Being the best man at a wedding is a huge honour, but it also comes with a lot of responsibility. One of the most important tasks is delivering a memorable speech that celebrates the groom, entertains the guests, and shows support for the happy couple. The best man's speech is traditionally lighthearted and quick, but it still requires careful planning, personal touches, and confident delivery. Here are some tips to help you craft a standout speech that will be remembered for years to come.
Characteristics | Values |
---|---|
Length | Around 7 minutes |
Content | Humorous memories, thoughtful anecdotes, a lively/sentimental opening, a discussion of the couple's connection, sincere well-wishes for the future |
Tone | Lighthearted, positive, meaningful |
What You'll Learn
Humorous quotes
Being asked to be the best man at a wedding is a huge honour, but it also comes with a lot of responsibility. One of the main duties of the best man is to deliver a speech that is both entertaining and heartfelt. While it's important to be funny, you also need to make sure your jokes are tasteful and won't offend any of the guests. Here are some tips and quotes to help you craft a humorous and engaging best man speech.
Tips for a Humorous Best Man Speech:
- Get to know the groom inside out. Highlight his unique characteristics and shape your humour around him. Avoid generic jokes that anyone could tell.
- Create a comedy character for the groom. Imagine he is a character in a sitcom and build a narrative around this. Exaggerate and use creative licence, but make sure it's still relatable.
- Start with a joke to relax yourself and the audience.
- Keep your speech concise. Aim for no more than 1300 words and cut down wherever possible to make your speech sharper.
- Include one or two witty quotes about marriage and relationships. Make sure to credit the author, especially if they are well-known.
- Bend the 'no in-jokes' rule slightly. Include some of the guests in your anecdotes, especially if they are close to the groom and will appreciate the humour.
- Make your speech humorous but wholesome. Avoid exes, swearing, and anything that will embarrass the groom or make him apologise to the bride later.
- Rehearse your speech so you become familiar with it. Use cue cards on the day, but try to memorise as much as you can.
- Smile and speak slowly to appear confident and relaxed.
"Marriage is a relationship in which one person is always right, and the other is the husband."
"Love is blind, but marriage is a real eye-opener."
"A good marriage would be between a blind wife and a deaf husband." – Michel de Montaigne
"Marriage is like a deck of cards. In the beginning, all you need is two hearts and a diamond. By the end, you wish you had a club and a spade."
"Marriage is like a walk in the park... Jurassic Park."
"By all means, marry. If you get a good wife, you will be happy. If you get a bad one, you will become a philosopher." – Socrates
"Whoever said that money can’t buy happiness, simply didn’t know where to go shopping." – Bo Derek
"I like my money where I can see it: hanging in my closet." – Carrie Bradshaw, "Sex and the City"
"Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?" – George Carlin
"Why do they call it rush hour when nothing moves?" – Robin Williams
"The best way to get most husbands to do something is to suggest that perhaps they’re too old to do it." – Shirley MacLaine
"Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city." – George Burns
"There is nothing like puking with somebody to make you into old friends." – Charles Dickens
"Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one.'" – A.A. Milne
"I’m not great at the advice — can I interest you in a sarcastic comment?" – Chandler Bing, "Friends"
"I’m sick of following my dreams, man. I’m just going to ask where they’re going and hook up with ’em later." – Mitch Hedberg
"I’d love to stand here and talk with you... but I’m not going to." – Phil Connors, "Groundhog Day"
"All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt." – Charles M. Schulz
"I’m not superstitious... but I am a little stitious." – Michael Scott, "The Office"
"I’m not insane. My mother had me tested." – Sheldon Cooper, "The Big Bang Theory"
"I love being married. It’s so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life." – Rita Rudner
"Everybody knows how to raise children, except the people who have them." – P.J. O’Rourke
"The best way to get most husbands to do something is to suggest that perhaps they’re too old to do it." – Shirley MacLaine
"If you can’t be kind, at least be vague." – Judith Martin
"There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about." – Oscar Wilde, "The Picture of Dorian Gray"
"Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much." – Oscar Wilde
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Sentimental quotes
Being the best man at a wedding is a matter of great honour and joy. Crafting a best man speech can be a daunting task, but it is also a wonderful opportunity to express your love and admiration for the couple. Here are some sentimental quotes to inspire your writing and help you create a touching tribute to the newlyweds:
On Love and Marriage:
- "A great marriage is not when the 'perfect couple' comes together. It is when an imperfect couple learns to enjoy their differences."
- "Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies." – Aristotle
- "Love is a friendship set to music." – Joseph Campbell
- "Love is not about finding the perfect person, but learning to see an imperfect person perfectly." – Anonymous
- "A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person." – Mignon McLaughlin
- "Love is neither Heaven nor Hell, it is simply Purgatory." – Abraham Lincoln
- "There is no greater happiness for a man than approaching a door at the end of a day, knowing someone on the other side of that door is waiting for the sound of his footsteps." – Ronald Reagan
- "The best marriages, like the best lives, were both happy and unhappy. There was even a kind of necessary tension, a certain tautness between the partners that gave the marriage strength, like the tautness of a full sail." – Anne Morrow Lindbergh
- "Love is patient, love is kind. May your love for each other always embody these qualities." – 1 Corinthians
- "Love doesn't make the world go round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile."
