith and Robin, if I do nothing else productive this week, I'll still feel good about getting you to smile on a Monday!  Thanks for your comment.

Brian, I charged one desktop digital photo frame for my service in this instance.  I think I undersold.  In future, I envision a percentage of the couple's gross haul.  I might offer some type of reduced amount for repeat business.  A loyal client who is on wife #5 shouldn't expect to pay the same as the man off the street.

Paul, sounds like a very fair compensation plan.  BTW, I forgot to mention, that you're looking rather smart in your best man suit -- and I like the picture of the rapids since I just went whitewater rafting back in August.

Thanks, Brian.  Coming from Dapper Don, himself, that is high praise!  Where did you go rafting?

Paul - What a clever post. I think your friend made a great choice.

Paul,  Clever post! I think you're on to something...let me ask you...did you do your due dilligence for your best man by helping him choose his bride or had he already identified his buyer I mean his bride before you came on board??? 

Thanks Tom.  I go where I'm called!

Ha, Shannon!  Unfortunately, my client had already started his search online ... ;)  I was not part of the selection process, so I made him sign a multitude of hold harmless addenda.  He wouldn't let me perform an inspection either. 

AWESOME...I understand about that inspection thing...some people just like to buy as is where is...It's all good! :)

An "as is" addendum really should be required with the marriage license.  Maybe that would stop my wife from always trying to get me to make repairs. 

Paul, great post. Have you built your website yet? I would love to see it! And do you have a break down of your cost. I mean, some guys are going to try and haggle with you over your fee's. What is your rock bottom price, and what do they, or don't they get for it.

It's in the works, Rob.  Maybe I'll be the first Best Man/Realtor hybrid?  List your home with me and I'll fill the role of Best Man for a six pack of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.  Hey, if it works for the Realtor/Lenders of the world ...

All I know for sure is that I won't be a discount Best Man.  That would be more like a Mediocre Man.  That guy would probably eat the first bite of cake and hit on the bride.

The title got me laughing!  You should have a disclaimer that says

*BEWARE:  not all Realtors make the best men, only a select few.

Did you do a post on the Bachelor Party or is that not appropriate? :o )

 You are quite the handsome man in that tuxedo.  WOW.  Did you steal the groom's thunder??

Ah Ginger, flattery is always encouraged!  I sincerely doubt the groom had any reason to fear being upstaged, but thank you for feeding my male vanity.  Your posts all get 5's from here forward.  As for the bachelor party, there will be no forthcoming posts, pictures or documentation of any kind.  In fact, if my wife asks, I was bowling. ;)

Dia Duit Paul,

You out did yourself again Paul, Great Job,  Great Post.

I am not sure?  Did I see a pair of Tights hanging on the lamp shade behind you?

You are using bowling as an excuse??  Oh boy.  I bet you got in trouble a lot in high school if you used excuses like that.  How about blogging research?  Doesn't that just about cover anything?

Now Patrick, you are really trying to get me in hot water.  Not saying there weren't any tights hanging from the lamp shade, but if there were, I don't know anything about it!

Not just bowling, Ginger.  I'm going with Rock n' Bowling!  What else would a group of 30-35 year old guys with a bunch of one dollar bills be doing?

Great post!!!  But, just so you know, sometimes the best man is a woman.  LOL 

I have been married for 21 years in spite of the best man, who I dated for a while before I met my husband.  :-)  I definately got the best man!!!

Hey, you do look good in a suit.  I will just let my imagination run wild on the bachelor party.

That must have made for an interesting wedding, Karen.  I'm not sure how I would do watching my friend marry an ex-girlfriend.  That situation is only a few drinks and poorly timed comments away from turning into a Springer episode! 

And I don't know what bachelor party you are referencing.  I was bowling, remember? 

Oh, the part I forgot to mention is that the best man was my husband's brother.  And, I love bowling.  LOL

Hi Paul, That was really special and wonderfully done. It was very cool the way the brought us through the process. Having served that role once, it brought some wonderful memories. Well Done!

Karen, your story gets better and better!

Thank you, William.  It is a pretty hefty responsibility, but it is also a lot of fun.  I'm sure that you fulfilled your obligation with class.  Thanks for commenting.

Great post - thank you for your insights as well as contributing your voice to the community here on Active Rain!

Why thank you, Chris!  Most people would probably prefer that I break out the muzzle with more regularity, so they only have you to blame for encouraging me.  Thank you for the kind words.

Wow-- not this is an original post. You sure know how to pull out all the punches. I so enjoy your enthusiasm you put in all your posts. Your wit, charm and personally is dripping here on this one! You look great in that suit...Nice picture! Congrats on being called on to be a man of honor!! I am sure you wore the title well then and now.

Candace ... I am nearly speechless.  Thank you for packing so many compliments into one comment!  You and others around here leave me no choice but to try to make each post better than the last.  You are a great blogger yourself, and it takes all that I've got not to get left in the dust.  Thanks for reading, and I look forward to the great stuff that you continue to churn out.

Paul very cute!!!  You did an excellent job of incorporating the wedding role with RE!!!  Great post!

Thank you, Sandy.  Funny how we agents can make just about everything translate to Real Estate, isn't it?  Thanks for commenting.

Paul - Wonderful post. I had forgotten the nuances that I danced through when I was a younger man. I have been best man for three friends over the years. It was an honor. I suppose those memories began gathering cobwebs two years ago. Both of my children were married. My son called a couple weeks prior to his wedding to announce - "yeah, well me and carolina are getting married. why don't you fly down for the wedding?"

Your little man just turned 2. One day your cheeks will moisten with tears as he takes his bride.

I thought it could not get better than that. Then 6 months later, I was walking my little girl down the ailse.

Those are the best of memories and I have to thank you for bringing them close again.

John, thank you for sharing that.  My boys seem to grow both physically and mentally every day, so I'm sure it will seem like a blink of the eye when I am in your position.  Congratulations on getting them both to the next leg of life's relay race.  Passing that baton to their significant others must be incredibly difficult.