Are you struggling to write a speech for your best pal who's getting married this summer? I have given two well received best man speeches, and I thought I would share my approach to writing and delivering a best man speech. Also, I have been an audience member through some pretty atrocious speeches. I hope what I have written is useful and eases the experience of speakers and audience members alike.

First, I would like to share the structure of the speech. I know this may sound rigid and off-putting, but for me, a solid skeleton helped me stay on topic, set up punch lines, and memorize my speech which I think is VERY important.

1. Introduce yourself. I always try to imagine what the audience would be thinking as I am giving this speech. This speech is obviously for your best mate, but the crowd doesn't want to listen to you drone on for 10 minutes about inside jokes they won't understand or your spring break trip to Mexico. Most of the audience will be thinking, who is this chum? Let them know who you are. How do you know the groom? Why did he pick you? Don't be afraid to be funny or a little braggadocios. It will get the audience engaged and calm your nerves before you really begin your speech.

2. Brag up your pal to the audience. Now that you've taken a quick jab at your buddy, let the audience know that it was in jest and that he really is deserving of his bride/groom/partner. This can be done by listing accolades, talents, etc, or it can be done through a story. This can be wrapped up nicely at the end with a toast to qualities of the groom. For example, my good buddy is an engineer and is always learning new things. I mentioned this during my speech and toasted the audience to "always learning" among other things.

3. Give an example of why these two deserve each other or give an example of when you knew that they were meant to be together. This is a nice way to give a shout out to the bride/groom/partner in the speech. You could say, "I knew the day that I would be required to give this speech was near after their trip to Europe, etc."

4. Give a toast. You've stated your case for how great a person the groom is, why he deserves his bride, and how strong/unique their relationship is. Now is time to celebrate their marriage. Use the toast as an opportunity to wrap up the essential themes in your speech. Keep it to maybe 2-3 themes. For example, I wrapped up a speech with "here's to always learning, being responsible, and falling in love with your best friend."

This is just an outline for what worked for me. I think what may be just as important is your delivery and how much information you give the audience. Be brief and PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE. Keep it to 3-5m. Most people will lose interest after 5m.

If you have something to say that's special between you and the groom, maybe its best to do that in private. Use the speech to get everyone involved.

Practicing in front of a mirror works well. Of course, give a test run to a partner, friend or family member. Take their feedback seriously as they would have a closer mind to a member of the audience.

Try your best to MEMORIZE the entire speech. It may sound daunting, but if you keep your speech short, have a good framework, and practice a good amount, it will be easy. This allows you to keep a free hand for hand gestures or to just hold a drink. It will be easier to engage the audience when you are not looking down at a sheet of paper in your hand.

Thanks for reading. Hope this helps! Cheers!

I write best man speeches as a side hustle so here are my tips:

First, answering these questions can help gather material to work with - https://drive.google.com/open?id=1sgUf6QWMxk7RTvA3AfW75Ee2MswLG0kx

HAVE A POINT

• After your intro, start with an observation or insight (this would be the thesis as an essay) that guides the speech. It could be about the groom specifically – “John has always marched to the beat of his own drum,” or a general observation that ties back to them “The most common advice people give is ‘Be yourself.’”

• The more the following jokes and stories can serve this insight, the better. This keeps your content from becoming a random string of disconnected thoughts, and sets you up for a more rewarding payoff.

• Toward the end, come back to your insight to make a point of everything you said. For example, if you start with

“John has always marched to the beat of his own drum…”

you’ll want this to payoff toward the end with something like,

“…John taught us there’s someone out there for everyone. You just have to march to the beat of your own drum to get there.”

STORIES

• Avoid un-needed details. We often think certain details are necessary to set up a story when they’re not. If the story still makes sense without the details, ditch them. For example…

“Then there was the time someone mistakenly took my keys at airport security and I got locked out of my home, and John kicked down my door.”

can simply be...

