Congratulations! You are the best man; the groom has chosen you to be his wing man. Do not skip town to avoid this responsibility because you were born equipped for the job. Trust your alpha male instincts to come to the fore when you need them the most. As a matter of fact, you could run through and even update the checklist in your sleep. Gorgeous girls popping out of cakes during the bachelor party? Check. A liquor flask that overflows with the good stuff? Check. De riguer number of bawdy, rowdy friends? Check. Engraved Zippo lighters which everyone thinks makes the cool groomsmen gifts ever? Check. The groom getting cold feet? Wait a minute! Is that part of the deal?

The answer is yes. Yes, it is. You are the best man. Like it or not, you will have to stop the groom from running away. Here's how.

1. Praise the bride. Tell him he's lucky she even deigned to marry him. Say, "Look at her. Just look at her. You'd be a fool to let that go." However, do this only if the bride truly is the best-looking woman in the room. While marriage should be anchored on love and commitment, guys never really stop factoring looks into the equation. That ravishing cousin sitting next to the bride might make the groom to change his mind.

2. Take the tour on a mental tour of all his former girlfriends. Remind him why those relationships failed while this one seems to have all the right cogs running. Be warned, however, that this approach could backfire. He might remember that hottie he would have happily walked on coals for, but who never really gave him the time of day. Hope springs eternal in the human breast, and your groom just might be the biggest hopeful of them all.

3. Remind the groom of the benefits to being married. He won't have to worry about lining up dates for Saturday night, waking up alone in the morning, or spending the weekend with no one but Mom for company. He will always have someone to go home to. Be careful not to let the bride sound too much like his momma, though. Remember, he couldn't wait to move out of his parents' house. There must have been very good reasons for this.

4. Inform the groom his bride is probably getting cold - if not colder - feet as well. This will bring him back to earth in the off-chance he has started to think of himself as prized commodity.

5. Pray. If Jesus could transform water into wine, then changing minds should be a piece of cake.

Altogether, it is not easy to calm your friend's pre-wedding jitters. The best that you can do is rise to the occasion and be there for him - through thick, thin, and wedding marches.