Best Man's Speech: Perfect Ending Guide

The best man's speech is a pivotal part of the wedding ceremony, carrying significant weight and meaning. As the best man, you've been chosen to represent the groom, sharing your heartfelt thoughts, feelings, and experiences with the audience. This is your chance to pay a sincere tribute to the groom and his new wife, leaving a lasting impression on all the guests. Your words should reflect the depth of your relationship with the groom and celebrate the love and commitment of the newlyweds.

The best man's speech should be heartfelt, funny, and unique, making the groom and wedding party feel special and celebrated. It's crucial to strike a balance between humour and sincerity, ensuring that your words resonate with everyone present. The speech should be cohesive and engaging, with all elements supporting the main idea. Keep it concise, avoiding tangents, and steer clear of an overly sentimental or critical tone.

When it comes to ending your speech, there are a few options. You can opt for a heartfelt comment about their marriage, such as I wish my best friend and his bride a life filled with happiness, adventure, and great memories. Alternatively, if your speech is light-hearted, you can go for a short joke, such as Emily deserves a great husband. Thankfully, Paul snapped her up before she found one. Finally, raise your glass and toast the bride and groom.

Keep it concise and positive

Keeping your best man speech concise and positive is a great way to ensure it's memorable for all the right reasons. Here are some tips to help you achieve this:

Keep it Short and Sweet

The sweet spot for a best man's speech is around seven minutes. This gives you enough time to include all the essential elements without losing your audience's attention. Aim for a maximum of ten minutes, and any longer than this, and people may start to switch off.

Start with a Bang

Kick things off with a light-hearted icebreaker or a well-chosen joke. This will warm up your audience and calm your nerves. It will also set a friendly tone for the rest of your speech.

Introduce Yourself

After your opening, share your name and how you know the groom. This will help establish your connection with everyone in the room, especially those who may not know you well. You can also throw in some observations about the wedding day, such as a light-hearted comment about the venue or the cake.

Share Stories and Anecdotes

Share some amusing anecdotes and stories about the groom. This is your chance to roast the groom playfully, but always keep it friendly and respectful. Focus on one or two key moments that highlight the groom's personality, and use humour to emphasise his quirks in a light-hearted way.

Offer Words of Wisdom

If you're married, you can share some golden rules for a happy marriage. If not, you can ask married friends or family members for advice, or even quote famous couples from TV or movies.

Compliment the Couple

Take a moment to compliment the happy couple. You can add a memory of when you knew they were meant to be, reflect on your favourite things about their relationship, or say something about the qualities they bring out in each other.

Acknowledge the Bridal Party

If there are bridesmaids, thank them for their role on the day and in the lead-up to the wedding.

Conclude with a Toast

End your speech by raising a glass to the couple. Wish them a future filled with happiness and invite all the guests to join in. Keep your closing remarks short, positive, and upbeat.

Practice Makes Perfect

Finally, don't forget to practice your speech! Rehearse it out loud, time yourself, and edit as needed to ensure your speech is concise and flows naturally.

Include a joke, but avoid dirty humour

As the best man, your speech is a pivotal part of the wedding ceremony. It is your chance to pay a sincere tribute to the groom and his new wife, leaving a lasting impression on all the guests. Your words should reflect the depth of your relationship with the groom and celebrate the love and commitment of the newlyweds. It is a moment that will be remembered for years to come.

The best man's speech should be heartfelt, funny, and unique, making the groom and wedding party feel special and celebrated. It is important to strike a balance between humour and sincerity, ensuring that your words resonate with everyone present.

• Keep it family-friendly: Weddings typically include guests of all ages, so leave explicit language and dirty jokes out of your speech.
• Avoid criticising others: A bit of harmless fun is okay, such as laughing at the groom's cooking or dancing. However, if your joke goes too far, it will leave a sour note for the rest of the night.
• Reference the rest of your speech: The best ending joke calls back to the rest of your speech to illustrate your friend's personality. Focus your jokes on a harmless subject, such as your friend's questionable cooking, and end your speech with a mix of well-wishes and one last joke.
• Keep it short and punchy: Make sure your joke is easy to understand and quick. Read the joke over a few times and say it out loud to make sure it doesn't feel too long.
• Avoid marriage advice: No matter how insightful or comedic you think it sounds, marriage advice usually detracts from your ending. If you aren't married, you will have a tough time sounding knowledgeable.
• Stay away from dirty jokes: While humour is essential, dirty jokes or inappropriate jokes that could offend the audience should be avoided. Aim for humour that everyone can appreciate, ensuring your speech remains classy and respectful.