“Then there was the time I was locked out of my home and John kicked down my door.”

The audience won't question how you lost your keys, they just want you to get to the good
stuff.

• Structure for surprise. Compare the following sentences…

Version A: “Because John insists on wearing cargo shorts year-round, the bouncerdidn’t let us into the club.”

Version B: “The bouncer didn’t let us into the club because, of course, John was wearing cargo shorts.

It’s subtle, but Version B hits a little harder by going from club to cargo shorts as opposed to
going from cargo shorts to club.

• It can be helpful to hook people into your story by starting with a statement, then using the story as an example. Look how B does this below compared to A.

Version A: “I’ll never forget the time someone asked what Zac Efron’s birthday was and John answered without even looking at his phone, just the sunset.

Version B: “John’s knowledge of trivia amazes me. Like the time someone asked what Zac Efron’s birthday was and John answered without even looking at his phone, just the sunset.”

A hook comes in handy to build intrigue, or to vary how you open your stories.

JOKES

• It’s hard to beat the classic set-em-up knock-em-down structure (Today we witnessed something truly special… Uncle Mike wearing a shirt.) This is what Comedy Central roasts are entirely comprised of, which I highly recommend checking out.

• See if you can swap words for funnier sounding ones. Cheese is funnier than Dairy, Ford Torres is funnier than Car, Deltoids is funnier tan Biceps. Sounds stupid, but a small word can make a big difference.

• Don’t go too dirty/sexual. Not because it might make the audience uncomfortable, but because it’s a crutch for humor. Dick jokes are a cheap and easy laugh. It’s more impressive to go after the less obvious.

• Unless it goes against your natural personality, limit your reaction to the audience. In stand-up you can see how keeping a straight face can add to the punchline.

ENDING

• Most of this was covered in the “Have a point” section, but again, make a point as you wrap up. It’s here you justify everything you’ve shared with a message or takeaway. This is also the best spot to get more heartfelt.

• If you don’t want to end on too sappy a note, add a button. A button is a last little gag that breaks the tension. For example:

“Today you taught us something about love that we will all remember forever, thanks to catering’s weak pours."

A button also works well as a callback (building on a joke from earlier).

Those are the most important things I can think of at the moment! If you need extra help check out my site:

bestspeechbestman.com

I write best man speeches as a side hustle so here are my tips:

First, answering these questions can help gather material to work with - https://drive.google.com/open?id=1sgUf6QWMxk7RTvA3AfW75Ee2MswLG0kx

HAVE A POINT

• After your intro, start with an observation or insight (this would be the thesis as an essay) that guides the speech. It could be about the groom specifically – “John has always marched to the beat of his own drum,” or a general observation that ties back to them “The most common advice people give is ‘Be yourself.’”

• The more the following jokes and stories can serve this insight, the better. This keeps your content from becoming a random string of disconnected thoughts, and sets you up for a more rewarding payoff.

• Toward the end, come back to your insight to make a point of everything you said. For example, if you start with

“John has always marched to the beat of his own drum…”

you’ll want this to payoff toward the end with something like,

“…John taught us there’s someone out there for everyone. You just have to march to the beat of your own drum to get there.”

STORIES

• Avoid un-needed details. We often think certain details are necessary to set up a story when they’re not. If the story still makes sense without the details, ditch them. For example…

“Then there was the time someone mistakenly took my keys at airport security and I got locked out of my home, and John kicked down my door.”

can simply be...

“Then there was the time I was locked out of my home and John kicked down my door.”

The audience won't question how you lost your keys, they just want you to get to the goodstuff.

• Structure for surprise. Compare the following sentences…

Version A: “Because John insists on wearing cargo shorts year-round, the bouncerdidn’t let us into the club.”

Version B: “The bouncer didn’t let us into the club because, of course, John was wearing cargo shorts.

It’s subtle, but Version B hits a little harder by going from club to cargo shorts as opposed togoing from cargo shorts to club.