On Friendship and Brotherhood:
- "Brotherhood isn't about DNA – it's about having someone who knows all your stories and still stands by you."
- "From roommates to best men, our brotherhood has only grown stronger."
- "I've watched you become the man you are today, and I couldn't be prouder to call you my friend."
- "True friendship isn't about being inseparable, it's about being separated and nothing changes."
- "I've watched you grow and mature over the years, and I'm so proud of the man you've become."
- "You've gone from my gaming buddy to a married man, but you're still terrible at Mario Kart."
- "From sharing memes to sharing wedding dreams."
- "You taught me loyalty, she taught you punctuality. Marriage is already improving you."
On the Couple:
- "I'm so happy [Spouse's Name] fell in love with [Groom's Name]. Firsthand I've seen the grace, intelligence and confidence [Spouse's Name] has, which explains why [Groom's Name] knew he wanted to marry [Spouse's Name] after their first date."
- "You two are fantastic together. May the flame burn long, and may sparks continue to fly. Cheers to the newlyweds!"
- "I know I said earlier I'm the best man, but I lied. I'm actually Cupid because I'm the one who introduced these two eight years ago."
- "You've found your Player 2 for life."
- "Their love story is better than any Netflix series."
- "You two fit together like the last two pieces of a puzzle."
- "You've found your perfect harmony in life."
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Inspirational quotes
The best man's speech is a highlight of the wedding, and it's essential to get it right. While it's just about 10 minutes on the day, the memories of this speech will last a lifetime. Here are some inspirational quotes to include in your best man's speech:
"The greatest gift of life is friendship, and I have received it." - Hubert Humphrey
"There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship." - Thomas Aquinas
"Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one.'" - A.A. Milne
"Think where man's glory most begins and ends, and say my glory was I had such friends." - W.B. Yeats
"A true friend freely, advises justly, assists readily, adventures boldly, takes all patiently, defends courageously, and continues a friend unchangeably." - William Penn
"My best friend is the one who brings out the best in me." - Henry Ford
"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." - Benjamin Franklin
"Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut." - Ernest Hemingway
"An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools." - Ernest Hemingway
"Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It's not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learned anything." - Muhammad Ali
"There is nothing like puking with somebody to make you into old friends." - Sylvia Plath
"Work like you don't need the money. Love like you've never been hurt. Dance like nobody's watching." - Satchel Paige
"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." - Aesop
"Keep your face always toward the sunshine - and shadows will fall behind you." - Walt Whitman
"Life isn't about getting and having, it's about giving and being." - Kevin Kruse
"Keep your face to the sunshine and you can never see the shadow." - Helen Keller
"When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it." - Henry Ford
"Everything has beauty, but not everyone can see." - Confucius
"To keep your marriage brimming, with love in the loving cup, whenever you're wrong, admit it; whenever you're right, shut up." - Ogden Nash
"Love has no other desire but to fulfil itself. But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires: to melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night... to know the pain of too much tenderness... to be wounded by your own understanding of love; and to bleed willingly and joyfully." - Khalil Gibran
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Romantic quotes
Being asked to be the best man at a wedding is a great honour, but it can also be a nerve-wracking experience. One of your duties as the best man is to give a speech, and one of the most important parts of this is the toast to the newlyweds. This is your chance to say something heartfelt and romantic about the couple and their future together.
Quotes about Love and Marriage
> "Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies." – Aristotle
> "Love is a friendship set to music." – Joseph Campbell
> "Love is an untamed force. When we try to control it, it destroys us. When we try to imprison it, it enslaves us. When we try to understand it, it leaves us feeling lost and confused." – Paulo Coelho
> "Love is patient, love is kind. May your love for each other always embody these qualities."
> "Love doesn't make the world go round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile."
> "Love is not about finding the perfect person, but learning to see an imperfect person perfectly."
> "A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person."
> "Marriage is not about finding someone you can live with; it's about finding someone you can't live without."
> "True love is not just about the magical moments. It's about being there for each other through the ups and downs."
> "A great marriage is not when the 'perfect couple' comes together. It is when an imperfect couple learns to enjoy their differences."
> "May your love be like the wind: strong enough to move the clouds, gentle enough to never hurt, and always present."
> "May your love be like a flame: eternal, unbreakable, and the light of your lives."
> "May your love be like the ocean: vast, deep, and always in motion."
> "Love is friendship set on fire."
