Write a Perfect Wedding Speech: A Best Man's Quest
How To Write A Fantastic Wedding Speech
If you're like me, you waited to the absolute LAST minute to write your wedding speech. Rehearsal dinner is less than 6 hours away, and you're sitting at your desk with your pen tapping against your noggin as you rack your brain for things to say. Don't worry. Other's have been there, and it's not that hard. I wrote an AMAZING wedding speech that absolutely killed and made everyone in the audience gush, and it took me just a few hours. How'd I do it? Well I realized one thing: don't start from scratch. Find a template you like, and work from that. But with that said, DO NOT BORROW JOKES. The best jokes come from the heart, and every great joke has a little truth behind it. This is the key to writing a great wedding speech.
So where do you find templates? Read on, I'll show you an awesome resource I found that nearly saved my friendship with my best friend.
So where do you find templates? Read on, I'll show you an awesome resource I found that nearly saved my friendship with my best friend.
So You're The Best Man... and You Haven't Written A Wedding Speech?
I'm going to be honest with you. I'm a slacker. My buddy chose me as his best man a long time ago (a YEAR ago). Scratch that, we've been besties since almost the day I was born, so I've known I will need a good wedding speech for several years now.
But I didn't prepare for it.
See, while women are out planning every last minute detail of the wedding, guys are out doing, well, "guy things". We're out playing golf, shooting hoops, and drinking all of the beer while seeing who can sound the longest fart. Unless if you're the groom, you're not exactly rushing to get things done. In fact, I almost completely forgot about the best man speech until I was at the groom's house watching a football game and the subject wedding speeches came up. It was a week out at that point, and I made a mental note to follow up and write a speech in the next few days.
But I forgot to do it.
And so there I am, pen in hand, on the day of the first rehearsal dinner. The groom had already requested my speech so he could take a look, but I didn't have it for him.. I told him "it's not ready yet". He knew something was up. He knew I hadn't written it. I felt awful, like I had let my best friend down. So I did the only thing I felt I COULD do, and I fired up Google. The internet hasn't ever failed me before! I'll find a site that will teach me exactly how to write my speech and exactly what I should put into it. It felt sort of like cheating, but I couldn't let my friend down.
But when I started to see what was out there, most of it was unconvincing, unnatural sounding garbage that meant nothing to me.
OK maybe that's a little harsh, but none of it sounded like ME. It wasn't MY voice, it wasn't what I would sound like when giving a speech. All I found was generic writing tips that you get spewed at you in school, I needed something I could APPLY. Some kind of formula, something that is not only proven but also sounds fresh and is very real.
So at this point I was mainly looking for inspiration. I knew a few jokes that I could sneak in (after all, I have known this guy almost his entire life) so that wasn't the issue. The issue was the format, the delivery, and the inspiration. I know there was plenty of material, it was mainly just HOW to bring that material out in the most natural way, while still connecting with the audience. So I continued my search, and then I found it. Exactly what I was looking for.
But I didn't prepare for it.
See, while women are out planning every last minute detail of the wedding, guys are out doing, well, "guy things". We're out playing golf, shooting hoops, and drinking all of the beer while seeing who can sound the longest fart. Unless if you're the groom, you're not exactly rushing to get things done. In fact, I almost completely forgot about the best man speech until I was at the groom's house watching a football game and the subject wedding speeches came up. It was a week out at that point, and I made a mental note to follow up and write a speech in the next few days.
But I forgot to do it.
And so there I am, pen in hand, on the day of the first rehearsal dinner. The groom had already requested my speech so he could take a look, but I didn't have it for him.. I told him "it's not ready yet". He knew something was up. He knew I hadn't written it. I felt awful, like I had let my best friend down. So I did the only thing I felt I COULD do, and I fired up Google. The internet hasn't ever failed me before! I'll find a site that will teach me exactly how to write my speech and exactly what I should put into it. It felt sort of like cheating, but I couldn't let my friend down.
But when I started to see what was out there, most of it was unconvincing, unnatural sounding garbage that meant nothing to me.
OK maybe that's a little harsh, but none of it sounded like ME. It wasn't MY voice, it wasn't what I would sound like when giving a speech. All I found was generic writing tips that you get spewed at you in school, I needed something I could APPLY. Some kind of formula, something that is not only proven but also sounds fresh and is very real.
So at this point I was mainly looking for inspiration. I knew a few jokes that I could sneak in (after all, I have known this guy almost his entire life) so that wasn't the issue. The issue was the format, the delivery, and the inspiration. I know there was plenty of material, it was mainly just HOW to bring that material out in the most natural way, while still connecting with the audience. So I continued my search, and then I found it. Exactly what I was looking for.
WeddingSpeech4U.COM
As I said before, I had no problem with the material. It was there. I was just so wound up from the pressure and trying to figure out where I should start, that I couldn't focus in and actually create my speech. WeddingSpeech4U.com's "Best Man Speeches: Be Fearless, Funny, and Flawless" e-book had exactly what I needed: some basic template speeches and formats, things NOT to say and things that you SHOULD say, it's all there. The best man speech templates in particular were excellent, and consequently exactly what I was looking for. Some of the canned material in the e-book wasn't all that usable, but the rest of it was pure gold. The e-book got the creative juices flowing and got me onto the right path. It helped to structure my thoughts and to actually get the ball rolling. Every time I ran out of ideas or was straying from my speech's overall message, I fell back onto one of the templates that the folks at WeddingSpeech4U provided -- and my focus came back. The several professional speeches it came with served as a great reference to keep my own speech on track, as they all follow a very specific format intended to get the best response from your audience.
By the time the rehearsal dinner rolled around, I was ready with the speech in hand. My best friend loved it, and to top it off, my wedding speech killed. Hell, even the bride's father was in tears from laughter. And it takes a lot to make a 240 lbs ex-marine laugh!
When it came to the actual wedding, it was a complete riot. I wasn't even nervous, and I usually am in those kinds of situations. The confidence I got from KNOWING that my speech killed at the rehearsal dinners was intoxicating. The kind of feedback I got from the audience during the early jokes (ALWAYS tell a great joke early on to get your audience to loosen up!) gave me a momentum that was unstoppable. After the speeches, I got numerous complements from people that I hadn't even met before telling me how funny I was, and how entertaining the speech was. Some folks even said it was the highlight of the night!
By the time the rehearsal dinner rolled around, I was ready with the speech in hand. My best friend loved it, and to top it off, my wedding speech killed. Hell, even the bride's father was in tears from laughter. And it takes a lot to make a 240 lbs ex-marine laugh!
When it came to the actual wedding, it was a complete riot. I wasn't even nervous, and I usually am in those kinds of situations. The confidence I got from KNOWING that my speech killed at the rehearsal dinners was intoxicating. The kind of feedback I got from the audience during the early jokes (ALWAYS tell a great joke early on to get your audience to loosen up!) gave me a momentum that was unstoppable. After the speeches, I got numerous complements from people that I hadn't even met before telling me how funny I was, and how entertaining the speech was. Some folks even said it was the highlight of the night!
