Preparation for the Greatest Best Man Speeches

If you're the best man in a wedding your first thought probably goes to the all out crazy bachelor party you want to plan and how much fun that night will be. That is all fine and dandy, however as best man you also have other duties and responsibilities to fill in order to help your best friend get married and enjoy the biggest day of this life. One of these important duties is the speech at the reception. As every sits down for dinner you will be asked to say a few words to the newlyweds expressing your love, excitement and joy for seeing your friend in this wonderful relationship. While you can say whatever you would like here are some guidelines to make sure your speech is perfect, you don't get so nervous you bite your tongue and the couple looks at you affectionately after you finish instead of wanting to rip your head off because you just revealed all their secrets (it's happened!).

Think of it as your day
If you were the one getting married what would you want your buddy to say to you? Think of it this way and you'll have a starting place to begin brainstorming some ideas about what you would like to speak about.
Pick a topic
Is there a really funny story you want to share? How about how you guys met? Your first impressions of the bride or the groom when he met her? Or just how you feel about the couple or groom in general? There are a million things you might consider mentioning so choose a topic to focus on and go with that. If you try to fit everything into one speech you may just end up getting lost and lose the audience's attention as well.
Jot down some notes
Once you've decided what you're talking about make an outline of sorts by taking down some notes to help you get through the speech. You can put these on an index card and keep it in your pocket on the wedding day to refresh your memory as needed.
Practice ahead of time
Even if you plan on ad-libbing the entire speech it's a good idea to practice ahead of time as your nerves may get the best of you and you'll end up tongue-tied. Stand in front of a mirror and talk to it as if you were talking to a room full of people. The more you practice what you plan on saying the more natural it will become, thus expelling any nerves you might have.
Keep it PG
While you may have had a wild time in Cabo in college now probably isn't the time to bring up any incidents that happened there. Keep the speech PG whether or not there are children around. Some family members (not to mention the bride and groom themselves) may not know everything about the couple and would like to keep it that way. Toast, don't roast!

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