Best Man Speeches
 

Anybody ever give one? Any advice?

Re: Best Man Speeches
 

I'd recommend not starting the speech out by telling a story about the groom jello wrestling with two midget strippers.

Best to leave that for the end of the speech. Right after the explanation of what that tattoo really means.

Re: Best Man Speeches
 

Tell the kind of stories you'd like to hear about yourself in that situation, and avoid those you wouldn't. Oh, and congratulate the groom, and wish the bride good luck.


Yeah, I know it should really be the other way around, but that's the "proper" etiquette.

Re: Best Man Speeches
 

Whatever you say, the biggest tip there is:

Do not start out a speech say "I don't do this often... Not good at giving speeches..."

The audience has no idea if you are virgin at speaches or is a seasoned speaker until you just said I suck and time to get drink if you don't have one.

Other important tips:

Limit the "I's" like like "I think". Who else is thinking if it is not you? Limit the "um's" and repeititious words one uses when at a loss for words.

Keep the stories polite for the whole of the audience. Cocaine binges and three-somes stories may be a hoot when talking among the guys, but the parents and relatives may not think so.

Re: Best Man Speeches
 

Short, sweet, forgettable. They aren't there for your speech. Target the older women in the audience. If they think it was sweet then you did good.

Some of the best remarks that I have heard in such speeches are along the lines of, "Who would have thought when you were a mere babe in Aunt Martha's arms that you would meet such a wonderful and loving person as your new wife". Simple reference to the extended family coupled with compliments on doing so well.

Mind you, if there is a well known event, an oblique reference can be heartwarming in the appropriately sappy way. "All of us, of course, hope that your children have the good sense not to make smores with a welder's torch".

Re: Best Man Speeches
 

:r :r :r

I agree with short, sweet, and to the point...nice little inuendos about how the couple is made for each other and how they will spend a life together in harmony. Good luck!!

Re: Best Man Speeches
 

I'v given and received best man speeches. Here's what I learned:

Congratulate the bride and groom. It doesn't matter if you've got what equates to the Gettysburg Address of wedding speeches, if you forget to mention the groom and especially the bride, you're going to look like a tool.

Prepare something, you're going to give a speech in what costed thousands of dollars. And the guy who considers you his best friend asked you to give a speech to her and his behalf, don't ruin it.

Re: Best Man Speeches
 

Keep it short, make them laugh and then make them cry.

Re: Best Man Speeches
 

Echoing some of the above.

- keep it short
- keep it sweet
- keep it about them and their relationship, not your escapades with the groom
- thank everyone for coming on the bride and groom's behalf (they may not have the chance to make that sort of announcement themselves and it was very appreciated when my best man did)
- thank the bride and/or groom's parents on all the guest's behalf

Good luck!

Re: Best Man Speeches
 

Lots of great advice from the guys above.



Short and from the heart. If your eyes get misty, you done good.

Re: Best Man Speeches
 

and don't forget to smile

Re: Best Man Speeches
 

This part

"Who would have thought when you were a mere babe in Aunt Martha's arms that you would meet such a wonderful and loving person as your new wife".

I would probably leave that out. It makes Aunt Martha sound like a byotch. :)

I agree with short and sweet. Write it out and practice. Give the speech in front of a mirror. Give it to others and ask for input. Unless you are truly a funny person jokes do not always go over well. Comedy isn't my strength and I would probably stay away from jokes. I basically would want a speech that people DONT think about for the next 20 years.

Re: Best Man Speeches
 

I gave my first best man speech over the summer.

It was about 2 mintues long and the bride cried during it. (which is a good thing in this situation!)

Always, always, mention how gorgeous/beautiful the bride looks. Always.

i wrote out my whole speech, but had most of it memorized the night of the reception, which helped a lot.

I had a fair amount of "interruptions" during my speech, be prepared for that, just in case. (they were good interruptions, so it was ok)

I was ALMOST too drunk, which isn't a good thing. I had planned on having maybe 2-3 drinks before the speech, just to loosen up a bit. Then on the 20 minute limo ride from the wedding to the reception, some of the wedding party started passing around multiple bottles of champagne, not good. Luckily in the end it didn't affect the speech, but it could have. So be careful if you drink before the speech.

Its always ok to poke fun at the groom, tread lightly on poking fun at the bride though.

If you aren't a good public speaker (I am not!) practice your speech, out loud, maybe in front of a mirror at first, then in front of some family and friends. Practice, practice, practice!

HAVE FUN with it! I was pretty nervous about the speech, but it ended up being a lot of fun!

If you have any questions please ask!

Re: Best Man Speeches
 

Like others have mentioned, make sure to write it out and practice it.

A queue card with bullet points works well and will allow you to work the audience as you'll see the next topic at a glance.

Re: Best Man Speeches
 

Do not make reference to the grooms former flings, that he was a real player until he met the bride, etc. I've heard a lot of these and it never comes off well at all. Otherwise, I agree with the advise above. Short and sweet and light-hearted are best.

Re: Best Man Speeches
 

Thank the groom for the privledge and opportunity to speak
Congratulate the bride and complement her.
If you have a great story or two of the couple, share them.
Say that they were meant to be and cannot picture them without each other.

My closing line has always been

May the only pain you experience is champagne and strawberries together.

Works like a charm and brings the house down.

Good luck

Re: Best Man Speeches
 

I think my best man speech was something like "I called this one far before they started dating..." and ended it on a heartfelt note.

Don't sweat it too much. It really doesn't have to be as serious and uptight as people make it out to be. I guess it depends on how formal the rehearsal dinner is, my speech was given in a BBQ joint.

Re: Best Man Speeches
 

I just winged it! It went well, just let it flow....

