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Need help with best man wedding speech
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Jez View Drop Down
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Joined: 26 Sep 2005
Posts: 2 		  Quote Jez Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Need help with best man wedding speech
    Posted: 26 Sep 2005 at 05:20
Hi 123PPT,

I'm best man at a good friend of mine's wedding.

I've known him for many years but I dont' really know his family and I'm wondering how far I should go with my speech?

Basically we've done alot...and i mean alot stuff that I don't think his future wife or family should or want to know about. But I want ot mix in some things to spice things up a little. Any advice on this sort of thing? How far to go? Where to draw the line etc?

The last thing I want is to really bring the whole thing down and annoy the families.

Cheers. Jez
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Digit View Drop Down
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Joined: 28 Sep 2005
Posts: 4 		  Quote Digit Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Sep 2005 at 07:29
Hey Jez.

Been there. Done that. I nearly broke down in tears when I was best man at my friends wedding.

There's all this pressure and expectancy, and I guess when you go to a few weddings and you hear a few howlers and you see that only the groom and the best man get the gags and the groom is blushing...EVERYONE gets nervous!

I'd just stick to the formula stuff Jez. you know "I've known my friend for 20 years etc., " ...and "I couldn't be happier for them both." etc.

It's better to be safe than sorry man. After all when your speech is over you have to survive the dinner and the party.

DC
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admin View Drop Down
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Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 23 		  Quote admin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Sep 2005 at 09:34
Hi guys,

welcome both to the forum.

I was following your thread, and I guess what you're asking Jez is how can you be funny without stepping WAY over the line?

One of our presentation consultations will be on the forum shortly to offer you some expert advice, but I just thought I'd throw in a few great lines from a wedding I was at over the summer.

When the best man got up to speak. The first thing he did was turn to the groom who had just finished his speech and introduced him, and said, "Well Ben, I hope you enjoyed your speech...now that you're a married man that'll be the last time you get to speak without being interrupted."

Everyone laughed, especially since they all knew that his wife really does like to talk LOL

Then came a great line, "What can I tell you about the groom? I've know him for over 10 years.
He's Handsome, Smart, Intelligent, Witty, Charismatic...Opps!...Sorry, that's for a wedding I'm going to next weekend."

The best man just kept hitting us with one liners, and everyone was in laughing after 5 minutes of his speech.

"At school Ben was also a slow starter. At kindergarden Ben was different from all the other 5 year olds...He was 11!"

And so on. It was a really great speech, and probably better than the band in terms of entertainment.

So I guess the point is Jez that you can have humour, but I'd stay away for crude or cheap humour if you follow what I mean. You can be funny without being rude, and you can make people laugh without offending them.
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mkn View Drop Down
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Joined: 20 Sep 2005
Posts: 16 		  Quote mkn Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Sep 2005 at 11:47
How about this one?

"You're a lucky man. Your wife's a beautiful woman with a heart of gold, and she deserves a good husband...Thank God you married her before she found one!"

MKN
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Jonathan View Drop Down
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Joined: 22 Sep 2005
Posts: 19 		  Quote Jonathan Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Sep 2005 at 11:56
Hi Jez,

being your friends best man is of course extremely nerve wrecking.

The feeling of responsibility is prehaps the biggest weight that weighs on your mind and your wishes to please both families is a very good sign Jez.

There are many best men who just dive straight in and persume that they are naturally funny. Of course, as you yourself have experienced humour is not always accpeted or appreciated so easily, so I would suggest a more "safe" approach.

Weddings are always emotional occasions. Most likely the groom will make his speech prior to you, and he will stammer a little, show his nerves, his voice break at certain times, and perhaps even shed a tear at certain moments.

The important thing perhaps to remember Jez is that it is the happy couples day. Your speech needs to be commanding, one that is free of emotion and has injections of humour to "lift" the air from the emotional groom's speech, and the father of the bride's speech, and remind people that this is in fact a happy occasion!

That said, I will post a draft outline of a good all round and solid bestman's speech Jez that you can expand and fill in with your own experiences etc.,

Please contact me and forward your mail address so I can forward the outline to you.

Jonathan Stock, Presentation Consultant
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Jez View Drop Down
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Joined: 26 Sep 2005
Posts: 2 		  Quote Jez Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Sep 2005 at 05:14
Nice timing Jonathan Clap

Sending you a mail now.

Cheers. Jez
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