Most best man speeches cover the same ground. There's a thank-you on behalf of the bridesmaids if the groom has toasted them, an introduction, some stories about the groom, a few kind words about the couple and a toast. What makes one better than another is the detail in the stories. The examples below are about made-up people, and each one is written in a different voice so you can see how much room there is to make it your own.
If you're still working out the shape of yours, read best man speech structure and how to write it, or use the template to build it section by section.
1. A funny best man speech (about five minutes)
Ryan has been friends with Adam since their first day at secondary school in Leeds. Adam is marrying Jess, a vet nurse from Harrogate. Ryan wanted plenty of laughs, but he wanted them all to be about things Adam would happily laugh at himself, such as his love of planning and his hopeless sense of direction.
Good evening, everyone. Adam, thank you for what you said about the bridesmaids. On their behalf, I'd like to say they've been brilliant today. Lauren and Priti have kept Jess calm since seven o'clock this morning, which is more than I managed with Adam.
For those who don't know me, I'm Ryan, and I've been Adam's friend since our first day at Allerton Grange. We were eleven. Everyone else turned up with a rucksack, and Adam turned up with a briefcase. His mum Carol has since told me it was entirely his idea, and that he'd packed it the night before with a pencil case, a calculator and a spare tie. I knew straight away we were going to get on, mainly because I needed someone to copy my maths homework from.
Adam is a man who likes a plan. When he asked me to be best man, I said yes and started thinking about the stag do. Two days later he sent me a spreadsheet. It had tabs. One of them was called "Contingencies". Another listed everyone's dietary requirements, including a note that his cousin Dean "says he's vegetarian but will eat a sausage roll". I'd like to reassure Jess that I did take charge of the stag in the end, and that we followed Adam's timings for our weekend in York to the minute, apart from the part where he got us lost on the city walls.
That brings me to his sense of direction. Adam can plan a trip down to the last quarter of an hour, but he can't get from one end of it to the other. A few years ago he drove us to a gig at the O2 Academy, which is about ten minutes from his house. We ended up in Wakefield. When I pointed this out, he said the satnav had "gone a bit funny". The satnav was on my phone, and it was fine. He has since been banned from driving to anything with a start time. I understand Jess now does all the driving, which is one of the many reasons Carol and Mick are so pleased about today.
Then there's his cooking. Adam has one dish, and it's a chilli. To be fair to him, it's a good chilli. It has taken him about eight years to get it right, and he will tell you the full history of it if you stand near the hob for long enough. The first time he made it for Jess, he was so nervous that he forgot to put the mince in. Jess ate a whole bowl of kidney beans and tomatoes and told him it was lovely. Adam rang me the next day and said that was when he knew she was the one. I told him she was just being polite. I think we were both right.
I'll be serious for a minute. Jess, when Adam met you at Becky's thirtieth, he rang me the next morning and talked about you for forty minutes. He has never talked about anything for forty minutes apart from Leeds United and that chilli. Since then I've watched him become calmer and happier, and a lot more fun to be around. You got him to go back to the dentist, and you got him to throw out the green fleece. You're kind and you're very funny, and you put up with his spreadsheets, which none of the rest of us could manage.
Adam, you've been a brilliant friend to me for twenty years. When my dad was poorly a few years ago, you were the one who drove over every Sunday to sit with us, and you only got lost twice. I'm really proud to be standing up here for you today.
So would you all please stand and raise your glasses. To Jess and Adam.
What makes it work: every joke is about something Adam would laugh at too, and each one has a real detail, like the briefcase on his first day or the chilli with no mince. The Wakefield story comes back at the end in the line about getting lost twice, which turns a joke into something kind. The part about Jess is short and specific, and his parents get a mention without being put on the spot.
2. A heartfelt speech from a childhood friend (about four minutes)
Conor grew up three doors down from Niall in south Belfast. Niall is an electrician, and he's marrying Orla. Conor wanted a speech with a few smiles that mostly said how much the friendship means to him, and he wanted to mention Niall's granda, who is at the wedding at ninety-one.
