Keeping your best man speech on the safe side.

Writing and delivering a best man speech doesn’t have to be a stressful experience. Ensuring your content is appealing and appropriate will help you nail it and leave the guests talking about your speech for years.

As a professional wedding speechwriter, I’ve seen my fair share of first drafts from brave best men attempting to humiliate the groom and create some laughs. Identifying some embarrassing anecdotes is the backbone of any successful best man speech, but where you draw the line is what will determine its success.

Unlike the father of the bride and groom speech, there is genuine pressure on the best man to create laughter and provide a memorable experience for the guests. When people come to me asking for help writing their best man speech, my biggest piece of advice is to understand the audience before putting pen to paper. Although that ludicrous story from the stag do in Amsterdam is a real big hitter with the boys in the pub, you have to consider the wider appeal. The stag party probably represent about 10% of the guests on the day, will the bride’s mother really be able to relate?

So how do I make my best man speech funny but not offensive? It’s all about keeping balance. The key to creating a funny best man speech that brings joy around the room is to really tap into the character traits that everybody can relate to. When you are speaking at a wedding, you have the advantage that everybody in the room knows the subject very well. Think about some unique personality traits and habits of the groom that you can develop a story around. I’m sure there will be some delightful examples that come to mind. Don’t be afraid to leave him a little red in the face, just remember he has to have Sunday lunch with his in-laws next week.