Best Man Speech Tips

Advice From Our Readers

You're the best man - what will you say in your best man speech? We've collected a number of unique tips from readers to help you out.

If you have best man speech tips (or even better, stories about best man speeches!), submit them below (see the tips on this page as examples). You can also see what others have said.

Tips:

• "I'm a photographer, so I see a lot of wedding speeches.
  1. Don't talk about the bachelor party.
  2. Don't talk about how drunk you used to get or "bad behavior".
  3. Don't tell an inside joke unless you know that most of the people there will understand it.
  4. Do talk about how much the groom is in love with bride (whether he has told you that or not, she wants to hear it)."



• "Focus on the couple and why they are good for each other. Show some humor but don't go overboard with it. I attended a wedding where the best man somehow managed to incorporate the motto "sh** happens" in his speech. Save something like that for the bachelor party or a get-together for the wedding party. Remember that there are all age groups at a wedding, so be humorous but try not to be offensive."



• "My main advice to you is not to quantify the relationship. We had a best man at our wedding say that we did not know each other very long before we got engaged, and he was shocked when we told him we were getting married. We got a few looks from out of town family members and it opened the door for people to ask us, 'So, how long did you two know each other before getting engaged?.'"



• "The best man is there as the support and second (in command) for the groom. It is a position either given due to kinship or friendship to the groom. If asked to speak, here are several tips:
  1. The groom is family, about to be family, or like family. Treat him as such, or you may never speak again.
  2. If you did anything silly, crazy, wacky, sexy or stupid at the bachelor party, do NOT mention it at the wedding.
  3. Do not make degrading comments about the brides.
  4. Avoid discussion of his prior girlfriends, even if the bride is way better than his prior picks. It sounds as if he has poor choice in women, just when he's made his choice of upgrading from girlfriend to wife."

If after reading those tips you still don't know what to say, I recommend you visit Best Man Speeches and get their low-cost high-value downloadable book. You'll get 20 professionally written best man speeches you can use, a step-by-step guide to writing your own speech, best man speech etiquette tips, and much more. I highly recommend it!

We'll post more speech tips as we receive them below, and each of your tips will get its own web page if it's long enough. Heed the tips above and you'll do great!

Do you have a great story about best man speeches? Share it!

Be certain to include:

• Setting and background. These help people understand and get into your story.


• Lessons Learned. What did you learn from this experience? How can others benefit?

Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...

Short, Sincere & Sober  Not rated yet
The trick is to adapt a short best man speech (or several together). I was the best man at a wedding recently and found the speech and advice at this ...

The Private Speech I Made Public  Not rated yet
This is my personal story...

My husband and I had only known each other three months before we decided to get married. We knew everyone would try to ...

Best Best Man Tips  Not rated yet
Whatever you decide to do for your speech, these general tips delivery should help:
Relax. Remember, everyone listening to your best man speech are ...

Do Not Do What He Did  Not rated yet
I was a bridesmaid recently where the best man seemed to have not prepared a speech at all, even though he had written a 7-page speech (more like a sermon?...

The Best Best Man Speech Ever  Not rated yet
The most unique best man speech I ever heard was the one at my wedding. The setting? Everyone was having a good time. The stage was open for anyone who ...

You Can't Go Wrong With Sentimental  Not rated yet
My great grandmother passed away just weeks before my brother's wedding. She was 98 years old, and the matriarch of our traditional Italian family. At ...

Best Man Speech-Tips  Not rated yet
The best man speech is an important part of any wedding ceremony, and will be remembered long after the special day is over. The speech traditionally honors ...

Drunk Wishes for Best Man Speeches  Not rated yet
You should never wait to do the best man speeches 3 hours after open bar has begun...

We were at a wedding a few years back. Friends of ours were tying ...

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