Good afternoon, everyone. Niall, thank you for toasting the bridesmaids. Speaking for them, I can tell you that Aoife and Clare have done a brilliant job today, and they've been very patient with me every time I checked where the rings were.
My name's Conor. I grew up three doors down from Niall on Rosetta Park, and I've known him since we were four. His mum Bernie tells me the first thing I ever said to him was "Can I have a go on your bike?" and the first thing he said back was "Yes". That's more or less been our friendship ever since.
When we were growing up, Niall's family took me on holiday with them every summer. We'd go to the caravan at Portrush for a fortnight, and his dad Gerry would walk us down to the West Strand every morning, whatever the weather. I have a photo of the two of us at nine years old, blue with cold, holding a bucket of crabs and grinning. Bernie fed me like I was one of her own. By the time I was twelve I'd spent more summers with the Quinns than with my own family, and my mum was quite happy about that.
Niall's granda Paddy is here today, and he's ninety-one. He still walks to the shop for his paper every morning, and he still beats me at draughts. Paddy, you taught the two of us to fish off the pier at Portaferry, and you taught us to sit still for three hours when nothing was biting. I don't think either of us has caught much since, but we both remember those mornings.
The thing about Niall is that he turns up. When I moved to Manchester for work and hated it, he got the ferry over twice in one winter to take me to the pub. When my first flat flooded, he arrived at eleven at night with a wet vac and his tool bag, and he said he wasn't letting me near the fuse box. He has never once made me feel I owed him for any of it.
Orla, I remember the first time Niall told me about you. We were in the Errigle watching the rugby, and he wasn't watching the rugby. He showed me a photo of you at the Giant's Causeway from your first weekend away, and he said, "I think this is it, Conor." He's not a man who says things like that. Since then I've watched the two of you make a home in Ballyhackamore, with Murphy the spaniel and a vegetable patch Niall is very proud of. You make him laugh more than anyone I know, and you look after each other in a way that's lovely to see.
Niall, you've been my best friend for twenty-seven years, and it means a great deal to be standing up for you today.
So would you all please stand and raise your glasses. To Orla and Niall.
What makes it work: the speech is built on small, true memories, like the first go on the bike and the crabs at Portrush. The paragraph about Niall turning up gives two moments from Conor's adult life, and both are plain and specific. Speaking directly to his granda gives the room a moment to look over and smile.
3. A short best man speech (about two minutes)
Dev met Harry in their first week at university in Nottingham. Harry is marrying Nadia, a dental hygienist. Dev doesn't enjoy public speaking, so he wanted something brief and warm that would get one or two laughs and let him sit down quickly.
Good evening, everyone. I'm Dev, and I'm Harry's best man. I'll keep this short, because I know the bar opens as soon as I sit down.
Harry and I met in our first week at Trent, when we were put in a house in Lenton with four other lads and one working oven. Harry was the only one of us who could cook, so within a fortnight he was feeding the whole house. He's been looking after people ever since. He's the one who remembers everyone's birthday. He's also the one who drove me to the Queen's Medical Centre at two in the morning when I broke my wrist playing five-a-side, and who stayed until they'd put the cast on. He supports Notts County, so he's used to disappointment, and he handles it with a lot of grace.
Nadia, from the first time Harry brought you to the pub, it was obvious how happy you made him. He stopped checking his phone for the County score, which none of us had seen before. You're funny and kind, and you're the only person I've ever met who can beat him at Monopoly. We've all loved having you around, and I know his mum and dad feel the same.
Harry, thanks for asking me to do this. It's been an honour.
So would you all please stand and raise your glasses. To Nadia and Harry.
What makes it work: it covers everything a best man speech needs in a few short paragraphs. One story does the work of showing what Harry is like, and the Notts County line gives a gentle laugh without taking anything away from him. The part about Nadia is only four sentences long, and each one says something real.
