wedding speech

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.

Successful toasts are pivotal ingredients to great best man speeches, their importance cannot be over-emphasized so today we look at examples of funny wedding toasts that can provide the icing on the cake to your speech.

In a previous post we provided 10 Best Man toasts to light up your best man speech, today we expand on that by providing;

 5 funny toasts to use in best man speeches

• May they live each day like their last and live each night like their first.
• As they slide down the banisters of life may the splinters never point in the wrong direction.
• May you be friends as only lovers can and love each other like only friends can.
• Here’s to the bride and groom, meeting each other was the beginning, staying together is progress, spending a lifetime with each other a success.
• Here’s to the bride and groom, may we all be reunited in 50 years time for their golden wedding anniversary.

Ending on a high is essential when giving a speech of any nature but particularly for best man speeches so choose a toast suitable to your style of speech, and enjoy the rapture thereafter.

The honor of being best man is often bestowed upon the celebrity shoulders of famous stars from the world’s of music and film, today we look at 4 of those famous best men. You would imagine that nerves would not be a problem for them as they are so used to speaking in front of large audiences but you’d never know as best man speeches can test the most professional of speakers.

Michael Jackson

Though now divorced Liza Minnelli and David Gest’s best man on their wedding day was none other than Michael Jackson. His best man speech might have been a “thriller” but then again it could have been “bad” either way it would have been fascinating to hear.

Adam Clayton

In 1982 when Bono was a little-known singer in a new Irish rock group U2, he married his childhood sweetheart Ali in a ceremony in Dublin. When choosing a best man, Bono found what he was looking for in the shape of U2 bass player Adam Clayton. U2 became one of the world’s most successful rock groups while Bono and Ali remain one of music’s most endearing couples.

Stephen Fry

The English comedian and actor Stephen Fry deserves special mention as he was best man at the weddings of two famous celebrities Hugh Laurie in 1989 and Rowan Atkinson in 1990. I’m sure there wasn’t a dry eye in the “house” at Hugh Laurie’s wedding and doubt that there were any “beans” on the menu at Rowan Atkinson’s wedding.

Robert De Niro

When his son chose to get married he kept it a family affair by asking his father, the legend of the silver screen, Robert De Niro, to be his best man. I bet there was nobody brave enough to heckle him during his best man speech, however if anyone did the response may well have been “you talkin’ to me?”

Whether you are famous or not, it doesn’t really matter as long as you prepare your speech in advance, ensure that your best man jokes, and your opening lines are researched, enabling you to give the speech that a famous actor or pop star would be proud of.

If you are a best man and you also happen to be the brother of the groom then you have an opportunity for extra lines that you could insert into your speech. However on the flip side it is vital not to offend so you may perhaps want to revisit an earlier post 5 topics to avoid in a best man speech

When providing a best man speech to your brother you can still use the same best man jokes and one-liners as in any best man speech but you also have the chance to say things like the 4 examples I have provided you with below:

• John has been a great friend through good times and bad, in fact, he’s been like a brother to me.
• John and I have always been the closest of brothers, there is nothing I wouldn’t do for him and likewise there is nothing he wouldn’t do for me, in fact that’s how we spent most of our youth, doing nothing for each other.
• Growing up John was a very considerate brother, whenever he was getting blamed for something he would immediately point the finger at me saying that I did it.
• As John’s brother I am here to praise him not ridicule him, though I must say the vote was a close one.

Providing a best man speech for your brother is not only an honor but also an honor to be enjoyed, so spend time preparing your best man speech then you will find that you will be the one who ends up enjoying it most.