Quotes about Friendship
> "True friends stab you in the front." – Oscar Wilde
> "A true friend freely, advises justly, assists readily, adventures boldly, takes all patiently, defends courageously, and continues a friend unchangeably." – William Penn
> "The greatest gift of life is friendship, and I have received it." – Hubert Humphrey
> "My best friend is the one who brings out the best in me." – Henry Ford
> "There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship." – Thomas Aquinas
> "Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one.'" – A.A. Milne
> "There is nothing like puking with somebody to make you into old friends." – Sylvia Plath
> "Behind every great man is a woman rolling her eyes." – Jim Carrey
> "Think where man's glory most begins and ends, and say my glory was I had such friends." – W.B. Yeats
Quotes about Life
> "Work like you don't need the money. Love like you've never been hurt. Dance like nobody's watching." – Satchel Paige
> "Keep your face always toward the sunshine – and shadows will fall behind you." – Walt Whitman
> "Life isn't about getting and having, it's about giving and being." – Kevin Kruse
> "When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it." – Henry Ford
> "Everything has beauty, but not everyone can see." – Confucius
> "To keep your marriage brimming, with love in the loving cup, whenever you're wrong, admit it; whenever you're right, shut up." – Ogden Nash
> "There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship." – Thomas Aquinas
> "The greatest gift of life is friendship, and I have received it." – Hubert Humphrey
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Philosophical quotes
Aristotle
"Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies."
"He who thinks great thoughts, often makes great errors."
"We live in the best of all possible worlds."
"The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man."
"Happiness is the highest good."
"Those who educate children well are more to be honored than they who produce them; for these only gave them life, those the art of living well."
"Wherever you go, go with all your heart."
"The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for life."
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."
Socrates
"The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing."
"There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide."
"The unexamined life is not worth living."
"The only thing I know is that I know nothing."
"One cannot step twice in the same river."
"There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance."
"My advice to you is to get married. If you find a good wife, you'll be happy; if not, you'll become a philosopher."
Plato
"You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation."
"The greatest happiness of the greater number is the foundation of morals and legislation."
"Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
"The brave man is he who overcomes not only his enemies but his pleasures."
"Good and evil, reward and punishment, are the only motives to a rational creature."
Epicurus
"The greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it."
"Happiness lies in virtuous activity, and perfect happiness lies in the best activity, which is contemplative."
Heraclitus
"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man."
"The only thing that is constant is change."
"One cannot step twice in the same river."
Other Philosophers
"Love is the joy of the good, the wonder of the wise, the amazement of the Gods." – Plato, 'The Trial And Death Of Socrates'
"The very spring and root of honesty and virtue lie in good education." – Plutarch, 'Plutarch's Morals'
"The sun, with all those planets revolving around it and dependent on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as if it had nothing else in the universe to do." – Galileo Galilei
"I've loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night." – Galileo Galilei
"In wilderness is the preservation of the world." – Henry David Thoreau
"It is not enough to be busy. So are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?" – Henry David Thoreau
"The meaning of the river flowing is not that all things are changing so that we cannot encounter them twice but that some things stay the same only by changing." – Heraclitus
"The soul is dyed the color of its thoughts. Think only on those things that are in line with your principles and can bear the light of day. The content of your character is your choice. Day by day, what you do is who you become. Your integrity is your destiny – it is the light that guides your way." – Heraclitus
"The mind is everything. What you think you become." – Buddha
"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage." – Lao Tzu
"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." – Lao Tzu
"Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like." – Lao Tzu
"The highest activity a human being can attain is learning for understanding, because to understand is to be free." – Baruch Spinoza
"The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." – Plato
"It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude." – Ralph Waldo Emerson
"The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts." – Marcus Aurelius
"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." – Marcus Aurelius
"The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays." – Søren Kierkegaard
"Man is born free, but is everywhere in chains." – Jean-Jacques Rousseau
"If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things." – René Descartes
"I can control my passions and emotions if I can understand their nature." – Spinoza
"Physics isn’t the most important thing. Love is." – Richard P. Feynman
"The unexamined life is not worth living." – Socrates
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Frequently asked questions
Here are some examples of funny quotes you can use:
- "Marriage is a relationship in which one person is always right, and the other is the husband."
- "Love is blind, but marriage is a real eye-opener."
- "A good marriage would be between a blind wife and a deaf husband."
The best man speech should be kept short and sweet. Aim for around 10 minutes or less to maintain your guests' attention and interest.
Here are some key tips:
- Be sincere and authentic.
- Keep it short and light-hearted.
- Include mild and harmless embarrassing stories about the groom.
- Avoid cliches and overused jokes.
- Rehearse your speech to ensure smooth delivery.
Here are some meaningful quotes to consider:
- "Love is not about finding the perfect person but learning to see an imperfect person perfectly."
- "A great marriage is not when the 'perfect couple' comes together but when an imperfect couple learns to enjoy their differences."
- "Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies."