Best Man Toast Helps
The best man’s toast is akin to being the center of a football team. He is never noticed unless he drops the ball. It’s game day on the wedding. Don’t drop the ball. Nothing controversial like jokes about old girl friends. The best man is not the quarterback. Don’t out do the groom or the father of the bride. It’s not your day. Yes, you can be clever and funny. Just keep in mind what you want your audience to remember. Should they remember how great of a speech that you delivered, or should they remember funny stories about the bride and groom? Yep-just the bride and groom. You will just be a foot note in history. I learned the tips from using the Best Man Speech guide. Click here to learn more about the best man toast speech.
Here are few dos and don’ts
Do: If you want to drink, do it after the toast. Drunks are not funny.
Don’t: If you do drink, then keep it to 1 or 2, not 10 drinks to loosen up. Nothing is worse than a best man that is drunk. You will ruin the bride’s day and the groom’s honeymoon. I can remember loading my brother’s best man into the trunk of the car because he was so trashed!
Do: Say wonderful truthful things about the bride. Flatter her. Mention how fortunate the groom is to have met her, and needle him a little how lucky is to have some one so nice and beautiful. Mention how the groom suddenly got better looking when he got engaged to the bride. Without her, he was sort of ugly.
Don’t: Wing it. If you’re gonna play the game, then you need to practice. This is one day that luck will not be with you. You are solo. No one is going to bail you out.
Do: Practice. I would not write the entire speech out verbatim. That will come across impersonal. Make an outline and use a guide or template.
Don’t: Read from your notes. That just looks stupid. You will be better off stuttering and stammering than reading the damn speech!
Do: Keep it short. Don’t bore the audience. I like to keep my speeches under 5 minutes. No one remembers a short speech, but a long one will be remembered forever. Think I am kidding?
Don’t: Use the toast as chance to get even with anyone. If you have something negative or a beef with anyone, leave it at home.
Do: Introduce yourself. Contrary to popular belief, you are not that popular. Besides, if you a single man, then a few of the lucky ladies will get to know you by name.
Don’t: Slouch. Stand tall and look like you are in control.
Do: Balance it out. Error on the side of saying more nice things about the bride. It’s her day.
Don’t: Say anything PG rated. Keep it clean and everyone will admire you.
Do: Make eye contact. I mean eye ball to eye ball. This is especially true with the bride.
Don’t: Talk a mile a minute. On the same token, don’t talk so slow that you put everyone to sleep.
Do: Get personal. Talk about real events and stories. Don’t quote famous people. Nobody gives a damn what Abraham Lincoln said at Gettysburg.
Don’t: Mention Ex-Girlfriends. Ever! Don’t even mention that he ever dated. In her mind, she is the only one. Keep it that way.
Do: End with something funny about the groom. You can take jabs at him as long as you don’t embarrass the bride.
Don’t: Curse. No “F” words. Come on, Grandma is here. You may like to curse, but many just find it offensive and course.
Just have fun giving the best man wedding toast.
