Similarly, the groom enjoys the bachelor party, which is hosted by him, the ushers or a friend. It takes place just before the wedding. A marriage between two Catholics is the solemnization of the sacrament of matrimony that the couple administers to each other.

Today, the bachelor’s party is celebrated as a symbol of the last chance for the groom to have fun without the bride. According to Emily Post, after a night of hearty drinking the groom and his ushers would traditionally end the bachelor dinner with a toast to the bride's health. Then the men would break the stems so that their glasses "might never serve a less honorable purpose." Today, however, many men are forsaking a bacchanal and enjoying weekends of bonding during such outdoor pursuits as sea kayaking in the San Juan Islands, motorcycling through the Nevada desert, trout fishing in the Alleghenies, or golfing on Florida's Gulf Coast. That's not to say drinking doesn't still play a part at today's bachelor parties — it's just that, as one recent groom says, "all the men I know now opt not to lose their dignity by getting sick in the rosebushes."

Who's invited: the groomsmen, naturally. Brothers, brothers-in-law, and fathers may or may not be invited, depending on the closeness of the relationship and the appropriateness of the venue. (Does a 60-something-year-old man really want to run through the woods playing combat games with paint?). If the bachelor party is just before the wedding, any good friends who have traveled a great distance can be included, although we recommend holding the bachelor party at least a few weeks before the wedding so the cuts or bruises anyone may have incurred will have had time to heal.