So you’ve been given the honour of being the best man, which is a pretty stressful job. Now you’ve got the stag do out of the way, which I expect went swimmingly! But next is the big job of creating a speech people will be calling the best speech they have ever heard. So here’s some pointers, of things to avoid and things to consider when writing your award winning best man’s speech.

-Prepare- My motto is Fail to prepare, prepare to fail. This applies to your Best man’s speech, unless you’re a natural speaker, in which case go right ahead and let the words flow. But for the majority of us, you will probably need an idea of what you’ll be saying, otherwise you could get nervous, hit the booze and then, well that’s just a recipe for disaster isn’t it.

-Keep it short- No one likes a speech that’s too long and getting nowhere, so refer to the point above and prepare a little better so you have a speech the right length and with the right content.

-Introduce yourself- You might think of yourself as a big name among the groomsmen, but does the bride’s family know who you are? I imagine if you didn’t introduce yourself, they would hazard a guess, but no one needs to hear people saying ‘who’s this guy?!’ half way through your speech. So just make it easier for everyone and explain who you are and how you know the bride and groom.

-Express Gratitude- After all, a lot of time, effort and money did go into this wedding, so make sure before you launch full pelt into your speech, that you thank the bride and groom and their families for a splendid shindig.

-Try to stay sober- I know if you’re nervous, the first thing you want to do is hit the booze, but in this case you need to stay sober and standing to deliver your speech, so hold off on the tequila slammers until after the speech. I’m not, of course, condoning a couple of beers, maybe some bubbles, throughout the day, but just don’t go too wild!

-Make it about the couple not you- use a story to structure it- As the best man, you could be tempted into reminiscing past nights out with the groom, but I would advise this especially if it’s long winded and the punch line is weak. Use a story about the bride and the groom, to structure your speech and lead you to a conclusion and more importantly the toast.

-Avoid Controversial topics- i.e. ex girlfriends, or the stag night- This is an important bit, avoid all controversial topics, whether it be ex girlfriends, the stag night or bad jokes, keep them under your hat unless you want to embarrass the bride and groom, which will probably not go down well with the rest of the guests either.

-Be yourself, not too formal- This is supposed to be a speech to celebrate your friend’s journey into marriage, so be yourself, if you want to crack some jokes to relax yourself then do (just make sure they’re funny..). Be casual, and informal, even if you do write the majority of it down, try not to be stiff and just let the words flow.

-Tell the bridal party they look beautiful- A must do for any best man speech, simples.

-Raise your glass and make a toast to the bride and groom- Don’t forget the toast at the end of the speech, at the end of the day you are there to celebrate the bride and groom. So make sure you finish on a good note and make a toast. Also if you’re asking everyone to stand and make a toast, make sure you give enough time for people to stand before you carry on speaking, otherwise it will probably be difficult to hear you.

Enquire now or call now on 0845 508 5508

Related categories: Blog