• It can be helpful to hook people into your story by starting with a statement, then using the story as an example. Look how B does this below compared to A.

Version A: “I’ll never forget the time someone asked what Zac Efron’s birthday was and John answered without even looking at his phone, just the sunset.

Version B: “John’s knowledge of trivia amazes me. Like the time someone asked what Zac Efron’s birthday was and John answered without even looking at his phone, just the sunset.”

A hook comes in handy to build intrigue, or to vary how you open your stories.

JOKES

• It’s hard to beat the classic set-em-up knock-em-down structure (Today we witnessed something truly special… Uncle Mike wearing a shirt.) This is what Comedy Central roasts are entirely comprised of, which I highly recommend checking out.

• See if you can swap words for funnier sounding ones. Cheese is funnier than Dairy, Ford Torres is funnier than Car, Deltoids is funnier tan Biceps. Sounds stupid, but a small word can make a big difference.

• Don’t go too dirty/sexual. Not because it might make the audience uncomfortable, but because it’s a crutch for humor. Dick jokes are a cheap and easy laugh. It’s more impressive to go after the less obvious.

• Unless it goes against your natural personality, limit your reaction to the audience. In stand-up you can see how keeping a straight face can add to the punchline.

ENDING

• Most of this was covered in the “Have a point” section, but again, make a point as you wrap up. It’s here you justify everything you’ve shared with a message or takeaway. This is also the best spot to get more heartfelt.

• If you don’t want to end on too sappy a note, add a button. A button is a last little gag that breaks the tension. For example:

“Today you taught us something about love that we will all remember forever, thanks to catering’s weak pours."

A button also works well as a callback (building on a joke from earlier).

Those are the most important things I can think of at the moment! If you need extra help check out my site:

bestspeechbestman.com

I’m fairly happy with this, but I’d love some constructive opinions on it! The main part I’m not sure of is the shooting anecdote, as I think it may be a bit weak - but I’ve seen weaker, so I don’t know if it matters. I tried to be as original as I could but I have definitely sprinkled some classic laughs in there just in case my own efforts bomb.

For context; I am the best man’s older brother.

I’m giving this speech today! So needless to say I am rather crapping myself at this point.

Thank you very much in advance 🙂

———————

Will the owner of a red Ford Focus please move your car; you’ve parked in a disabled bay. Thank you.

Sit back down (get back up)

Good afternoon everyone, I’m the best man.

Before I start I’d just like to say there is no flash photography during this event. The bride and groom are a very shy pair and we don’t want to startle them. Hushed voice: If you look really closely at them, you’ll see they’re already starting to feel quite uncomfortable.

Ever since he was born, me and [groom] have been brothers ...

And it was his birthday on Sunday! which means I’ve known him now for 22 years. I’m 10 years older, with change, as he loves to say.

Now he’s not the best looking lad. So it does make sense that he’d ask the older, fatter and balder version of himself to be his best man.

And we’ve genuinely been told throughout our lives that we look incredibly alike. I honestly don’t see it, but as I know some people here still can’t tell the difference:

Mum, I’m [best man], and that one’s [groom].

The bride and groom have asked that I don’t talk about any of [groom]’s mishaps, mistakes, or embarrassing moments, and instead do talk about the positive things in his life. I mean, you’ve made this incredibly difficult for me, but I’ll do my best.

Get out scrap of paper: [groom]’s an amazing person. He’s funny, he’s kind, he’s incredibly clever. He’s even studying to be an engineer! Not only that, he’s got a massive-- [groom], I can’t say that, man!

[bride] you look lovely today; and [groom], you look sharper than ever in that suit!

...

This day is about [groom] and the love of his life. His Playstation 4. If you have any trouble spotting him later, it’s because he’s in the back room, playing the new Call of Duty.

