{"id":5423,"date":"2026-06-12T07:21:55","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T05:21:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stagmadness.com\/blog\/what-are-you-supposed-to-say-in-a-best-man-speech\/"},"modified":"2026-06-15T21:12:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T19:12:09","slug":"what-are-you-supposed-to-say-in-a-best-man-speech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stagmadness.com\/blog\/what-are-you-supposed-to-say-in-a-best-man-speech\/","title":{"rendered":"What Are You Supposed to Say in a Best Man Speech?"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re standing there with a pint in one hand and blind panic in the other, wondering what are you supposed to say in a best man speech, relax. You do not need to be a comedian, a poet, or the bloke from every wedding film ever made. You just need a speech that sounds like you, gives the groom a proper send-off, and keeps the room on your side.<\/p>\n

That is the job. Not to steal the wedding. Not to test the patience of the bride\u2019s nan. Not to tell the one story that gets the groom banned from family Christmas forever. A great best man speech is part tribute, part entertainment, and part proof that the groom has at least one mate willing to make an effort.<\/p>\n

What are you supposed to say in a best man speech?<\/h2>\n

At its core, you are supposed to do four things. Welcome the room, say something genuine about the groom, make the couple look good, and finish with a toast that feels earned.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s it. Everything else is decoration.<\/p>\n

The biggest mistake best men make is thinking the speech has to be a ten-minute stand-up set. It doesn\u2019t. A wedding crowd is mixed. You\u2019ve got school mates, colleagues, parents, aunties, and people who have already had enough prosecco to laugh at anything. Your job is to land a few strong laughs, keep it moving, and give the room a reason to raise a glass.<\/p>\n

A simple structure beats a clever mess every time. Start by thanking the couple for having everyone there and introducing yourself if needed. Move into how you know the groom. Give one or two stories that reveal something true about him. Bring in the bride in a warm, respectful way. Then end with a sincere line about the future and ask everyone to toast the couple.<\/p>\n

What to include if you want the room with you<\/h2>\n

The best speeches feel personal without becoming a hostage situation. If people can follow it, laugh at it, and remember one or two sharp lines afterwards, you\u2019ve nailed it.<\/p>\n

Start with your connection to the groom. Not your full life story, just enough to establish why you\u2019re up there. Were you flatmates? School friends? The poor soul who survived his first lads’ holiday? Give the room a quick bit of context so your stories carry weight.<\/p>\n

Then give them a story that actually says something. The strongest anecdotes are not random chaos for the sake of it. They show the groom\u2019s character. Maybe he is ridiculously loyal, painfully competitive, oddly calm in a disaster, or somehow always the last man standing on a night out. A good story makes people laugh, but it should also point to why he\u2019s a good mate and why he suits married life.<\/p>\n

After that, bring the bride<\/a> in properly. This matters more than some best men realise. If your whole speech is just ten minutes of roasting the groom and pretending the bride is a guest star, it falls flat. Say something kind, specific and believable about her. Not generic waffle. Mention how she brings out the best in him, how happy he is with her, or how obvious it was to everyone that he\u2019d met his match.<\/p>\n

Then wrap it up with warmth. A toast should feel like a finish, not a desperate stop. Keep it clean, direct and confident.<\/p>\n

How funny should a best man speech be?<\/h2>\n

Funny enough to lift the room. Not so funny that the groom\u2019s mother stops smiling.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the balance.<\/p>\n

Most best men go wrong in one of two ways. Either they play it so safe that the speech has no life in it, or they chase big laughs and end up sounding like a liability with a microphone. The sweet spot is light embarrassment, not total destruction.<\/p>\n

A few sharp jokes beat a relentless stream of weak ones. If you\u2019ve got one killer opening line, one good story, and one solid joke about married life or the groom\u2019s habits, you\u2019re already ahead of half the wedding speeches ever given in Britain.<\/p>\n

Self-deprecating humour also helps. If a joke is at your own expense, the room relaxes. If every joke is aimed at the groom, you can start to look like a bloke settling scores.<\/p>\n

It also depends on the couple. Some weddings want full mayhem and a rowdy room. Others are more polished. Read it properly. If the day is black tie and elegant, tone down the filth. If the couple are laid-back and everyone\u2019s already on their third drink before the starters, you\u2019ve got a bit more room. Still, going too far is harder to recover from than playing it slightly safe.<\/p>\n

