Not sure if I'm going to be the "best" man for the job.....

L

LimerickMan

Registered User
Messages
20
Hi all,
I'm doing best man for a friend next month and I'm struggling with the speech at the moment. I've searched this and other websites and found some good advice on the do's & dont's. I have a fair idea of what I want to say at this stage but what I really need is a template for a best man speech to help me put some structure to it (eg; who to thank and when to thank them, what stage of the speech is the bride usually toasted, some good opening/closing lines, etc)
Any advice or sample speeches would be really appreciated.
Thanks lads.
 
I've done this twice. Checked out various sites and wrote two speaches - in my opinion you can glean maybe 1 or 2 decent gags off those sites. The thing is the sample speeches are written almost in essay style and are almost too literary. From the point of view of your audience it will be obvious they have been lifted. My advice is keep it short, keep it personal and put in 2-3 gags. Don't go over 5 minutes. Both my speeches were about 10 minutes - looking at them afterwards they were definitely too long and I had too much 'filler' material. Better to be short and punchy than long and dull.
 
if you do a search on www.weddingsonline.ie, you'll get a few ideas. As previous posters have said, keep it short & sweet, with just a couple of jokes. Don't forget to compliment the bride, bridesmaids etc... and good luck!
 
LimerickMan said:
Hi all,
I'm doing best man for a friend next month and I'm struggling with the speech at the moment. I've searched this and other websites and found some good advice on the do's & dont's. I have a fair idea of what I want to say at this stage but what I really need is a template for a best man speech to help me put some structure to it (eg; who to thank and when to thank them, what stage of the speech is the bride usually toasted, some good opening/closing lines, etc)
Any advice or sample speeches would be really appreciated.
Thanks lads.
Click to expand...

Keep it short and sweet with very few jokes. Compliment everybody - bride, groom and bridesmaids in particular.
 
Jokes are not necessary in your speech. The nicest best man speeches i have heard are ones where the best man kept the speech very low key and stayed within his comfort zone. I just cringe at weddings when i hear the same silly best man jokes AGAIN and i know that they came from a book. My advice would be to pick a short funny story (make sure its not rude) about the groom and base your speech around that. Weddings online should give you an indication on how to structure your speech. Also you could try to contact the hotel that the wedding is on and explain your situation they usually have a wedding planner of some sort who may help you out. Most important is to stay away from the speech books - its far too obvious when they are used.....good luck!!
 
Hello, page 19 of todays Irish Examiner have a feature on the Best Man and top tips, well worth buying a copy.
Good luck.
 
Yeah, stay in your comfort zone is good advice. I can't stand best man speeches where it seems like he has tried too hard. It makes everyone feel tense. The important thing is to be as relaxed and happy as you can because I think the feel good factor is important with best men speeches.

The template should be the easy part, so get hold of that, get all the essentials in, couple of gags and you'll be fine.
 
maybe when you have what you want to say, practise it out loud in front of the mirror or in front of a friend, also if you can video your rehersal and watch to see any mistakes, these are useful for interviews so id say it might help in this case
 
The worse mistakes are jokes that go down like a lead balloon ,anything crude is inappropriate in a best mans speech

If you are not a practised speaker and are nervous,the best thing to do is just be genuine.
It's an honour to be asked to be bestman you obviously are close to the groom and know alot about him and his family ,pay a genuine tribute to him and his bride if possible.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top