The Best Man Speech Guide
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You are here because you have received the honour of being the best man – congratulations!
There are many jobs and responsibilities that come with being a best man. Planning the crazy, unforgettable stag do, helping the groom prepare for the wedding and of course writing that all important best man speech. But writing a speech is one of the most important best man duties. It's more than putting pen to paper; you want to make it captivating, funny and perfect for the newlyweds. We understand how this can become quite a challenge, so we’ve put together a guide on all things best man speech related, with speech structures, joke ideas, the dos and don’ts of a best man speech and everything in between.
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What Makes a Great Best Man Speech?
Whether you are the groom’s longest friend or writing the best man speech as a brother, there are certain paths that everyone goes down when it comes to putting their speech together. As soon as you find out you have the important role of best man, you instantly think about your speech. And writing a best man speech can be hard! The most important thing to remember is adding some humour, heartfelt words and a bit of banter.
9 Rules When Writing a Best Man Speech
1. Make sure it’s no more than 1,000 words – that equates to around 7 minutes
2. Add some humour, but don’t go over the top
3. Only use one reminiscence or anecdote
4. Mix humour and friendly digs towards the groom
5. Complement the bride
6. Do NOT swear
7. Try to memorise your opening line
8. Speak loudly and slowly
9. Make the last thing you say memorable
6 Types of Best Man Speeches
A great way to make sure that your best man speech ends up being legendary is by ensuring you've nailed the structure and overall theme of your monologue. So, if you are still stuck for ideas to start from, here are a few different types of best man speeches that you can take inspiration from:
1. Light-Hearted
- Grabs the audience’s attention
- Be fondly remembered for years to come
2. Edgy/Witty
- Full of the gags and one-liners
- Usually centre on topics that would usually be serious or a bit taboo
3. The Roast
- Make sure you and the groom are close enough
- Don’t expect to be on the good side of the groom after the speech
4. Poking Fun
- Good for sneaking some light laughs into your speech
- A good, gentle but fun option
5. Family
- Acceptable to shove even more digs and jokes in
- Usually an advantage for everything
6. Sentimental
- Easy on the laughs and the fun
- Praises the bride and groom
Best Man Speech Opening Lines
Even the shortest best man speech needs a cracking opening line. This is the opportunity to get everybody’s attention, and the best way to do that is with some humour! The opening line will give an indication as to what type of best man speech route you are going down. It’s important to introduce yourself whether you want to make the introduction humorous, sincere or edgy the choice is yours. It’s also important to explain how you and the groom know each other.
Opening Lines to Begin Your Best Man Speech
1. "Hi guys, my name is (best man) and as best man, it’s my job to tell you the truth about (groom)."
2. "Most of you may wonder why out of everyone, I was chosen to be the best man today. To be honest, I am the only one of (groom)’s friends who can read and write!"
3. "I’d like to make a toast (brings out a piece of toast)"
4. "I was taught by my parents that if I had nothing good to say about someone don’t say anything at all (pause)"
5. "Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to thank you all for coming today, especially everyone who knew I’d be doing a speech – it’s great that you decided to still come."
6. "My name is (best man). Today it is my job to praise the groom, but in fact, whilst writing this speech, I’ve found it impossible to praise him at all!"
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How to Structure Writing a Best Man Speech in 10 Simple Points
Once you’ve got your opening line out of the way, you will be onto the rest of writing the best man speech. There are a variety of different thing you can include into your best man speech depending on the type of speech you’re going for. Most of the topics below are what everyone puts into their best man speech. Once you’ve got all these figured out you’re well on your way to writing a best man speech that will be memorable!
1. Introducing Yourself
Unless you’ve done this in the opening line, you will need to let the audience know who you are. You could do this introduction in a number of ways.
- Humorous
- Sincere
- Edgy
- Alternative
2. Relation to the Groom
Make known who you are and your relationship with the groom; it’s the perfect opportunity for banter, roasting and explaining why you love ‘em.
3. Friendship Reminisces
The Essential part of your speech should be best handled using heartfelt remarks alongside a dribble of humour.
Things to consider mentioning:
- How you met
- How long you’ve known each other
- Being great mates
- Your first impressions
- Reaction to when he proposed
- Your favourite/funniest memory
4. The Praise
Pay tribute to the star of the show (the groom); the obvious stuff to mention is:
- What a great friend he is, and why
- How honoured you are to be the best man
- How delighted you are for the groom
- Pledge your support to the groom
- Some meaningful words
- How the groom inspires you?
