WEDDINGS

Best man speech examples

These five speeches are made up, so take their shape. The stories have to be yours, because everyone in that room knows the groom.

A chatbot can write a best man speech in a few seconds. It doesn't know about the night the groom drove four hours to get you, and it can't stand up and say it. Below is a template, then five example speeches. Three are for a younger brother, an older brother and a best friend. The last two are a short one and a funny one. After them come how long to talk, what to leave out and how to rehearse it.

A best man speech template

All five examples follow the same five beats. Fill in the blanks, then rewrite anything you wouldn't say to the groom's face.

Say who you are and thank the hosts: "Good evening, everyone. I'm ___, ___'s brother (or friend from ___). Thank you to ___ for tonight."
Say how you know him: "I've known ___ since ___."
Tell one story that shows who he is: "The story that sums him up is the time ___."
Turn to the couple and say what you want for them: "Then he met ___."
Give the toast: "Please raise your glasses. To ___ and ___."

Spend most of your time on the story, and keep the serious part to a few lines. To learn the beats and rehearse them, see how to practice your wedding speech. For five more speeches on the same beats, see maid of honor speech examples.

5 best man speech examples

The names and stories are made up. Each one is about 220 words or shorter, roughly two minutes out loud. If you're a best woman, or the couple are two grooms, change the names and pronouns. The beats stay the same.

1. For a younger brother

Good evening, everyone. I'm Chris, Danny's older brother. Thank you to Linda and Ray for hosting tonight, and to all of you for being here.

For the first ten years of his life, Danny copied everything I did. If I got a haircut, he wanted the same one. When I joined the swim team, he signed up too, even though he couldn't swim yet. He showed up to tryouts in arm floaties. He didn't make the team, and he cried the whole way home. The next morning he asked Dad to take him back to the pool.

That's Danny. He doesn't give up on anything. He rebuilt a 1998 Honda in our parents' garage with a library book and two years of weekends. It still runs.

Three years ago, he called me after his first date with Maya and talked for forty minutes. At the end he asked, "Is it weird that I already want her to meet Grandma?" It wasn't. Grandma likes her more than she likes us.

Maya, thank you for loving my brother the way you do. Danny, I spent most of our childhood telling you to stop following me around. I'm glad you found someone you'd follow anywhere. I hope you two never give up on each other.

Please raise your glasses. To Danny and Maya.

2. For an older brother

Hi, everyone. For those who don't know me, I'm Sam, Marcus's little brother. Thank you to Mom and Dad, and to Elena's parents, for tonight.

When I was seven, I broke the living room window with a baseball. Marcus was sixteen. He told Dad he'd done it, and he paid for the glass out of his grocery store paychecks. I never told anyone the truth until right now. Sorry, Dad.

That's Marcus. He's been taking care of people his whole life, and he never makes a big deal of it. So when he started dating Elena, I wondered who was going to take care of him.

I found out the winter he got the flu. Elena showed up with soup, a thermometer and a stack of movies, and she stayed for four days. On day three he called me and whispered, so she wouldn't hear, "I'm going to marry her."

Elena, he's looked out for me since the day I was born. Thank you for looking out for him. Marcus, you taught me to ride a bike, to drive and to own up when I'm wrong. As you just heard, I'm still working on that last one. I hope you two take turns looking out for each other for the rest of your lives.

Please raise your glasses. To Marcus and Elena.

3. For a best friend

Good evening. I'm Alex. Tom and I got put in the same dorm room our first year of college, and he's been stuck with me ever since. Thank you to Aisha's parents for hosting, and to Tom's mom for the cookies she mailed us every month that year.

Junior year, my car died on the highway at two in the morning, four hours from campus. I called Tom because he was the only person I knew who'd pick up. He picked up. Then he drove four hours and showed up at six with two coffees and jumper cables from a gas station. The car didn't need a jump. He waited with me for the tow truck anyway.

The first time I met Aisha, she beat Tom at pool three games in a row. Tom hates losing at anything. That night he couldn't stop grinning. I'd never seen him lose and look that happy, and I think I knew right then.

Aisha, you're marrying the most loyal person I know. If you ever break down at two in the morning, he'll be there by six. Tom, thanks for always picking up. I hope you two spend the rest of your lives picking up for each other.

Please raise your glasses. To Tom and Aisha.

4. Short and sweet

Under 100 words, well under a minute. It fits a night with lots of speeches, or a couple who asked you to keep it brief.