In truth, he couldn’t be happier to be here today. I know he’s been dreaming about this for a long time. Watching his big brother to stand here and make a fool of himself. I suppose all I can say is, you’re welcome.

And I know just how excited he’s been about the wedding! I was in his room the other day, and I saw a copy of Brides magazine on his bedside table. And he shouldn’t be ashamed when I say this, but I know he must have been just sobbing with joy, because the bin was overflowing with tissues.

I mean, it’s been such an emotional day, even the cake is in tiers.

I took [groom] shooting the other day, which neither of us had ever done, so it was definitely a lesson in high brow, middle-class culture. The look on the bloke’s face when us two turned up and he had to hand a couple of idiots a pair of loaded shotguns.

Picture the scene: Guns in hand. Shot after shot after shot! It’s not even ten minutes before he’s just spilling the bottle of tequila all down himself.

Eventually the lad in charge had to confiscate the guns, because we were absolutely plastered.

I’m joking, of course. I was driving; [groom] was plastered.

Nah. I’ve actually never taken my brother out drinking; I wouldn’t want anybody to mistake him for my son.

Or me for his sugar daddy.

We haven’t spent a lot of time together, growing up. We lived in different households, so it used to be I’d go round every other week to stay and spend time with them.

But as we both got older, and [groom] became more independent, I found myself visiting less and less. It was the only way I could avoid having to share my Nintendo 64 with him.

Funny enough, eventually, I gave him that Nintendo, because that’s what good big brothers do. As soon as the Xbox came out that Nintendo was crap and I handed it straight over. And later, when an even better Xbox came out, he got that too. [groom], for all my generosity, you’re very welcome.

In all seriousness though, I do regret that I've not had the chance to go along on the ride with you as you've become the man you are today. Living so far away over the last ten years has meant I’ve missed out on a lot.

Leading up to today, the short but fun time we did get to spend together last weekend, as brothers, has made me realise the man you've become is one I’d love to spend more time with.

And being asked to be your best man, in spite of that enormous distance between us, was incredibly humbling, and has been an absolute horror— honour.

So with that in mind, if the man he becomes in the next ten years is nearly as good as the man he became in the last, then [bride], I’m truly glad you get to enjoy that journey with him as his wife. Welcome to the family.

[groom]. I really am proud of you. We all are. And I just know that your Dad would have been more proud of you than ever. Every single good quality that [dad] had, is in you, and that’s something you should be genuinely proud of yourself.

To the both of you, the real adventure together starts today, and I hope you make the most of it as husband and wife.

Ladies and gentlemen, please help me celebrate this special occasion by raising your glasses to the most important people in the room: the bar staff.

To [groom] and [bride]!

This is my first ever wedding as a guest and I'm nervous and clueless as to what I, as the best man should be doing. I know I should write a speech, about what though? He is my older brother and I want to be there for him when the time comes. Anyone got any advice for someone's first wedding as a guest and someone's first ever time as a best man?

This is a throwaway account first and foremost.

Now, I am the oldest son in my family. We are somewhat of a traditional Italian family. Not like being a Don Corleone-Godfather-esque family, but still traditional Italian nonetheless.

My younger brother (the middle child out of my three siblings) has always been particularly cruel to me growing up. I really didn’t have many friends growing up, but the quality of friendships I had were a lot better than his. He had plenty of friends, but he went through them faster than a toilet paper roll is used in a bathroom.

When I was about 8-9, I was unfortunately misdiagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome (I was cleared of my “diagnosis” on my 18th birthday, but too little to late at that point). This gave my brother a lot of ammunition to use against me as we were growing up.

Now my brother is really big on his “image”. Even since elementary school, he didn’t want to associate with “losers” and immediately placed me in that category. This is mainly because our interests are VASTLY different from each other.

