The Best Man Toast

Being chosen best man is indeed quite the honor, and it is a privilege usually given to a relative or very close friend of the groom. Being the best man carries with it certain responsibilities, such as being in charge of organizing the bachelor party, supervising the groomsmen, getting the groom to the church on time, and holding the bride's ring at the ceremony.

More importantly, the best man is the one who gives the wedding toast to the new bride and groom. Being someone who knows both the newly wedded couple personally, the best man is expected to offer the bride and groom a toast of good wishes for their new journey in life.

The best man toast is the most significant of all toasts during the wedding. This is because whereas everybody can give toasts to the bride and groom, it is only the best man who is actually required to do so. Hence, carrying off the best man toast without a hitch is imperative, because the groom actually entrusted you to do so.

Getting Started

Sounds scary or difficult? Not to worry! Although as the best man, giving a toast may seem intimidating at first, you can carry it out perfectly as long as you come prepared. Never, ever try to just wing it or do ad-lib, because you might end up with either mediocre or sometimes even disastrous results. So prepare the things that you're going to say. Write down your speech or have cue cards, and then practice it, so that when you do give your toast, you would sound great.

The objective of the best man toast is to convey good wishes to the happy couple, as well as to invite all of the wedding guests to join you in toasting the bride and groom. The only question now is what to include in your speech.

Opening the Toast

Let's start here with the opening speech in giving the best man toast. First of all, it's important to get the audience's attention. Stand next to the bride and groom and tap a spoon against your glass. After you've received everyone's attention, begin by introducing yourself, so that the people there would know who you are. Tell them how you're related to the groom, such as if you're the groom's brother or best friend. For instance, you can say,

"Excuse me, everyone. I'd like to have your undivided attention please. My name is Dave, I'm the groom's best man and very good friend, and I have a few things to say about the happy couple."

Middle

Now for the middle part, where you say the most important things in the best man toast. You can basically talk about a lot of things- you can either tell a funny memory or experience of the bride and groom's, or you can tell an anecdote about love and marriage.

Aside from this, you can also talk about how the couple met, how their relationship was like, etc. Let it all come from your heart. Remember, do not ever talk about any of the couple's exes or any stories that may seem humiliating to either the bride or groom. Keep your speech short and simple. Be direct and straight to the point.

Closing the Toast

Finally, close your best man toast by thanking everyone for being there to celebrate this wonderful day with the newly wedded couple. Also thank the parents of the bride and groom for their respective roles in the wedding. Raise your own glass and ask the guests to toast the happy couple, and wrap it all up by wishing the newlyweds congratulations, happiness and blessings in beginning this new chapter in their lives. Cheers!