Best man speeches are tricky, which is why we’ve compiled a list of the best, best man speech videos to help inspire you.
No need to frantically search the internet for jokes we’ve heard a thousand times before. Instead, think of this as your opportunity to FINALLY air all those embarrassing and hilarious stories you’ve racked up about the groom over the years, giving us all a unique insight into the life you’ve shared. And why we wish we could have been there.
Here are eight speeches which we think show off just how it’s done – as well as a few missteps along the way.
(*Of course, if you’re looking for more than inspiration, check out our bespoke speech writing service or best man speech template. The Speechy team are five-star rated for a reason!)
The Callback
This is one of the funniest wedding speeches I’ve seen, which is probably why it’s the most watched best man speech on YouTube. (Extra incentive, if you do your speech REALLY well you could get 20 million views on YouTube. Win-win!)
It’s not just the jokes that are as good as most stand-up’s here; it’s the structure. The ‘best brother’ tells their story in a fun way, bookending it with references to how he needs to go to the toilet (always funny) and a GREAT call back at the end to how his ‘mum made me say that’, perfectly highlighting that petty, brotherly relationship.
Sure, it’s a bit long – we’d only recommend six or seven minutes – but if it’s this good, no one will complain.
The Stand Up
This is almost indistinguishable from a five minute set by a stand-up. That’s probably because he is a stand-up. But don’t let that confidence put you off – we can make your delivery just as impressive through our new Delivery Coaching Service.
In terms of the speech itself, the beginning is perhaps a bit too much about him, leaving only a couple of minutes for the actual speech. Remember – it’s THEIR special day, not yours.
But when he gets there, he makes us laugh by letting us all into his sister-brother relationship in a funny way we can all relate to. People forget at weddings that not everyone will know every moment of your relationship to the bride/groom. Instead, make sure you find the universal qualities to spell out your stories. This and the above video, do that perfectly.
The Tinted Moisturiser
When writing wedding speeches, some people feel like they have to write LOADS. Include EVERYTHING that’s ever happened. This best man shows us that this isn’t the case, with just one simple story throughout – about the groom ‘experimenting’ with tinted moisturiser.
It’s not too showy, and it’s not too long. Plus, it’s packed with plenty of gags before and after which are funny because they’re personal to their ‘target’. This speech could ONLY be about him.
He also manages to get a good balance between complimenting him and insulting him, which is always important. As fun as it is to just lay into your best mate, there’s a difference between a speech and ritual humiliation.
The Roast
Sure, there are a lot of what some would call ‘trad’ best man jokes in this speech. But they’re still well-chosen and perfectly suited to this best man/groom relationship. You can tell they cut to the core as the bride and groom GENUINELY look terrified about everything he’s going to say.
You probably don’t want to be quite as mean as this best man. But even if you don’t, there are loads of great qualities to pick up from this speech, including excellent callbacks to him being a lousy goalkeeper, as well as a really good connecting structure – hinting about Elmo early on and then linking back to it.