How to prepare your Best Man speech
It doesn't have to be daunting
How to prepare your Best Man speech
So you have had the honour of being chosen as a Best Man? The role of Best Man comes with many important obligations, such as arranging the Stag do, but the most important of all these obligations, and for some the most nerve-wracking, is the Best Man speech. Here at the Stag and Hen Experience we understand how you feel, we’ve been there before, so to make your lives easier we have produced for you our guide on how to prepare your Best Man speech.
The first thing to be aware of when you are thinking of how to prepare your Best Man speech is how long you are going to be speaking for. The generally recommended amount of time for a Best Man speech is between 3-5 minutes. If you take much longer than 5 minutes then the guests are going to start getting bored and tune out and that does not make a great Best Mans speech, besides which there are other speakers to come after you. Short but sweet is the order of the day in our guide on how to prepare your Best Man speech, so keep the timing to within 3-5 minutes.
A second thing to be aware of when looking at how to prepare your Best Man speech is the appropriateness of what you are going to say. You need to bear in mind that the age range of the guests is going to be fairly wide, with children and elderly relatives normally present and therefore you need to pitch your speech to them, not your mates. As a rule of thumb if you are wondering if something is appropriate or not for a wedding speech, then it probably isn’t. Ribald anecdotes should be left on the Stag weekend and not trotted out at the wedding, no matter how funny you think they might be. Do not be tempted to make any inappropriate jokes at the Bride’s expense as this can often lead to absolute pandemonium and no one wants to be remembered as the guy that precipitated the punch up at the wedding. Keep it clean not rated 18 is our best advice on how to prepare your Best Man speech.
Another very important piece of advice on how to prepare your Best Man speech is to start planning it well in advance of the wedding. You want to be planning your speech at least a month or two before the wedding, rather than leaving it to the last minute. Last minute Best Man speeches are rarely killer Best Man speeches, besides which the weeks in the run up to the wedding are most likely going to get a bit hectic and you don’t want to lose sight of time and overlook your speech. Getting your speech prepared well in advance of the wedding will give you a better chance of nailing it and is therefore highly recommended in our guide on how to prepare your Best Man speech.
If you are wondering how to prepare your Best Man speech, it is probably best to start off by saying good evening to your audience (very important) and then introducing yourself as the Best Man. This is usually a good point to show some gratitude to the people who have made the day possible, for example, the groom for inviting you, the guests for coming, you can maybe thank the bar staff for a low key icebreaker! Once you’ve got that out the way a good follow up is then to talk about your relationship with the groom, where you met, when you met and any amusing anecdotes which highlight what a great guy he is. If you can link any of those anecdotes to the bride all the better, but as mentioned earlier, keep it clean and, above all, do not make any jokes at the bride’s expense. Try and focus on the relationship between the newly-weds and what makes it special, remember it’s their big day not yours! When looking at how to prepare your Best Man speech, a little bit of humour in your speech is always good, and a few jokes sprinkled here and there can loosen up the crowd quite nicely, but remember that you don’t have to treat it like it’s some kind of stand-up comedy gig, especially if comedy doesn’t come naturally to you! Use your speech as a way to show your appreciation of the bride and groom and you won’t go too far wrong.
Once you’ve got your Best Man speech prepared, it is now time to practice, practice and then practice some more! Of all the helpful tips we can give on how to prepare your Best Man speech this has to be one of the most important. If you really want to give a great speech it needs to flow smoothly from your tongue and the best way to ensure that it to practice and if you have already field tested your speech on a small group then you are going to have a lot more confidence standing up in front of a large room full of people, so once you have done your speech, practice it in front of a mirror a few times. Maybe record it on your phone so you can see how it all sounds, and if you can, rope in a couple of buddies to listen to you and give you some feedback. Write your speech down, or at the very least have bullet point cards made up so if your mind does go unexpectedly blank you can quickly get back in the flow of your speech.
The last piece of advice in how to prepare your Best Man speech is also one of the most important. Take it easy on the booze! One or two drinks can be useful for taking the edge off your nerves but don’t go overboard on the Dutch courage, don’t be that Best Man who stumbles up to the microphone and slurs incomprehensibly for 3 minutes, before staggering off back to the bar to take out the tray of drinks set out for the toast, it’s never a good look!
The Stag and Hen Experience has been creating the best stag weekends away since 2009, so, if you're looking to plan a stag weekend package anywhere in the UK or abroad, get in touch on 01202 566100 or via this email address admin@staghenexp.co.uk and one of our expert stag do organisers will help you put together a fantastic stag do for you and your group.