By: Jared Wilmers
You’ve got four months to go to come up with the best of best man wedding speeches, since your best friend asked you to be his best man. And you’re not sure speech writing is the best of your abilities. You are still coming to terms with him getting married and you guys not being able to hang out as you used to, but you also want the guy to be happy and if giving the best speech does the job, you’re up to it.
The speech doesn’t make a re-appearance in your memory until a couple of months later, when someone said something wedding related in a conversation. Ok. Got to remember this one and you scribble a note on a napkin, just to make sure. And your speech is going to be one of those funny best man wedding speeches that everyone will remember. Of course you lose the napkin.
One, two, three more weeks pass into history and the feeling of pressure to get something concrete on paper is settling in. You make a plan: this Saturday you’ll take the morning and get the speech done. Good idea. On Friday you get a call from your best friend. He really needs some help with those boxes that still need to go the new apartment. Sure, you’ll be there at eight the next morning and help out. There was something you had planned. What was it again? Oh, never mind, couldn’t have been that important if you can’t even remember it.
Before you know it another week is gone, when picking up the potted palm trees for the reception it hits you right between the eyes: you still don’t have a single syllable for the best of all best man wedding speeches. Oh, boy. And the wedding is in only a few days.
Should you ask your other friends for help? Nope, you’d never hear the end of that one. Then what? Dad? Oh what the heck, you’ll give it a try. Of course he’s happy to oblige and gives you enough pointers for three speeches. You take your notes and a yellow pad and prepare yourself for battle. This can’t be that hard, can it now? Hours later you run out of paper, you’re dazed and you still squat. You lost the battle and are ready to surrender and wave the white flag.
Well no, not there yet. Somewhere in the back of your memory there is a tug: you saw that wedding magazine sitting around here somewhere . . . there it is, with wedding speech examples too . . . for the bride, of course. -- If this resembles what you’ve been through these last months: you need to make a plan.
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To write a good wedding speech you will need a structure that you can then fill out. Think about all the things you like best about your friend and write them down; also include the bride in there. On another list note down some great anecdotes from your guys’ shared past. You can never go wrong with funny, but stay away from embarrassing memories, since you want to keep the couples feelings in mind (and that of the guests too for that matter).
Start out shining a bright light on the couple and highlight what makes them the great couple they are. Then quickly travel through your past with your friend and share some of the funny stuff you guys have been through together, include the bride wherever possible (keep tasteful and funny in mind). Focus on the time when bride and groom just got to know each other, from your point of view (always the official version). Along the way weave in some nice details about your friend and his bride. Show your hopes for their happy future as a couple and how you are going to play an important part in that happiness and . . . close with a witty toast. In the end, be funny and concise and you can’t go wrong.
So here’s one structure you could use. Fill it out with your memories and experiences and you will have a wedding speech ready to go and concise to boot. One word of advice though: Never embarrass anyone present when doing best man wedding speeches. It would quickly dampen the spirit of the celebration and could do permanent damage to your friendship. If you want your friendship with both of them to last a life-time, stay on the good side of the bride.