Hi, everyone. I'm Ben, and Luis has been my best friend since fourth grade. Thank you to Hannah's parents for tonight. I'll keep this short, because Luis asked me to and because the cake is right there.

I've seen Luis nervous exactly once. It was the night he asked Hannah to marry him. He practiced in my kitchen for an hour first.

Hannah, nothing has ever mattered to him that much. Luis, she said yes. You can relax now. I hope every big question goes that well for you two.

Please raise your glasses. To Luis and Hannah.

5. Funny

Good evening. I'm Jamal, and I've been Kevin's friend since middle school. Thank you to Rachel's parents for hosting tonight.

Kevin has a lot of gifts. A sense of direction isn't one of them. He has gotten lost in an airport and a parking garage. Once, he got lost in an IKEA. He called me from somewhere between the couches and the kitchens and asked me to come get him. I was in a different state. I stayed on the phone until he found the exit. It took forty minutes.

Then he met Rachel, and something amazing happened. Kevin started showing up on time. He still has no idea where he's going. Rachel does, and he follows her everywhere.

Rachel, thank you for being his map. Kevin, you've been lost in a lot of places, but you found the right person on the first try. I hope you always end up in the same place, even when Kevin takes the long way.

Please raise your glasses. To Kevin and Rachel.

Every joke lands on the groom and his harmless habits. Rachel only gets kind lines, and the speech turns sincere before the toast.

How long should a best man speech be?

Ask the couple, or whoever is running the night, how long you have. If nobody gives you a number, keep it under five minutes. Time it standing up and out loud, since that's how you'll give it.

If it runs long, cut a whole story instead of trimming two.

What to leave out

Exes, and anything about who either of them dated before.
The bachelor party. Whatever happened there can stay there.
Inside jokes. If half the room would need the backstory, cut it.
Jokes about marriage as a trap, like "ball and chain" or "his last night of freedom."
Jokes about the person he's marrying. Tease the groom, and say only kind things about his new spouse.
Anything you wouldn't say in front of his grandmother. She's in the room.
Someone who has died, unless you've asked the couple first. Some couples want a moment for them, and some would rather keep the day light.

How to give it

Learn your first two sentences and the toast word for word. Keep the five beats on a card for everything in between. How to memorize a speech has a method.
After a joke, stop and wait. If you start the next line while people are laughing, nobody hears it.
Slow down for the serious part, and take a breath before it.
Look up for the toast. Say the couple's names last, with your voice going down at the end, so everyone knows when to drink.
Save your drink for after the toast.

For a day-by-day rehearsal plan, see how to practice your wedding speech. If your voice tends to shake, see how to stop your voice from shaking.

Rehearse your speech with an AI coach in Charisma Lab

Charisma Lab is a speaking coach on your iPhone. In Speak, tap the center and tell the coach you're practicing a best man speech. Say it out loud one chunk at a time, like the opening, the story or the toast. A pause of about two seconds ends a take, so end each chunk where you'd wait for a laugh. You hear the take played back, then the coach tells you what to fix and sends you back in.

For the toast, Train has a drill called The Declarative, open from the start in the Presence and Conviction tracks. It hands you a line like "The project launches Monday." and compares the pitch of your last word with the rest of the line. A take passes when you say at least half the line, including its key word, and your last word comes out more than 5% lower than the average pitch of the other words. Setup is free and includes a short live session with the coach. After that, Speak and Train need Pro, which is $14.99 a month in the US. See pricing.

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FAQ

How do you start a best man speech?

Say who you are and how you know the groom, and thank whoever is hosting. Then go straight to your first story. For more ways in, see how to start a speech.

How long should a best man speech be?

As long as the couple asks for. If nobody says, keep it under five minutes, and time it by saying it out loud.

What should you not say in a best man speech?

Skip exes, bachelor party stories, jokes about marriage as a trap and inside jokes that need explaining. Tease the groom, and say only kind things about the person he's marrying.

How do you end a best man speech?

Say what you want for the couple, ask everyone to raise a glass and say their names last. Then stop talking. How to end a speech has more on toasts.

Can a best man speech be funny?

Yes. Aim the jokes at the groom's harmless habits, and wait after each one so the room can laugh. Then give one sincere line about the couple before the toast.

Can I read my best man speech from notes?

Yes. Keep the five beats on a card and glance down between stories. Learn your first two sentences and the toast by heart, so you can look at the room for those.

Can I use a best man speech I found online?

Use its shape, then put in your own stories. The room knows the groom, and a borrowed story about him falls flat.

More practice guides

Updated November 2, 2026.