I was (and still am) into Japanese culture (with me graduating from college with a BA in Japanese with a 3.85, living in Japan for a few years after graduation, worked in the Japanese auto industry for a good 6 years after that as an interpreter/translator, and getting engaged to a wonderful Japanese woman (some is actually sleeping next to me right now as I type this), living as a “free spirit”, and not caring what the world thinks or thought about me.

My brother, on the other hand, was constantly frustrated that I “marched to the beat of my own drum”, and didn’t stand up for me when his friends/cronies tried to bully me. While they were largely unsuccessful in getting me to “act the right way”, on the inside, I was torn up by it.

One of the only few things I genuinely wanted in life was having a good relationship with my brother, but because of his attitude and his seemingly genuine lack of interest in standing up for me, I drifted apart from him after I went to college, and especially after I went to Japan.

Fast forward to 2018. I came back to our home town to pursue another career path. I used most of my savings to get me back home. About a month or so after I got back, he got engaged to his long-time college girlfriend. For a lack of a better word, the girl is a princess. Blue blooded, comes from rich stock. My brother works in finance and accounting, so I (suppose) he can support her lifestyle.

Anyways, X-Mas 2018 comes. I’m out ubering in the downtown area, where my brother calls me out of the blue. I have not given him my phone number since high school, but he apparently got it from my business’s website. He calls me and asks to see me at his apartment, which happens to be 5 minutes away from where I was. I reluctantly agree to see him.

From there, we sit down at a small restaurant and he get some dinner and drinks. At this point, I’m starting to get suspicious.

There, out of the blue, he tells me that he wants me to be his best man at his wedding next year. And then proceeds to tell me how the wedding is going to go down, and going on and on about this and that, to which I say to him...

“Nick (not his real name), what gives you the right to ask me this?”

“What do you mean Sam (not my real name)?”

“Nick, you haven’t spoken to me since I left for Japan. You honestly don’t know me, and I honestly don’t even know you. Why would you ask me to do this?”

“Well... um, your my older brother and I really need you for this.”

And this point, my blood ran cold. He asks me for a favor, even though I have asked him to tell his friends to lay off me over the years. Never once did he do it.

“No Nick, I cannot accept it.”

There is a long silence.

“But why? Sam, I really need you.”

Finally, at the restaurant, I decided to call him out.

“Ok, you wanna know why?

At age 10, you and your friend Andrew thought it would be funny to steal a few dollars from his older sister and put the money in my shorts as I was taking a swim. I got caught and Mom, Dad, and everybody else thought I stole it from Candice. I didn’t get anyone’s trust back for many years.

From ages 11 until now, you and your little friends ridiculed me about wanting to learn Japanese. I know it was you who started the rumors about me. You wanted me to “act normal” and not “act like a loser”. Who cares if I liked anime and you like football? Who cares if I like sushi and you like getting pizza? You never bothered to get to know me because I am different from you.

When you were 18, I had to pick you up from a college rush party in Dallas where you were either drunk or high. I was out with my own friends, yet out of the goodness of my own heart, I picked you up. You then started to get belligerent with me and my friends, calling us all “faggots” and that you could “**** us all up”.

And then finally, at my own going away party before I went to Japan, you arbitrarily invited your own friends to my own private party at Mom and Dad’s, and drank and ate all the food, and then you said to two of your friends outside “It’s not like I’m going to miss him or anything. It’s not like I really care about him...Besides, I wouldn’t be caught dead in public with him”.

I went off listing every little thing Nick had done against me. His face was starting to get more and more red the more things I listed. I started to realize that he knew what he was doing the entire time and didn’t really feel any remorse over what he did.

“So... who am I going to ask now?” He responded back, with a rather flabbergasted look on his face.

“Ask anyone you want, because I could never make you look good in-front of your friends, coworkers, or her family. And those other groomsmen, they are all your friends from when we were kids. I wouldn’t be “caught dead” with them (using his own words against him).

Matter of fact Nick, if, hypothetically, my own best friend gets married the same weekend as you and asks me to be his best man, I would go to his wedding in a heart beat and be his best man. Mainly because, unlike you, he has been there every single day for me. You weren’t.”