- Explain why the groom will be good husband material
5. The Roast
There are 4 key ingredients you need to serve up the perfect roast:
- Personality trait
- Appearance
- Hobbies
- Career
6. Add a Joke
Make sure the next section of the best man speech is humorous, perhaps talk about:
- Honour of being the best man
- Preparing the speech
- Cost of the wedding
- The stag do
- Best man duties
- Anxious moments
7. Compliment the Bride
The bride is equally the biggest part of the day as the groom so she deserves at least a mention in the speech.
There are a few things that can be said to compliment the bride:
- Admiration for the bride
- Bride’s qualities
- Groom’s happiness
- Like to know her better
- Recognising bride’s efforts
- Bride’s bettered the groom
- Wish her luck
8. Compliment the Couple
Once you have praised and complimented them separately, it’s important that you compliment them as a couple.
9. Closing Lines
Things to include in a sentimental closing line:
- Your belief in their marriage
- Your own hopes in the marriage
- Sum up the day
- Your place in their lives now
- Your congratulations
- Your best wishes
- Wise words for the future
- Amusing presents
- Jokes about the honeymoon
- Wedding costs
10. ‘Thank You’ & Toasts
Talk about the following topics:
- The honour of being chosen to be the best man
- For being involved in the wedding personally
- To all the contributors to the wedding
- To the guests for attending and all the gifts they’ve brought along
- Toast to the couple’s future
Best Man Speech for Brothers
Apparently, 1 in 4 best men are also a brother of the groom. So it makes sense why a best man speech for brothers are so popular. There is a lot of pressure on the best man with writing a speech but since you are the brother, you’ve got a serious advantage. If you are the brother, there are a lot more grounds you can talk about and cover without treading on anyone’s toes. Talk about how you are best friends, your childhood memories etc.
You can even get the parents involved more when you’re writing a best man speech as a brother! After all that is the biggest thing you and your brother have in common so mentioning them in the speech might be a nice addition. Some healthy sibling rivalry is also a great way to add some humour into the best man speech. Poke fun at him and some of the healthy competition you had growing up.
As the brother, you can also add something a lot more heartfelt than any other best man could. As well as complimenting the bride and everything else around the couple, you are also welcoming the bride into the family as your new in law.
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6 Rules for Writing a Best Man Speech for Brothers
1. Use the fact that your brothers to your advantage as it will make your speech unique
2. Don’t add too many inside jokes as it could leave people confused
3. Don’t swear
4. Keep it clean, remember your parents and grandparents will be listening
5. Speak slowly and pause for laughter
6. Don’t be afraid to use cue cards if you think you might forget some parts of the speech
Funny Best Man Speeches
As soon as you have been given the position of best man, it goes without saying that writing a funny best man speech runs through your brain. Of course during the best man speech, you want to add some emotion, compliments and heartfelt words. But the funny parts are the most important obviously. But of course when going for funny best man speeches you want to make sure you don’t overdo it.
4 Rules for Funny Best Man Speeches
1. Remember where you are, you don’t want your jokes going down a controversial route or to offend anyone
2. Steer away from jokes that only a select few people will get, you want to engage your whole audience
3. Make sure you don’t have to over explain any jokes as that’s when the joke isn’t funny, keep everything short and sweet.
4. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself, your audience aren’t expecting a comedy show off Jack Whitehall!
Short Best Man Speeches
Whether you are the groom’s longest friend or your writing the best man speech as a brother there are certain paths that everyone goes down when it comes to putting their speech together. As soon as you find out you have the important role of best man you instantly think about your speech. And writing a best man speech can be hard! The most important things to remember is to add some humour, heartfelt words and a bit of banter.
