How To Write A Bestman Speech For A Wedding

Being the best man at your friends' wedding is a tremendous honor, but it comes with its own set of duties you might be expected to carry out. One of those duties in specific will be delivering a speech at the wedding reception. While this can be a stressful event to think about, especially if you're worried about speaking in front of a crowd, there are a few ways you can make it easier on yourself. Today, we wanted to break those down and give you some advice when delivering the 'best man' speech.

What to talk about in a best man speech

Start With Positive Vibes:

When it comes to giving a best man speech, one great idea is to shift the focus, especially if you find it difficult speaking in front of crowds. Give thanks to the bride's parents, the grooms' parents, the maid of honor, bridesmaids, and groomsmen. Expressing thanks and gratitude to others in the room helps shift the focus off you a bit during your speech and start it positively. 

Talk About The Groom:

Focus on your reason to be there: your friendship with the groom. It's always good to cover the basics: how you met or how long you've known each other, then throw in a (quick) story or two from your life with the groom. If you're wondering what to talk about here, think about the day you met first and foremost, it's an excellent memory to reflect on. Secondly, think about moments from your friendship that stand out and show the sort of man he is and his good nature, such as what the groom has done in life that you admired or respected. These stories are always heartwarming for the bride, groom, and everyone else in attendance and set the tone for a lovely afternoon or evening. 

Speak About The Couple:

Your primary purpose at the wedding is to be the groom's right-hand man - but the overall objective of the marriage itself is the love of the bride and groom. You'll want to put the spotlight on the bride here too. One great tip is to speak about how she makes the groom a better man or how happy he's been with her. 

Make sure you finish your speech with a toast to the newly married couple! 

Things To Keep In Mind:

Plan Ahead: One big tip for delivering your speech is to plan it out ahead of time. We'd always advise against making it up as you go. It can be an awkward experience that leaves so much room for the speech not to be as good as it would be with more thought and time spent practicing. 

Water + Snack Beforehand: One big tip a friend's husband once mentioned to me was that he wished he'd had a snack and a drink of water before giving his best-man speech at his brother's wedding. Not only was he lightheaded from being on the go all day, but he hadn't had any fluids to drink all afternoon, and it made his speech more challenging to deliver. Also, we'd advise against drinking too much alcohol before your speech. It's not a good look if the best man is the center of attention and struggling with their speech, slurring their words, or forgetting the things they wanted to say/not making much sense.

Keep It Short + Practice: Once you've written your speech out, take some time to read it through a few times to get used to how it'll sound out loud. Also, it's a good idea to time yourself when you do one of the practice read-through's to make sure it isn't too long - your speech should only take a few minutes, if it clocks in at 10-20 minutes when you read it back, it might be time to go back and edit or cut out any unnecessary things in the speech itself.

Keep It Family-Friendly: Remember, there will be all types of relatives, friends, co-workers, and other guests to watch the bride and groom get married. You'll want to make sure your speech is rated PG and family-friendly to be on the safe side.