Wedding Speeches and Toasts

How to Nail the Best Man's Speech

Being chosen to be the best man at a friend’s wedding is a big responsibility. There are so many things to think about. You have to arrange a bachelor party, keep the groom calm, look after the wedding rings and write a speech. Unfortunately, we can’t take care of everything for you. But what we can do is help make your life just a little bit easier, by sharing some top tips on how to write and deliver the perfect best man’s speech.

How to Nail the Best Man's Speech

Thomas Smith

Be Yourself

This is the ‘golden rule’ of any successful best man’s speech. You’ve been chosen for the role for a reason, so remember to be yourself. If a formal speech isn’t something you feel comfortable doing, then mix things up a bit and do it in your unique style. The best man’s speech doesn’t have to follow convention in order for it to be a success.

Know Your Audience

Generally speaking, the guests at most weddings are going to consist of family members and close friends. So, remember that the groom’s mum probably doesn’t want to hear smutty stories about her son. And the same is true of the bride. You can be funny and tell personal stories without embarrassing anyone or making people feel uncomfortable.

Keep it Clean

This tip is an extension of the last. No matter how tempting, you must resist the urge to tell that hilarious, but slightly risque story of when the groom first lost his virginity. It might be a funny story to tell down at the local bar on a Saturday night. But trust us, the groom’s parents and the bride herself aren’t going to see the funny side. The bride and groom have spent thousands of dollars on the perfect wedding venue. And travelled all the way to Texas to pick out luxury wedding rings in Houston from Whiteflash, so you don’t want to ruin things with a badly-timed dirty anecdote.

Include Personal Anecdotes

Whilst it’s probably wise to steer clear of the dirty jokes and racy anecdotes, that doesn’t mean you can’t have a little fun when making your speech. You’ve been chosen to be the best man because you know the groom better than anyone else in the world. And it’s all those little anecdotes you have that are going to help transform your speech from ‘okay’ to ‘awesome’. So pick stories that you know will make people laugh, without taking things too far.

Leave Them Wanting More

If the speech is going down well, it can be all too easy to go on for too long. The key to nailing the best man’s speech is to keep things ‘short and sweet’, and always leave them wanting more. So be strict with yourself, allow yourself about 15 minutes to deliver the speech. And if they’re still laughing and clapping in the end, that just means that you’ve done your job properly.

Follow our simple tips and this checklist and you’ll deliver a best man’s speech that both you and the bride and groom will be proud of.