[Vigiles]

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!