What should you never say in a best man speech?<\/h2>\n

There is banter, and then there is career-ending wedding chat.<\/p>\n

Leave out anything about exes, cheating, drugs, arrests, family feuds, stag do details that should stay buried, or stories that make the bride sound second best. If there is any chance a line will make the couple uncomfortable rather than amused, bin it.<\/p>\n

Also avoid in-jokes that only three lads from uni will understand. A wedding speech is for the whole room, not your group chat.<\/p>\n

And never mistake cruelty for comedy. If your funniest material depends on humiliating the groom, mocking the bride, or making older relatives squirm, it is not strong material. It is just risky material.<\/p>\n

One useful rule is this: if you would not happily say it while looking the couple in the eye the next morning, don\u2019t say it into a microphone.<\/p>\n

A best man speech structure that actually works<\/h2>\n

If you\u2019re still stuck on what are you supposed to say in a best man speech, use this simple running order and stop overthinking it.<\/p>\n

Open strong<\/h3>\n

Thank the couple, thank the guests, introduce yourself if needed, and start with a decent line<\/a>. It can be a joke, but it does not have to be. Confidence matters more than cleverness.<\/p>\n

Talk about the groom<\/h3>\n

Give the room a sense of who he is. Pick one or two qualities and build your story around them. Keep each story short enough that people stay with you.<\/p>\n

Bring in the bride<\/h3>\n

Shift the speech from old stories to the reason everyone is there. Say what changed in the groom when he met her, or what makes them work as a pair.<\/p>\n

End with heart<\/h3>\n

You do not need to suddenly become Shakespeare. Just say you\u2019re proud of them, glad to be part of the day, and ask the room to raise a glass.<\/p>\n

That structure works because it gives you a beginning, a middle and an end. It stops you rambling, and rambling is where disasters live.<\/p>\n

How long should it be?<\/h2>\n

Aim for five to seven minutes. That is the sweet spot.<\/p>\n

Shorter can work if you are naturally funny and confident. Longer can work if you are an exceptional speaker with brilliant material. Most blokes are neither, and that is absolutely fine. Five well-delivered minutes will beat twelve wandering ones every single time.<\/p>\n

Read it out loud when you practise. Speeches always sound shorter in your head. If it drags in your kitchen, it will really drag after the main course.<\/p>\n

Should you memorise it or read it?<\/h2>\n

Read it, but do it properly.<\/p>\n

Trying to memorise the whole thing can leave you looking like a man whose brain has just packed up in front of eighty people. Reading every word with your head down makes you sound flat. The middle ground is best. Bring notes, know the shape of the speech, and look up often.<\/p>\n

Print it in large text. Keep pages tidy. Number them. Do not rely on your phone unless you enjoy living dangerously.<\/p>\n

And yes, have a drink if it settles the nerves. Just do not have six. There is a huge gap between relaxed and sloppy, and every wedding guest can hear it.<\/p>\n

A quick word on the stag do<\/h2>\n

If the stag weekend was legendary, it can be tempting to make that the centrepiece of the speech. Usually, that is a mistake.<\/p>\n

A single line or a watered-down anecdote can work. A full recap rarely does, especially if half the story cannot be told in polite company. Save the proper chaos for the private album and the lads’ table. If you need help creating the sort of weekend that gets talked about for years without becoming courtroom material, that is where specialists like Stagmadness earn their keep.<\/p>\n

The best test for your speech<\/h2>\n

Before the wedding, ask yourself three questions. Would the groom laugh at this? Would the bride be happy to hear it? Would the room understand it without needing a backstory and a translator?<\/p>\n

If the answer is yes to all three, you\u2019re in good shape.<\/p>\n

You are not there to be perfect. You are there to be solid, funny, and genuine. Speak clearly, keep it moving, and remember what the room actually wants – a few laughs, a bit of heart, and a toast to a couple starting something big. If you can give them that, you\u2019ve done your job like a proper best man.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What are you supposed to say in a best man speech? Here\u2019s how to nail the laughs, avoid disasters, and give the groom a speech worth remembering.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":5424,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-best-man-guides"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stagmadness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5423","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stagmadness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stagmadness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stagmadness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stagmadness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5423"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stagmadness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5423\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5437,"href":"https:\/\/stagmadness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5423\/revisions\/5437"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stagmadness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stagmadness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stagmadness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5423"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stagmadness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}