Re: Best Man Speeches
 

It should go along these lines

Old School Wedding Speech
:r :r

Seriously though something short and from the heart.

Re: Best Man Speeches
 

This is a great best man speech.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PQ6335puOc

Oh, you meant "best man" speech, not best "man" speech.

sorry

Re: Best Man Speeches
 

There is a ton of good advice here, I just have one tip of something NOT to do.

To this day, the worst speech I've ever heard and remember, was where they made the speech all about themselves and how awesome they were at helping the groom out with everything. Don't make it about you, make it about the bride and groom.

That's it :)

Re: Best Man Speeches
 

I've given 2.

Keep it short, keep it sweet, keep it funny but not insulting. Compliment the bride in some way, even if you hate her. And if you don't know her that well, then say something to the effect that you can't wait to get to know her better.

The first one I thought up on the spot and went into unrehearsed, but I'm good at doing things like that. This one turned out more 'sweet' and produced the most crybabies in the audience, but I knew the couple very well.

The second I wrote out and practiced. I knew the groom for 15 years, but didn't know the bride very well. This one was more comedy focused purely because of how we grew up together. His mom came up to me afterwards and told me I could have been absolutely mean with that speech, but thanked me for keeping it tasteful and memorable.

If you have funny material, be aware of the backstory of people's families. Things you and the groom may have found funny through your years together, other people may find incredibly insulting. I had a 'bit' that I had to eliminate on the spot to prevent looking like an asshole due to things I witnessed while just looking around at the guests there. Any other day it would have been funny. But due to some attendees, it would have been tasteless.

Make sure to take note if the audience even has glasses in their hands or not. If it's just a speech, then end it with best wishes. If it's a toast, then end it with the whole "so raise your glass..." etc ending.

If you're not a public speaker, then try your best not to get nervous. Just think of it as a formal conversation with your friend and his new wife. Forget everyone else as best you can , but try your best to be aware of them and be sure to pause a bit for laughter. Also speak up. Everyone hates a speech they can't hear. Then above all stand up straight and deliver with confidence.

Sadly no one is going to remember your speech, especially not your friend, but you will. I don't remember the speeches that were given at my wedding, but I do remember to this day the exact words I said at my friends' weddings. So it will be something you live with, even if it isn't something they live with :D

No pressure... good luck. :tu

Re: Best Man Speeches
 

We tend not to remember the good speeches, which is a shame. On the other hand, the bad ones, oh yea, we remember those.

I had a person during my wedding give a speech; his introduction being, "Thank you all for coming to my special day..." and ended without even acknowledging my wife. Needless to say, we remember that speech.

Re: Best Man Speeches
 

Fair point.

No one is going to remember it if it is good!

:r

I was at a wedding when the best man said the groom's ex's name rather than his new bride's name. We remember that speech as well :D

Re: Best Man Speeches
 

Thanks for the advice guys, all written, ready and armed. Hope it goes well.

Re: Best Man Speeches
 

Exactly...I made a Navy Seal cry at my brothers wedding (my first speech ever).

Re: Best Man Speeches
 

I just gave one in August for my brother's wedding. And I saw someone above mentioned short, sweet and to the point. And that is exactly right. When I got done with my speech the man of honor (yeah, you read that right), took over and totally put everyone to sleep because he just dragged on and on.

I went up to the bar afterwards to get a drink and the bartender complimented me by saying, "You had a good speech man, and believe me, I've sat through hundreds of these. You kept it short and to the point". That's what people want.

Hopefully he wasn't just blowing smoke up my ass, but I appreciated the compliment either way. And actually, this was my second best man speech for my brother. the first marriage was a sham. And not a sham-wow.

Re: Best Man Speeches
 

Please post a copy of your speech to save me time writing one later, thanks :D

Re: Best Man Speeches
 

Practice, practice, practice!

Also make sure to limit the number of drinks you have before the speech.

Good luck!

Re: Best Man Speeches
 

Make sure that they paid before thanking them for paying for the wedding. My best man thanked my father-in-law for paying for the weddding and the wonderfull receiption... He didn't pay for anything, in fact 4 years later, we're still paying for our wedding.

Re: Best Man Speeches
 

I gave the speech at my little brother's wedding. If I may,:

Hello everyone, welcome. For those of you that don’t know me, my name is Clint. I’m the best man, Caleb’s older brother and Mom’s favorite.

I just want to thank everyone for being here. You’ve all helped to make today very special for these two. I know the love and gifts you’ve given will be remembered for a long time to come. I also want to thank the bridesmaids; you all look absolutely beautiful today.

As Caleb’s older brother we’ve had a lot of adventures together. I remember as kids we used to spend countless hours digging up our Papa's back yard looking for treasure. At one point we even buried his best hammer just so we could later claim it as bounty. We never found that hammer or any other treasure for that matter, but I’m glad to see that today Caleb has finally found his treasure.

I do have to say how lucky you are Caleb. You’ll leave here having gained a wife that is warm, loving and caring; a wife who is funny, and who radiates beauty where ever she goes.
And Melissa,
you're pretty lucky too
you leave here today having gained a, well,
a gorgeous dress and a beautiful bouquet of flowers.

Caleb, Melissa, I pray that your love is modern enough to get you through the day and old fashioned enough to get you through the years.

Everyone please stand and raise your glasses as we toast the new husband and wife,
Here’s to love, laughter,
And happily ever after!
Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the new Mr and Mrs Crocker


It went beautifully. My best advice is not to get too raunchy. Remember, that girl is going to be your sister and her family is going to be your family. Best not to raise questions at this point. Leave out stories about Vegas, strippers and ex'es. Also, don't drink prior to the speech. I'm a drunk but I stayed sober until after the speech. It was well worth it.