by Sam Brean

Created on: March 14, 2009

Traditionally, it is the best-man of a groom-to-be who is anointed chief organizer of a bachelor party. A groom's impact on the kind of bachelor party he is going to have begins long before thoughts of a party occur: his influence begins when he chooses a best-man. If a guy would prefer a "classy" bachelor party, he first must be, or want to be, a classy guy and select a best-man with complimentary values.

"Classy" is a descriptive term that can have a wide variant of meanings. Guys from all backgrounds and of all ages get married and have bachelor parties. A classy party to an immature nineteen-year old may entail -pardon the pun-hiring a $200 per night stripper for a clandestine rendezvous; splitting the cost of the babe and beer between ten of his buddies. One of those pals would be, of course, his best-man.

A sophisticated thirty-year old, well educated professional dude may have a different outlook on his classy bachelor party plans. Perhaps he and his closest friends would like to splurge on filet-mignon dinners at a five-star restaurant and have cocktails into later evening hours at a fashionable night club.

A dictionary definition of "classy" is: Highly stylish; elegant. There is nothing more elegant to a soon-to-be-married teenager than a sexy, scantily glad twenty-five-year old woman who has been around the block a time or two, provided she is pretty. Our thirty-year old searching for a parallel atmosphere, likely would drop considerably more than two c-notes in fulfilling his final, highly stylish bachelor favors.

Is the older, supposedly more mature guy, "classier" than the blurry-eyed youngster, because he prefers and can afford more expensive clothes, food, booze and women? Are neither classy, because they want to enjoy the fun and company of strippers before getting married? Is a groom's bachelor party only to be considered classy if it excludes women? How about if there are no women and everyone is drunk, and then drives home? Classy?

The characterization of a bachelor party is determined by the behavior of the boys and men attending the party. Classy guys will resort to trusting their values regardless of the environment they find themselves in at any point in time, including a bachelor party. If one's value system tells him looking is okay, touching is not, and he's at a party with strippers and doesn't touch-is he classy?

An attempt to throw a classy bachelor party infers that in your opinion some may not be; passing judgment on the values of others is not the classiest position for any of us to take. In your self-assessment, was YOUR behavior "classy" at the bachelor party you threw or attended? If you can look in the mirror the next morning and answer "yes," the party was a success.

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