4. A best man speech for two grooms (about four minutes)
Jamie and Kieran met at sixth form in Coventry and played in a band together. Kieran is a sound engineer at the Belgrade Theatre, and he's marrying Will, a PE teacher from Kenilworth. There were no bridesmaids, so Jamie started with a thank-you to the grooms instead.
Good evening, everyone. For those I haven't met, I'm Jamie, and I've been Kieran's friend since sixth form at Bablake. There are no bridesmaids to thank today, so I'd like to thank Will and Kieran for a lovely day, and for putting the best man's table next to the bar.
Kieran and I met in a music lesson when we were sixteen. He played bass and I played the drums, badly. We started a band called Spon End, after the bit of Coventry where his nan lived, and over two years we played four gigs. Three of them were in the back room of a pub on Far Gosford Street, and one was at his nan's eightieth. Kieran booked every gig, and he wrote out a setlist for each one in marker pen. Nobody ever asked for a setlist. He did it anyway, because Kieran likes to do things properly.
That's why he's so good at his job. If you've been to the panto at the Belgrade in the last ten years, the reason you could hear every word is Kieran. The laugh you could hear from the back of the stalls was probably Kieran as well, because he's usually standing at the sound desk watching the dame.
Kieran met Will at a Tuesday pub quiz in Earlsdon, when Will's team beat ours by one point on a question about Olympic rowing. Kieran was furious for about ten minutes. Then he went over to shake Will's hand, and they talked until closing time while I went home on my own. The next day he came round to mine and said, "He teaches PE, Jamie, and he's read every Terry Pratchett." I'd known Kieran a long time, and I'd never seen him like that.
Will, you've been brilliant for him. You've got him running the parkrun at the War Memorial Park on Saturday mornings, which none of us thought was possible. You've taken on his record collection, which fills most of the spare room, and I think that shows real commitment. You even learned the words to his favourite Specials album so you could sing along in the car. Most of all, you've made him happy, and everyone who loves him has noticed.
Linda and Phil, and Anne and Rob, thank you for making everyone so welcome. It's been lovely watching the two families come together, especially at the barbecue in Kenilworth last month, when Phil and Rob spent three hours talking about the Sky Blues and forgot about the burgers.
Kieran, you've been a great friend to me for twenty years. You carried my drum kit up more stairs than I can count, and today it was my turn to carry the rings, which were a lot lighter. I'm really proud of you both.
So would you all please stand and raise your glasses. To Will and Kieran.
What makes it work: the band story shows what Kieran is like, and it leads naturally into his job. The pub quiz is a lovely way into how the couple met, and it's told from Jamie's side. Both sets of parents get a warm mention with a small joke that everyone at the barbecue will recognise. The drum kit line at the end ties the speech back to the start.
Using these examples
Notice what all four have in common. Each one opens by saying who the speaker is, tells stories with real names and places, says something specific about the groom's partner and ends with a clear toast. None of them mentions exes or the stag do's worst moments, and the teasing is always about harmless things. For more ideas on what to say, see best man speech ideas, opening lines and jokes. If the groom is your brother, there's a full example on the best man for your brother page. For timings, see how long a best man speech should be.
Common questions
Can I copy one of these best man speeches?
You're welcome to borrow the structure or a line you like, but a speech copied word for word won't sound like you and won't be about your friend. The stories are what make each one work, so swap in your own.
How long are these example speeches?
The first runs to about five minutes, the second and fourth to about four, and the third to about two. The timings assume a steady pace of about 130 words a minute. Pauses for laughs will add a little.
Are these real speeches?
No. They were written for this page about made-up people, so nobody real is being quoted. They follow the way UK best man speeches usually run.
What if the groom is marrying a man?
The speech follows the same shape. You tell stories about your friend, say something kind about his husband and toast them both by name. If there are no bridesmaids, skip the thank-you on their behalf. The fourth example below is for a wedding with two grooms.