With all the excitement and nerves that come with the thoughts of giving a best man speech, it is important not to overlook the other duties expected of you in your role as the head of the groomsmen. The wedding day itself will go very quickly believe it or not, and you will have people pulling at you with varying requests so don’t allow yourself to be sidetracked to an extent where you may overlook an essential task.

The Duties of a Best Man on the Day of the Wedding

1. Ensure that the groom, the groomsmen and yourself arrive on time and dressed appropriately.
2. Remind groom about the necessary payments that need to be paid on the day and have them secured in the appropriate envelope (examples might be band, DJ, hotel, etc.)
3. Ensure all guests have transportation to the wedding reception.
4. Securely look after the wedding rings until such time that they are ready to be exchanged.
5. Sign the marriage license and act as legal witness to the marriage.
6. Coordinate with groomsmen to ensure they remain at the church until the photographer has finished.
7. Give the best man toast, and sometimes act as MC for the reception.
8. Dance with the maid of honor.

If you haven’t already done so then it is worth reading this previous post on;  The Top 5 Items A Best Man Should Have On The Day Of The Wedding.

Another task to bear in mind is that if the formal wear is rented, then it is sometimes the best man’s duty to return the rented suits the following day. However the most important duty in my book is to enjoy yourself, you should be proud to be chosen as best man so spend the day with a smile on your face.

It seems that 90% of best men want their speech to be remembered most as a funny best man speech. You don’t have as many people saying they want their speech to be remembered as a sentimental one, and fewer still want theirs to be remembered as a serious one. However, strange as it may seem, the key to having a memorable funny speech means you need to have some sentimental, and even some serious lines in it.

If you are reading that opening paragraph with a quizzical expression, I will explain the logic behind it. If a best man intends giving a 5 minute funny best man speech, unless he is a professional performer, chances are that in his 5 minutes of best man jokes and one-liners he will have a few jokes fall flat on their face, and that my friends is how his speech will be remembered. He could give funny speech of four and a half minutes, but it is the 30 seconds of failure that will linger long in the memory.

Even if a best man had 5 minutes of funny best man jokes and awesome one-liners, he would need to bear in mind that the wedding is made up of more than just his friends. Family members don’t really want to hear joke after joke, they want to hear the bride and groom being praised.  The bride and groom don’t want to be embarrassed on their big day with a best man forcing joke after joke.

So how can we write a funny best man speech? You need to blend the right amount of sincerity and humor into it.

The sincere lines would typically involve:

Praising the bride and groom.

Mentioning how honored you are to be best man.

Complimenting the bridesmaids and parents of the bride and groom.

The funny sections could include:

Providing advice to the groom.

A short funny story from his youth.

How you felt when you heard he was getting married

You could also read out a couple of funny faxes or emails that you wrote yourself along with the genuine ones that need to be read out. Your speech needs to end with an inspirational wedding toast as they alone can incur a standing ovation and allow your speech to end on a high.

1.  Content is key

It is essential to do some research in advance and have content in your speech that will either make people smile and feel that you have made an effort as best man rather than just speaking off the top of your head.

Tip: even if you are not comfortable speaking in front of large crowds make sure you have 3 funny or sincere lines, these should be your opening line, closing line and the wedding toast.

2. Don’t speak too fast

The most common mistake a nervous best man will make is to blurt out his lines so quickly that the audience cannot understand what he is saying. This is particularly frustrating if you have taken the time to source great content for your speech, only to have it lost on your audience because you are blurting out your lines.

Tip: have a large glass of water at your table and after every few lines, take a slow gulp from your glass, this will help your composure and as you get further into your speech allow you build the confidence to end on a high.

3. Involve the parents of the bride and groom

One of the loudest rounds of applause you will get during your best man speech is if you take the time to praise the parents of the bride and groom. Everyone is in fantastic form at the wedding and guests are usually particularly delighted for both sets of proud parents, so mention them and compliment them both.

Tip: say, “I’d like to break from tradition and offer a toast to the parents of the bride and groom, they have put tremendous work into making today the special occasion that it is and deserve a special round of applause.”

4. Show appreciation

Best men are expected to be funny, witty, even sarcastic but they are not renowned for showing humility and genuine appreciation for the honor of being made best man by a friend or loved one. Wedding guests love nothing more than a show of emotion, so in between your jokes and one-liners take the time to mention how much the groom’s friendship means to you.

Tip: say “The groom is a great friend who gives without thought of receipt, he is the prototype of what any best friend should be and I am very proud to be his best man today.”

5.End on a high

Like me, I’m sure you have been guest at a wedding where a lazy best man ends with “I’d like to toast the bride and groom” and then instead of delivering a toast just says “to the bride and groom”, the toast is vital not least because it will be your final remark of the evening more than likely so make sure you end on a high.

Tip: when introducing your toast say, “there are a many wedding toasts available on the internet but I selected this one as I believe it reflects the friendship and love the bride and groom have for each other.”

Aside from these suggestions the most important piece of advice I can give you is to be yourself, you were chosen to be best man because of who you are, so don’t try and change that on the wedding day.