1. Introduce yourself to the audience
2. Tell some jokes relating to the groom
3. Congratulate the happy couple
Best Man Speech Examples
By this point, you should have a good idea of how you want to structure your best man speech. However, the next part is probably the hardest - getting some original words of your own written down! Here’s a few best man speech examples you can take inspiration from to get you started:
1. The “Thankful” Speech
“It’s a pleasure to be here as [groom’s] best man tonight. I’d like to start off by thanking you for the opportunity to stand by you and [bride] today and share this special moment with you. [Groom] has always been someone I look up to and respect, and it makes me happy to see that he’s found someone to share the rest of his life with. Cheers to a lifetime of memories and happiness”
2. The “Good Idea” Speech
“I’ve known [Groom] for many years, and we’ve shared a lot of laughs and good memories together. However, it’s said that with old friends, you can afford to be stupid with them! Yet despite how many funny stories we have, I have to praise [Groom] for all the smart decisions he’s made in his life – His friends, career, and you, [Bride], quite possibly the best decision he’s ever made!”
3. The “She’s the One” Speech
“When I was first introduced to [Bride], I knew instantly that she was perfect for [Groom]. Even if he wasn’t aware of the fact that they’d end up here today, it was clear to his friends that he was captivated by her. Even when [Bride] wasn’t there, [Groom] would still manage to talk about her every five minutes! And now, today, we see how far they’ve both come and how perfect they really are for each other.”
Best Man Toast Ideas
Regardless of the occasion, no great speech is complete without a great toast! Have a look at a few best man toast examples here to help you out with rounding off that awesome monologue you’ve just written!
1. “I’d like you all to join me in wishing the new Mr and Mr/Mrs [surname] all the wealth, health and happiness in the world. To the happy couple!”
2. “To [NAME] and [NAME] – here is to a lifetime of love and happiness”
3. “Raise your glass and join me in a toast to [Bride] and [Groom] – may you always be friends as well as lovers”
4. “To my best friend and his beautiful bride: the new Mr and Mrs/Mr [surname]”
5. “Here is a toast to a perfect couple – to a long life together filled with happiness, adventure and lots of wonderful memories”
Best Man Speech FAQs
Of course, you might still have some burning questions we haven’t covered yet. But don’t worry, we’ve listed a few best man speech FAQs for you here so you don’t get caught out!
When Does the Best Man Speech Happen?
The best man speech usually takes place during the wedding reception after the maid of honour has said a few words to the newlyweds. However, some couples may choose to schedule this for during the reception meal. Make sure to stay up to date with the order of the day and check in with the groom regularly if anything changes.
How Many Speeches is the Best Man expected to give?
Just one! Once you know when the timeslot for your speech is, be sure to put plenty of time into memorising it as best as you can. Best man speeches that have had lots of time and effort put into them will be reflected during the delivery.
What is the Purpose of a Best Man Speech?
The idea behind giving a best man speech is to give the audience an insight into the newlyweds and their relationship through your unique perspective and standpoint as his friend or relative. But remember, the speech should mainly be about the relationship between the couple, rather than you and the groom.
4 Best Man Speech Websites
1. The Best Man Speech | Website
Claiming to have the largest collection of best man speech material on the web, this website definitely doesn’t disappoint! The Best Man Speech takes you through the basic elements that every speech needs, shows you the latest trends and gives you tips on how you can personalise your speech to impress the groom and make the bride cringe. The site even offers a navigation system that starts with the opening line, so it’s practically writing the whole thing for you.
2. I am the Best Man | Website
A popular one, I Am the Best Man is really a one stop shop of all the things you need for your speech and more. Here, you’ll find a best man speech checklist so you can make sure you’ve got everything covered, great one liners you can personalise and even a quick guide to conquering your nerves. If you’re feeling extra lazy, the professionals over at I am the Best Man will even write your speech for you?!
3. Simply the Best Man | Website
Simply the Best Man is really what it says on the tin – it’s a website that will truly turn you into the best…best man out there. This site breaks down your best man speech into 7 phases so you can focus on each and end up with an epic speech that the groom will be talking about for weeks. To top it off, the site offers free downloadable guides so you can print them out, edit them or whatever you fancy.
4. All Speeches Great & Small | Website
If you can’t trust a specialist in every type of speech under the sun, who can you trust we say! All Speeches Great & Small are the connoisseurs of creating the perfect speech for any occasion. They have a whole section for best man speeches, with a bunch of different tips that home in on the sections of a speech. They also discuss the length of your speech, how to tackle awkwardness and who you need to address when you’re making it.
Download the Best Man Speech Guide
If you are liking our Best Man Speech template and wish to print it off, feel free to download it by pressing the link below!
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