Reference the rest of your speech

The best ending joke calls back to the rest of your speech to illustrate the groom's personality. Focus all your jokes around a harmless subject, such as the groom's questionable cooking skills. Then, end the speech by mixing well-wishes with one last joke. For example, "Here's to you, Harry and Ginny, and Ginny, don't try his ketchup spaghetti."

If you've peppered your speech with lots of jokes, continue in the same vein and finish with a funny toast. Here are some examples to give you an idea:

• "Time to raise our glasses to the happy couple because I like both of you – do you have any idea how rare that is?"
• "For one more time, I’m going to ask everyone to charge their glasses and – for those who still can – stand, and raise a glass to the newlyweds."
• "Raise a glass to the happy couple. May your marriage be as strong as the drinks in your hand. Cheers!"
• "Part of the best man speech involves a toast and for me, the best kind of toast is French toast. So, buvons à ce couple heureux."

If you want to end on a more serious note, you can still reference the rest of your speech. For example, if you've been telling stories about the groom's childhood, you could say something like:

• "I wish my best friend and his bride a life filled with happiness, adventure, and great memories."
• "When Greg turned off Sunday football to meet up with Jane, I knew they really were in love. Here's to a lifetime of love and happiness."

Call for a toast

The best man's speech is a pivotal part of the wedding ceremony, and the best man's toast is the ideal way to end it. The toast is the perfect way to close your speech at the wedding reception. It is meant to honour the couple and illustrate their relationship while also providing insight into the groom's character.

• "Please join me in raising a glass to the happy couple."
• "For one more time, I’m going to ask everyone to charge their glasses and – for those who still can – stand, and raise a glass to the newlyweds"
• "To the happy couple—may your love be as enduring as [groom's name]'s legendary hangovers, and may your life together be filled with adventure, joy, and slightly fewer tequila shots. Cheers!"
• "Please make sure your glasses are charged and join me in toasting the new Mr and Mrs/Mr [name]. Ladies and gentlemen, to the happy couple!"
• "Here’s to [groom's name], the only man I know who can turn up late to his own wedding rehearsal — but who, thankfully, showed up right on time when it mattered most. And to [partner's name], for agreeing to put up with him! To love, laughter, and happily ever after. Cheers!"
• "Here’s to [groom's name], the man who still thinks ‘Netflix and chill’ means watching Netflix… and to [partner's name], who loves him anyway. May your marriage be filled with laughter, love, and slightly better communication! Cheers!"
• "To the two things that make a great marriage – having a good sense of humour and selective hearing. To [groom's name] and [partner's name]."
• "To [groom's name] and [partner's name] – we all knew [groom's name] had found the one when he/she started spending more time with [partner's name] than he/she did playing on his/her Xbox!"
• "To [groom's name] and [partner's name], before I finish, I’d like you to turn to face each other. You’re now looking into the eyes of the person who is statistically most likely to murder you. To the happy couple!"
• "To the happy couple, may your marriage be as strong as the drinks in your hand. Cheers!"
• "To [groom's name] and [partner's name] – here is to a lifetime of love and happiness."
• "Here is a toast to a perfect couple – to a long life together filled with happiness, adventure and lots of wonderful memories."

Tips:

• Keep it short and snappy.
• Be respectful and positive.
• Avoid dirty jokes or inappropriate humour.
• Reference an earlier joke or story for a satisfying conclusion.
• End on a positive note that celebrates the newlyweds.

Wish the couple well

The best man's speech is a pivotal part of the wedding ceremony, and your words will be remembered for years to come. It is your chance to pay a sincere tribute to the groom and his new wife, leaving a lasting impression on all the guests. Your speech should reflect the depth of your relationship with the groom and celebrate the love and commitment of the newlyweds.

The toast is the perfect way to close your best man's speech at the wedding reception. It is meant to honour the couple and illustrate their relationship, while also providing insight into the groom's character. Use this moment to recognise the bridesmaids, acknowledge the wedding party, and share some kind words about the groom. A heartfelt toast to the couple is a fitting end, offering well-wishes for their future together.

• "Here's to a lifetime of love and fulfilment."
• "I wish my best friend and his bride a life filled with happiness, adventure, and great memories."
• "To the happy couple — may your love be as enduring as [groom's name]'s legendary hangovers, and may your life together be filled with adventure, joy, and slightly fewer tequila shots. Cheers!"
• "To the two things that make a great marriage: having a good sense of humour and selective hearing. To [groom's name] and [bride's name]."
• "Here's to [groom's name], the only man I know who can turn up late to his own wedding rehearsal — but who, thankfully, showed up right on time when it mattered most. And to [bride's name], for agreeing to put up with him! To love, laughter, and happily ever after. Cheers!"

Frequently asked questions