Best Man Wedding Speeches

Template For A Successful Best Man Wedding Speech

So..if you’ve landed here that probably means you’re the best man for an upcoming wedding and you really want to find out how to give best man wedding speeches the right way. Either that or the groom/bride have sent you here to make sure you don’t screw up their special day by giving the “worst” best man’s speech ever.

I know the good, the bad and the ugly about this topic because I’ve been there! My insight into giving a good best man’s speech came from both experience and lots of research.  That’s why I’m sharing with you my “template” to successful best man wedding speeches.  What I won’t do here is expound on how to become a  “professional” speech writer.  My research took me to lots of sites that suggested I either hire a professional speech writer for my best man’s toast, or take a course on speech-writing/speech presentation so I could prepare myself for my little wedding speech.

Neither of those options seemed reasonable or practical to me.  Sure, bestman speeches are an important part of any traditional wedding.  But we don’t all need to invest  a wad of cash and untold hours to get it right!

Speech writing and speech presentation is in itself is a talent that takes years of practice. It’s also a skill I haven’t mastered, and frankly don’t care to. What I have “mastered” is my tips on what makes a wedding speech good. These are based on my own tried and tested experience as a best man and the duties that go along with the “job”.

Here’s a simple best man speech templates for success:

1. Welcome everyone and start off with a brief introduction of yourself and how you know the groom. Don’t dwell too long on the “who I am” portion of the speech.  The guests aren’t there for you, so put more thought into introducing the groom and how you came to be friends with him (or how you’re related if that’s the case).  Remember…some of the guests may be friends of the bride and won’t even know the groom, so it’s okay to introduce him.
2. Tell a short story including some interesting fact that not everyone may know about the groom.  Something like a grade school story or sports related story, etc.  This is the time to use your humor and your jokes.  The story can be one that’s slightly embarrassing for the groom,  but don’t be crude and offend the other guests.  Keep it tasteful and all-in-all “suitable for the crowds”.
3. Now it’s time to mention and talk about the bride.  DO NOT forget this or you’ll forever be placed on that list of friends the groom can no longer hang out with.   Compliment the bride by expressing something like how lucky the groom is to have her in his life.  You can use a little humor here too, but only if you know the bride well and don’t go overboard with it.  Again, nothing too offensive or colored or you may end up being the “worst man” rather than the “best man”.  These are waters to be tread lightly so make sure you clearly think this part through (especially since the bride’s family may not know you at all).
4. End it all with a toast to the happy couple.  This part is done on a more serious note and this is where your speech can really shine by showing a little sentimentality and emotion.  Be smooth! The family will love you and it could result in lots of invites to future family gatherings.

So there you have it. Four simple steps to the perfect best man wedding speech. You’re sure to be hearing “loved it”, “great speech”, “well done” “hilarious” and so forth. Now that you have the template for  successful best man speeches, make sure you head on over to Wedding Planning On a Budget where I’ve done a guest article on the do’s and don’ts of a good wedding speech.

Screw any of them up and you might be like I was several years ago…running into bathrooms and corners to avoid seeing people who I recognized as guests of the wedding where I gave what may well go down in history as one of the “worst wedding speeches ever”!!!!!

Now don’t be shy.  If you have speeches for the best man at a wedding story of your own be sure to share it with us in the comments section below.   And here’s another way the best man came up with for giving a very unusual best man wedding speech.

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