I left the restaurant after that, leaving my brother alone.

Eventually, word got back to my parents about what happened. My mother was furious with me, but my father understood. In time, our youngest brother became the best man.

People have tried to guilt me into giving a speech at the rehearsal dinner, but I have consistently refused to do so.

I guess what I am trying to say is, do I have a right to be angry at my brother? Am I in the right for denying his request? Is my reason valid? I will be at the wedding as a “emergency groomsman”, but I am not giving any speeches, nor am I participating in any groomsmen activities.

Thoughts folks?

I've done a few speeches, and helped a few people on r/writers (a totally dead subreddit, any writers who see this go try and breath some life in there) so I figured I'd post this here. First, a quick formula that I like to follow.

1. Introduce yourself and how you know the bride and groom, something like, "hi for those of you who don't know me I'm bob, I went to highschool with John we've been friends 14 years."

2. Thank the parents, not only for having you there and putting on the wedding, but for raising two awesome people and putting them out in the world. After the intro, the easy segue into this part is "The first thing I want to do is thank mr. and mrs. whatever..."

3. Tell a story about the groom, this is the best chance to be funny but if you aren't typically funny don't worry about making jokes, nothing is worse in a speech than a bad joke, a bad joke is worse than a boring speech, it's worse than a nervous speech, it can really kill your confidence. For me, I tell a funny story here and then usually a funny comment on the story, but it's also a great chance to tell a story about the groom being a great person, and say something really heartfelt.

4. Tell a story about the bride and groom, one where they met or the first thing he said to you about her, when you knew she was the one for him, or just a time they were awesome together. Again, if you're funny a joke works well here, but it's definitely not needed.

5. Offer congratulations, good luck, and continued support. This is where you say something really heartfelt, even corny as long as it's not too much of a cliche. My last speech ended along the lines of how everyone is trying to find someone they can live the rest of their lives with, but these two found someone they couldn't live the rest of their lives without (ugghh) how beautiful. Use something specific to them, and don't worry about being sappy, it's a wedding.

Couple other rules that can be helpful now that the formula is out there.

1. You usually go on after the maid of honor and the father of the bride... you are not going to do as well as them, they are always insanely well prepared and sometimes they shed a touching tear or two. Keep your speech short, should be the shortest of the night.

2. DO NOT do any jokes about creaky beds, friction in the sheets, or consummation of the marriage. Everyone has heard them before, they aren't funny, and a couple dopes might laugh but most people will feel awkward.

3. Come sort of prepared. Don't write down the whole speech, just write down the bullet points and speak from the heart about the bullet points. Pulling out a sheet of paper looks very lame, but going on and on because you keep remembering stories is even worse. Go up there thinking something along the lines of "intro, thanks, story about John where he did this, story about John and his wife when they did that, funny joke I made, touching closing."

4. I know I've said it before, but do not be obsessed with being funny. If you're funny in your day to day life, be funny, I tell two or three jokes in a speech usually. If you aren't, don't worry about it, awws are just as good as hahas so be heartfelt instead. Bad jokes ruin everything.

5. How much booze before? This is a huge one and it's very dependent on who you are. Probably best not to be completely sober, it's better to be loose up there, but the most important rule is not to be drunk. Have a couple drinks to calm your nerves, but I've seen the groom ask the best man to stop before, it's ugly, be very careful not to get too drunk.

6. Tell the bride she looks beautiful almost right at the beginning. NO INSIDE JOKES! Practice your speech out loud a few times.

So that's a quick little rundown, I hope it helps a few people. Being chosen as a best man is a huge honor and says a lot about the kind of person you are, it's important to have a good quick speech, and then sit down, get hammered, and try and complicate your life and the groom's by sleeping with the maid of honor.

My good friend is getting married this weekend, and I'm lucky enough to he his best man! That means, however, I need to deliver a speech at the reception.

Now, I have a couple of real issues. 1. I'm an incredibly nervous public speaker and 2. I'm really struggling for funny anecdotes! I'm sure I can overcome the former, but struggling more with the latter!

Me and Jay are great friends, and although we don't see each other often (we live several states apart and have done for over a decade) we retain a close bond of respect and friendship. Our friendship began in college years, and most of our time was spent goofing around our apartments smoking weed, drinking and playing video games. The usual things guys do in their late teens/early 20's. The problem is - there genuinely isn't any story or event that I can think of, that would be interesting or funny for people to hear. We became great friends via spending time with each other, rather than any notable events or new experiences. If that makes sense?! The slightly more humorous situations we found ourselves in were generally more because I was playing the fool etc. rather than Jay - he was always the more introvert, where I was the opposite (at that age!). I know the speech needs to be about him, and not me, so those situations can't really be used,

Jay is a loyal, level headed and all round good guy. He doesn't have any massively strong traits that people would uniformly recognize (being uber competitive, for example), that I could base a speech upon. So I'm really stuck here!

Has anyone been in a similar situation? How did you overcome this? Do you have any hints or tips you can provide? I can write emotional and kind stuff no problem, but I need to try an inject some humor in there somehow!

Any help will be HUGELY appreciated!!

Alright men! I want to give you my experience because I don't want anybody else to make the same mistake I did. I just gave my Best Man speech in front of about 180 people. I will be honest and say it was cringe worthy but I did finish and most people said it wasn't that bad, which probably means it was terrible. So here it goes.

I waited until two days or so before the wedding to type a few paragraphs in my phone about what I wanted to say. I introduced myself, said some things about the groom, thanked his parents, said more things about him, said he looked good but the bride looked stunning, thanked her parents, said more good things about the bride, said like one thing about them together, then I closed by saying congratulations and they will always have my support, then toasted. Seems like a great format right, all I had to do was deliver it. Well I fucked it all up. In hindsight I know where I went wrong. I practiced it a few times in the car and figured I got it enough to wing it. I was wrong. It was time to deliver it right after they introduced us all in. I was a little nervous but we all drank a fair amount so I was buzzing and feeling good, but now, I realized I drank just a little too much, because I was at the point that I didn't care about doing a good job. My brother was sitting real close to me so I had him hold my phone in front of me with the speech open and I had a beer and the mic. Bad idea.

I pretty much said a few things and then just went blank with an awkward laugh and looked for my phone to continue. Just kept saying a few things and would go blank and revert back to my phone. All while the bride kept whispering to me, say "you're happy for us"... I continued and what not and even at one point said I'm not finished because I could tell the bride was embarrassed..

So if you have a speech coming up, I suggest you either READ WHAT YOU HAVE WRITTEN DOWN OR COME STRICTLY FROM THE HEART. Seriously, make it short and sweet unless you're good with the mic. Also, only drink one or two drinks. Get loose after the speech. Funny thing is I knew all of this before and still seemed to fuck the speech up. I wish I could do it over again because I didn't get to really explain how much these two mean to me and I'm sure I embarrassed them. I was pretty ashamed of myself but I've come to the conclusion that most people won't remember it and if they do they will just laugh at the thought of the best man giving a funny and cringe-worthy speech. Still hoping the videographer makes me look decent if he puts me in the video.

Its weird, I wasn't nervous up there, I was just numb from having too many drinks and didn't do a good job :/ my own fault. Don't be like me boys, practice it and just keep it short and sweet. Then chug afterwards.

I’m the best man to my closest friend and was obviously charged with the bachelor party. Unfortunately, all of our friends from our youth appear to be quite flakey. Over the last five months of planning they have slowly dropped out one-by-one. Now, the party is tomorrow and it’s literally just the groom, myself, and one other guy.

What am I supposed to do? This isn’t a bachelor party, it’s just three dudes hanging out. The groom is traveling from Dallas to Houston and I’m tempted to tel him not to bother since I can’t imagine it’ll be worth his time.

Good luck motherfuckers!

Speak from the heart. Keep it short.

Stick to one or two stories tops. Just be funny and then be sappy and then be done. That's it. Don't over complicate it. If you're nervous and anxious, just be brief!

My speech was under 3 minutes, and I got compliments all night. It was genuine. I was super nervous and awkward but I owned it and I feel great right now! I practiced in front of the other groomsmen. I sent them copies of my fully articulated version. I changed it, I ad-libbed, but do not underestimate the power of practicing in front of other people.

You'll feel weird, but not as weird as when you actually give the speech!

So my advice is:

fuckin practice in front of real people!

write it all out, then make it better!

speak from your heart. be genuine. cliche's are okay if it's how you really feel. Jokes and/or being funny come naturally this way.

Always. Brevity.

Any Feedback would be helpful..

Good Evening.

I want to start by taking the opportunity to thank the bride and groom’s parents, not only for putting together this beautiful wedding, but also for raising two awesome people and putting them out into the world.

Way back in the early 2000s Mike and I met in the Long Beach State prison dormitory. Or it at least felt like prison. Sweltering heat in cramped small brick dorms, terrible food, and a meaner than hell warden called an RA. These were the terrible conditions that led Mike and I to become friends. Well that, and that we were both socially awkward white guys from small towns. Through our college days and the years after, we became roommates and best friends and I began to think I understood his psyche.

That is, Mike might be one of the most caring and humorous people I have ever met, but he also makes questionable decisions. For example, there was a time when Mike decided to go for a midnight walk at Pismo beach and got lost spending the entire evening wandering around looking for our campsite. Or the time Mike broke his collar-bone after riding a snowboard behind a four-wheeler in some sand dunes. Or the time Mike fell asleep in a bathroom and missed my arrival to Finland. I could go on, but you get the picture. These were all epic Mike stories and he was known for them.

That being said, I stand here before you today, to admit my assessment of mike was all wrong. He has changed in the past few years ever since Lindsay has come into his life. For instance, He now takes care of others after their questionable decisions. But, more importantly, he has shown the maturity and forethought to convince a stunning, intelligent, and capable woman to fall in love with him. Well done mike, you have done your friends, your family and yourself proud.

As for Lindsay, thanks for being the best thing that has ever happened to my best friend. You are awesome and I could not be happier for the two of you. If Mike turns out to be half as good at being a husband as he has been a friend, then you are in good hands and have a wonderful life of joy and humor ahead of you. I wish you both the best in your new life together.

A toast to Mike and Lindsay. Remember to never keep score in your marriage, because you both have already won.

Feel free to post it, (remove names if you believe it will reveal who you are), and let others look over it!

My best friend of 10 years is getting married. I gave him advice on the proposal and helped buy the ring. I have also been couples counsellor to the happy couple this entire time. They have been together 15 years. So I digress.

The plan for the stag: Bellsniff or My Bitch as he is known has been bugging me to go hiking with him, I am a now and again hiker having climbed Ben Nevis and Snowdon. I like to be active. He is not 😂 however he insists he can do it. He wanted to do it last summer but when I said I wouldn't hike with him without him having proper hiking boots these words left his mouth 'I can climb Scafell Pike in anything' and thus the idea was born. A mankini, tutu, a wolves shirt ( he is a baggies fan and one of the other groomsmen is a wolves fan) and heels 😂 On a sad note. Her dad was recently diagnosed with cancer so now we are going to get sponsership.

Does this idea sound ok? I also plan to do a night out in Whitehaven and get him a stripper. We aren't party people so doesn't need to be a crazy one.

I am in need of a great funny quote to use at the end of my best man speech about marriage. Best one will be used and I will give credit to the user.